Product Review: Animalintex Poultice Pads

Firstly, I'm going to start tagging my posts. Two years later since I've started this blog: it's about time! I'm too lazy to go back and tag everything worth tagging right now, maybe later ;)

Anyway....

Animalintex Poultice Pads (aka "Just Add Water" Wraps)

Official product description:

Animalintex® Poultice is a convenient, ready-to-use poultice that comes in a pad, not a bucket. This unique poultice contains natural poulticing agents, tragacanth gum, a mild antiseptic and boric acid to promote faster healing. Use as an aid to manage abscesses, heat, and swelling. Can be used as a hot poultice dressing, cold dressing or dry dressing.

MY product description:

They ARE convenient. I had purchased two of the full-sized, wrap-like pads and two of the hoof pads when I was putting together my little first-aid kit a while back, in case of emergencies. Emergencies like coming in Saturday morning to find a swollen leg. Within two days of using these wraps and putting Absorbine liniment gel where the wrap didn't cover (just below the hock and the fetlock) plus handwalking several times a day (of course the wrap won't solve everything by itself, any horseperson should know that!) the swelling went down significantly, and she was turned out today with it wrapped (per trainer recommendation and vet approval) and it held up wonderfully.

Because they are about $7.95-$10.00 per wrap, then I wouldn't recommend one use them in place of standing wraps. If a horse needs something like that in the long run, due to an intense exercise program or competitive schedule, then standing wraps and poultice/liniment would be more cost-efficient in the long run. But for occasional stuff like a sudden swelling from a kick, a wrap secured with 3M vetwrap works wonderfully.

They are totally mess free. You literally take them out of the package, soak them in hot or cold water to activate the poultice, wring the water out (GENTLY, otherwise the three layers that make it up with fall apart... I found squeezing a section out at a time flat between my palms worked well) wrap like you would a standing wrap with the vetwrap, and let it be. The poultice kicks in gradually, and there is a lot, as one can tell when they take it off the leg because it is covered with the poultice. I've read reviews that it stunk when it was taken off, but I only noticed that after I took off the initial wrap where it absorbed the slight bleeding from the cut (it hasn't bled since). And anybody in the horse or medical field (or otherwise) who has dealt with dried blood will tell you that dried blood smells! But it certainly wasn't overwhelming, and the pad had really soaked it up. There was no smell the next time I used it, because there was no blood.

Overall conclusion:

These are wonderful for emergencies or if you're horse only needs wrapping on occasion. I feel they are probably a lot more sanitary than washable cotton quilting because they come sanitized in a package, which is good for wound dressing. Yes, they can be used as plain cotton batting, but for the price it would be cheaper to get normal cotton batting and save these for when you need poultice. They work just as well as poultice wrapping and are far less messier (no gloves, no Saran wrap or poultice paper, easy to wash off the leg when taken off). A great addition to a first-aid kit.

I hope never have to use the hoof pads (Greta's hooves are kept quite clean and checked daily and no nail holes or shoes for anything to get in and under) but I'm sure they would work just as well. I wish I had them for a dear mare I used to foster two years ago when she got an ugly abscess! She was fine, but these would have helped! But the baby diapers worked quite well, too.