[Clementine]

For pretty much as long as I can remember, I have used liniment gel on horse's ankles after a strenuous workout, or a bit of bath liniment in water to sponge them off after a hard day at a show, but it just sort of occurred to me recently, what is liniment actually supposed to do?

Thanks!
~Sarah

 

[Production Acres]

stimulates blood circulation - resulting in quicker healing, less bruising, quicker muscle recovery - basically it dialates the capillaries in the blood vessels making blood flow easier and quicker

 

[Scoutrider]

Here's a good article:
Liniment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We keep some on hand if the horses get stiff or sore. Dad even borrows it sometimes for his sore knee!

 

[qtrhrsecrazy]

I use Bigleoil on myself too lol

 

[bellamuerte]

I have heard about ppl who have taken liniment on their horses hooves to make them grow faster. It works.

 

[KristinJ]

I agree about making hooves grow! lol. I use the stuff daily on about 6-7 horses. Man, my finger nails grow SOOO FAST from applying it to their legs!

 

[Maverick101]

I use Bigleoil on myself too lol

Nice! As do I :lol: I'm also fond of green cool!

 

[JadedEyes]

It's very refreshing and can help speed recovery of muscles. I use it on my young horse and it helps relax his muscles and cool him down. It is the same with humans, if we pull a muscle we put icy hot on our joints to help loosen the muscles up and work out all of the knots. Same concept with horses...

 

[Clementine]

Production_Acres - THANK YOU!!! That sort of technical answer is just what I was looking for.

 

[~*~anebel~*~]

Just be careful that you aren't bandaging it because you can end up severely blistering horses with this stuff. I only ever use it diluted and rinse it off immediately.

Anyone else ever lit it on fire?? Great fire starter.

 

[Hoofprints in the Sand]

I have never heard of it used to stimulate hoof growth! Neat! Does it matter what type/brand of liniment for that use, and how do you apply it? Is it diluted or full strength, how often do you apply it, etc?

My mare is barefoot and while she has very strong feet and is on a hoof supplement just to stimulate growth already, I'm always looking for anything else that would help, just to make sure she always has more than enough there to clip off during her farrier trims

 

[Clementine]

@anebel - I've never used it with bandages. Will Liniment Gel blister them?

 

[jesredneck98]

Its great I love it I try to use it after every ride no matter how hard we ride. I don't use alot after small easy rides or workouts but I use enough just to help with any slight soreness that there might be but for long rides or after shows it does work great! Great to know that it works of growing hooves who would have known. Thanks

 

[AlmagroN]

Just be careful that you aren't bandaging it because you can end up severely blistering horses with this stuff. I only ever use it diluted and rinse it off immediately.

thats not entirely true. it depends WHAT liniment youre using and how youre appling it. you can wrap a lot of them and sweat them. it depends what kind. also it depends how long you are using it for. if youre going to apply liniment every day and wrap it a blister can occur over time depending on what youre using. tuttles even very diluted will blister a horse if used every day as a liniment. green cool CAN blister one but its typically only the more sensitive skinned horses. ball liniment will if you use a lot and scrub it in hard.

if you are looking for a good blister though, Cedar Oil works great. its a "tell all" on a lame horse. if you cant find your exact area of lameness but can tell a horse is off in a leg, cedar oil it. the lame/sore area will blow up like a balloon the next day. we cedar oil 2-3 days in a row then sweat it back down 2-3 days. it takes a lot of the soreness out due to the increased blood flow as well. just dont get it in their heels. put a good heel salve on before applying it.

 

[5cuetrain]

Bingo AlmagronN!! Some also mix it in a 5 gallon bucket with water and douse the horse right before they go to the holding barn. Gets the blood flowing and wakes them up.

 

[JadedEyes]

Just be careful with what kind you use. Some horses have sensitive skin and can break out from it. I tested my linement on a small part of his skin just to make sure that it didn't hurt him.