One of the most common methods of applying a dressing to the foot is
poulticing. Usually resorted to on account of its warmth-retaining
properties, the poultice may also be medicated. In fact, a poultice,
strongly impregnated with perchloride of mercury or other powerful
antiseptic, is a useful dressing in a case of a punctured foot, or a
wise preliminary to an operation involving the wounding of the deeper
structures. The poultice may consist of any material that serves to retain
heat for the longest time. Meal of any kind that contains a fair percentage
of oil is suitable. Crushed linseed, linseed and bran, or linseed-cake dust
are among the best.

To prepare it, all that is necessary is to partly fill a bucket with the
material and pour upon it boiling water. The hot mass is emptied into a
suitable bag, at the bottom of which it is wise to first place a thin layer
of straw, in order to prevent the bag wearing through, and then secured
round the foot. This is generally done by means of a piece of stout cord,
or by straps and buckles fastened round the pastern and above the fetlock.

An improved method of fastening has been devised by Lieutenant-Colonel
Nunn:

'A thin rope or stout piece of cord about 5 feet long is doubled in two,
and a knot tied at the double end so as to form a loop about 5 or 6 inches
long, this length depending on the size of the foot (as at A, Fig. 48). The
poultice or other dressing is applied to the foot, and the cloth wrapped
round in the ordinary way, the loop of the cord being placed at the back of
the pastern (as in A, Fig. 49); the ends of the cord are passed round, one
on the inside and the other on the outside, towards the front (as in B,
Fig. 49). These ends are then twined together down as far as the toe (see C