Abscess coming out of the coronet band?

[chunklovescooks]

OK, so I got a call from my mum at 10 to 9 this morning asking me to cycle to the stables as her mare (Rowenna) had some blood coming out of her hoof. I got there soon after and had a look at it. It seems the abscess that she has had for the past few weeks (that came out of the sole) has come back. As the farrier blocked the original hole, it seems that the abscess had no choice but to come out the coronet band.

Is it uncommon for an abscess to come out of the coronet band?

We have called the vet and they are coming this afternoon.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

S


(Also in New Lounge)

 

[whitewood]

Most common to come out of coronet band, so don't worry. Vet will tell you what todo

 

[chunklovescooks]

OK - Great, Thanks

S

 

[sally2008]

An abcess errupting from the coronet band is not uncommon, the pus has to go somewhere and it will always find the easiest route out. Don't panic - I'm sure the horse will be feeling much better for the release of pressure. Keep the area clean and ask the vet for advice on long term management to prevent recurrence.

 

[chunklovescooks]

Thanks for the reassurance Sally.

I will ask the vet this afternoon, or get my Mum to ask her.

S

 

[Naggy]

Yep. Definately no need to panic - in my opinion it is better for an abscess to come out of the coronary band as it does far less damage than digging around in the sole and increasing further risk of infection. I see numerous horses who have had abscesses blow out the coronary band where the owners, or farriers sometimes haven't even noticed - so it is more common than you think! All I would say to do is give it a soak in some epsom salts to encourage any remaining bits to come out and then just keep it clean with some sudocream or something similar and encourage the horse to move, so let it go out in the field, etc as normal. What you will find is that there will be a horizontal crack in the hoof wall as it grows down, but again that is really nothing to worry about as by the time it has grown down the wall a bit it would have sealed itself and therefore, won't be prone to any more infection - it will only be cosmetic. The only thing you may find is that it gets a bit untidy as it nears the floor, but it won't cause any problems!

Hope that helps

 

[bailey14]

I think what you are referring to is quittor an old term for pus out of the coronet band. These links are about quittor, but as a rule I don't think there is anything to worry about unless left untreated. Like someone said previously pus will always find a route out, it has to, so if it can't go down it will make a tract and go out of the body upwards.

http://keenanmcalister.com/Quittor.pdf

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/90727.htm

 

[chunklovescooks]

Thats great - Thanks Naggy!

 

[Donkeymad]

Have seen this happen many times, and really is nothing to worry about.
Just curious, why did your farrier block the original hole?

 

[TarrSteps]

It may not even have anything to do with the farrier blocking the original hole. It's possible for horses to have abscesses brewing in the foot for some time and the infection may travel in multiple directions. I've had three horses bothered over a year or so with reoccurring small sole abscesses or even just intermittent inexplicable lameness, that eventually blew out significant quittors, and then were never troubled again. In fact some vets feel treating abscesses with systemic antibiotics can actually encourage these deep seated infections in the hoof by encouraging the body to wall off the infection prematurely instead of letting it come to a head, only for it to get disturbed again at a later date and start the cycle all over.

A vet once showed me a fascinating scan (apparently done accidentally, when they were looking for more sinister problems in a horse with a history of intermittent lameness) that showed the winding path of the abscess through the hoof, from sole to coronet band.

So nothing much to worry about and in fact a relief. Better out than in. Clean it up well for a few days until it heals and she should be right as rain.