Abscess in sole - how long before completely healed?

[Casey76]

I know, it's probably as long as a piece of string, but it is very frustrating!

In a nutshell, B was trimmed on 10 Dec and the farrier nicked him with the toeing blade just off the apex of the frog. He was fine for 2 days then came out of his stable on 3 legs. Poulticed that day and left him in. Farrier back that evening and found a small abscess at the nick site, which was opened (only a 2mm hole - farrier was very cautious when "digging"). B was then hot poulticed for 3 days, cold for 3, though there was no exudate after the first 2 days.

First day without a bandage on was in a hard standing pen, then back out into the field. At this point I had to leave on holiday and B was under the eagle eye of a friend and the YO. Got a message on Christmas Eve to say he was hopping lame with heat in the hoof again. Poultice applied, box rest for Christmas day and pen for Boxing day. I saw him on the 27th, no exudate in poultice, happy to potter about in the pen. Came out of his box hopping lame on the 28th. Weight bearing again after picking his feet out (only some manure caught in the foot). No heat in hoof or leg. Back in pen.

Measured feet for boots, was a bit surprised.

Remeasured Friday morning with a ruler and was less surprised!

I managed to find some 2nd hand Cavallos at a tack shop for a fraction of new price and he hasn't looked back since.

I can only imagine he is still vey sensitive to sole pressure, though after treating with Keratex for 2 weeks his sole is very hard now (normally I don't like Keratex, but I will admit it has it's uses!)

So that is 3 weeks since he first went lame (trim due end of next week!). With two weeks of tubbing and poulticing his heels have gone to mush, and now being in boots 12 hours a day isn't helping with that situation either.

I'm not used to dealing with abscesses on the sole, my experience is out of the heel bulb or coronet, and most of the time I only notice after the fact :/

 

[ester]

ooh I can do timeline pics

12 march 2016, flinted himself hunting, this was after wet then dry poultice- hence iodine coloured for a bit

2 weeks later (26th march)

16th april

16th May, it has pretty much got to his toe at this point, in the meantime he had kept a bit more wall length than normal as he doesn't have the best soles anyway for concavity.

 

[Casey76]

that pic from 16 Apr looks rather alarming!

Was he lame/unsound/footy for long? The on again off again lameness is driving me nuts - he looks so pathetic when his toenail hurts!

 

[ester]

Not unduly for long, though we only had a small bit of stoneness to get to field. I booted for riding for a bit which I wouldn't usually.
16th April was the pic that my old trimmer told me stop faffing and take the boots off , which you can tell I listened to from his classic wonky toe wear in the last pic.

 

[Cortez]

4 and a half months with my lad, and he'd been lame before that (I bought him lame, for peanuts). I was very close to calling it a day and having him put down, but very brave vet dug a hole to China and got out an unbelievable amount of very old, very nasty black gunk. He continued lame until he grew a whole new sole (with help from iodine, salt, honey and poulticing, poulticing, poulticing, then bags taped on feet, and then boots for turnout). He's been sound now for 4+ years

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I am *hoping* that my mare has just got over an abscess that started at the beginning of October. We kept thinking that we had got it sorted, with hot tubbib, wet poulticing, dry poulticing with turnout in Horsecrocz .She would be sound for a few days, occasionally a week and then it would flare up again.
Then it he week before Christmas it splurged blood and gunk onto the poultice from the sole and also came out at the coronet band. She has now been sound for more than a fortnight and out barefoot since the day after Boxing Day (so just a week).
So that has been 3 months, she has been on Prascend since 31st Oct, which I think is what has made the difference. She has also been moved to a drier field.