Abscess - poultice/draining question

[GrassChop]

My horse is showing signs of an abscess, unfortunately. Very lame and reacting when pressure is applied to one part of her sole. A lot of heat as well in that area.

I've put on a poultice but I've been told that it needs to be dug out to drain as the poultice won't pull it out from the sole and might track up. Is this right? I always thought the poultice being on the area would draw it out.

Thank you!

 

[meleeka]

My horse is showing signs of an abscess, unfortunately. Very lame and reacting when pressure is applied to one part of her sole. A lot of heat as well in that area.

I've put on a poultice but I've been told that it needs to be dug out to drain as the poultice won't pull it out from the sole and might track up. Is this right? I always thought the poultice being on the area would draw it out.

Thank you!

The poultice is designed to soften the sole and draw pus out of the hole that the dirt/bacteria used to get in. It must have entered the hoof to cause an abscess in the first place. If poulticing doesn’t help, then yes it needs an expert to work out where the pus is and make an exit hole.

 

[GrassChop]

The poultice is designed to soften the sole and draw pus out of the hole that the dirt/bacteria used to get in. It must have entered the hoof to cause an abscess in the first place. If poulticing doesn’t help, then yes it needs an expert to work out where the pus is and make an exit hole.

Thank you!

 

[blitznbobs]

My mare has just had one and i called the carrier, by the time he arrived we had a sound horse and a poultice full of pus so it’s not necessarily so that you need it cut out but sometimes it speeds things up a lot

 

[PeterNatt]

I would strongly advise you to treat this as a medical emergency and get a vet in immediately. They can remove the shoe, find the abcess, open it up (which will relieve the pain), allow it to drain and hopefully you will be able to get a shoe back on and ride again within a few days.

 

[Ditchjumper2]

I'd get the farrier to locate the abcess and release. They are much better at doing this than a vet, and cheaper lol. Then hot tub and poultice.

 

[blitznbobs]

I would strongly advise you to treat this as a medical emergency and get a vet in immediately. They can remove the shoe, find the abcess, open it up (which will relieve the pain), allow it to drain and hopefully you will be able to get a shoe back on and ride again within a few days.

I on the other hand only call the vet after the farrier… farriers tend to be more accurate and neat and vets seem to cut half the hoof away prolonging the foot soreness…

 

[PeterNatt]

Sorry! I disagree as a vet can give sedatives and anti-biotics if so required. Also, a vet will come out straight away as it is an emergency.

 

[Ditchjumper2]

Sorry! I disagree as a vet can give sedatives and anti-biotics if so required.

Sorry I disagree! You never give antibiotics to a normal foot abcess. It's also extremely rare to need a sedative.

 

[blitznbobs]

Sorry! I disagree as a vet can give sedatives and anti-biotics if so required.

No antibiotics should be given for an abscess… certainly not in the first instance as this can cause the abscess to encapsulate further. The blood supply to the inside Of an abscess is none… so by treating the surounding tissue but not the seat of infection you prolong and worsen the outcome. The correct treatment of any abscess is drainage, and cleaning. The solution to pollution being dilution…

ALSO giving sedatives is probably contraindicated… movement increases blood supply to the foot and movement makes the abscess more likely to rupture

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Friend once called vet to look at an abscess and she couldn't get the shoe off. She had a limited dig around and said to call the farrier. Farrier came next day, took the shoe off and released the abscess.

I'd always go farrier first and if you can't get a farrier within 24hrs, call the vet.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Vets never give antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, it encourages the infection to track somewhere else in the body and is generally very difficult to get rid of. Bute is also only used if the horse really needs it, and I have never heard of a horse ever being given a sedative for an abscess.

 

[Snow Falcon]

Farrier for abscess. I had a vet out once when I had a lame horse. He dug the hoof to pieces. I refused to pay the bill as the hoof was wrecked. Got farrier out instead. Since then I have never called a vet for suspected abscess. There's that particular look and you know what it is.

Poultice will draw the infection down but you need a drainage hole for it to escape. The heat of the poultice will soften the sole to allow pus to get out.

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

My lad came in lame last Saturday, not hopping 'abcess' lame & with swollen leg & pulse - knowing my farriers speed at responding, went for the vet. Always a Saturday isn't it!

She confirmed probably an abcess with hoof testers & put my mind at ease that the swelling was linked to that. She scraped a little back & then hot poulticed & gave him a jab for the pain, told me to turnout.

It had burst by the following evening & he's just finished his course of bute - still having odd tiny bits of pus but nearly there. Glad I got the vet as the swelling I hadn't seen like that from an abcess before.

My farrier as it happens, my farrier was away & wouldn't have got to me until Tuesday, so made the right call.

 

[Lois Lame]

My lad came in lame last Saturday, not hopping 'abcess' lame & with swollen leg & pulse - knowing my farriers speed at responding, went for the vet. Always a Saturday isn't it!

She confirmed probably an abcess with hoof testers & put my mind at ease that the swelling was linked to that. She scraped a little back & then hot poulticed & gave him a jab for the pain, told me to turnout.

It had burst by the following evening & he's just finished his course of bute - still having odd tiny bits of pus but nearly there. Glad I got the vet as the swelling I hadn't seen like that from an abcess before.

My farrier as it happens, my farrier was away & wouldn't have got to me until Tuesday, so made the right call.

Yes, I know what you mean about seeing swelling in the leg.

My boy had swelling in the cannon bone area, was dead lame and refusing to move. I got a phone call from someone at the paddock telling me, "T_____ has done a tendon!" complete with gasping and panic-stricken voice. I was also panic-stricken as I'd never had anything like that before and it sounded dreadful. (What does anyone do in that situation?) Vet came and said it was a foot abscess. Thank Christ. But I was confused because of the swelling in the lower leg. "Can an abscess cause swelling there?" I asked. "Yes," he said.

What a worry they are. Just when you think you have foot absesses sorted, they add something to the mix.

ETA: My experience is that it happens on a Sunday.

 

[Snowfilly]

No, don’t let a vet anywhere near an abscess unless you’ve got a really well trained one that won’t dig the hoof to pieces! Vets shouldn’t get near hoofs for the most part, they only muck them up.

Poultice, hot tub, get horse moving on it although that sounds awful - it encourages it to burst. Farrier to dig out in 24 hours if no improvement.

Never heard of antibiotics or a sedative for it.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I’d call farrier first over vet every time for a suspected abscess. Vets hack half the sole away looking for the abscess, then ask the client to call the farrier in to reattach a shoe to what is left of the foot…

I now poultice in the first instance, turn the horse back out to move around, and almost invariably get pus and a much happier horse within 24 hours, with just a small exit hole formed for drainage. No farrier or vet needed.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Abcesses! Aaarrrggh! Agree with others on farrier over vet to release it but over the years we have had so many I’ve got pretty handy with a hoof knife myself.

I’ve found tubbing for 10mins in hot water with epsom salts and iodine will soften and draw enough to have it burst out the sole/whiteline. If it’s too early in the process, follow with a hot poultice, tinfoil to maintain heat, then vet wrap and then a boot and usually overnight it will burst or you can see the dark area where it’s trying to burst through and can Knick it with a hoof knife to release it.

I am not a fan of “leave it to work it’s way out”. As it runs up the hoof wall and makes a mess long term with hole growing out over 6 months.

Our vet also advocates for pain relief to ensure the horse keeps moving and is able to access water and feed in the field. Apparently the “never give bute as it prevents pus, or slows the Abcess bursting” is old thinking.

One more comment - I treated an abcess for a week thinking it was a sub solar abcess. It wasn’t - it was septic pedalbone osteitis. It needed antibiotics swiftly and through my arrogance of thinking I knew what I was doing I had left it too long (7 days) and horse required surgery.

So experts at the right time always have their value.

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

Definitely call farrier instead of vet. They are so much better at detecting them and can pull shoe.
Had a vet come out to lame horse, I kept saying abcess, he said ‘no, bruised sole and box rest’ . Next day horse hopping lame, farrier came out and removed shoe and made a hole for abcess to drain

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would get your farrier out rather than a vet he will do a better job locating it and paring the sole back if need be.

Vets don't give antibiotics for an abcess.

Horses will often get a swollen leg with an abcess as they will try to not put too much weight on the leg so it then swells up so its quite normal.

 

[ihatework]

Sorry! I disagree as a vet can give sedatives and anti-biotics if so required. Also, a vet will come out straight away as it is an emergency.

Sorry I disagree.
Most well handled horses can have a foot done minus sedation.
Use of ABs in this situation is just downright irresponsible as a first port of call.
Farrier over vet (dependant on degree of lameness and availability times)

But 50% of the time I can tub and use a hoof knife conservatively and get the job done myself.

 

[Carrottom]

My farrier has been known to refer to one our very respected equine vets as 'the butcher with a hoof knife'.
The only time I had vet out for an abcess was because I thought it was going to be something else. He made a hole in the sole the size if a fifty pence piece. When called the farrier to replace the shoe, he did so but said not to ride for 6 weeks until the sole recovered.

 

[PeterNatt]

The reason I responded to the post in the way that I did was because a few Sundays ago I rode my horse in the morning and then put him out in the field. That afternoon while poo-picking, I noticed that he appeared lame on the front foot. I brought him in, picked out his feet, and thoroughly checked them. I could see no reason for him to be lame, so I immediately phoned the vet, who attended within one hour. The vet checked my horse and found an elevated pulse in that foot, hoof tested it, and then removed the shoe so that the suspected abscess could be found. The abscess was found, and the area was cleaned with warm water. A poltice was applied and then replaced once a day for each of the next three days. The vet returned to check on my horse's progress on the third day. My horse was found to be sound, and my farrier replaced the shoe the following day (We had fortunately had a pre-booked appointment for that day). In my opinion, getting the vet in straight away ensured that a correct diagnosis was made straight away and that if any pain relief, medications, or x-rays/scans were required, then this could have been done without any delay.

 

[ihatework]

I suppose I consider myself lucky to be an experienced enough owner to be able to assess what is or isn't an emergency and first steps of action. I'd probably be bankrupt if a called a vet for every minor lameness lol!

But I suppose for novice owners who don't have that breadth of knowledge then a vet call is playing it safe and not a bad option.

 

[GrassChop]

Thanks everyone.

Luckily no need for a vet as I'd used hoof testers to check if there was a reaction there first and there was. Located to one area and applied poultice. Next day it seemed to have burst, lameness was significantly reduced. Soaked in warm water and epsom salts. Scraped a minimal amount away in the area on the sole and found the small hole. Couple more days of poulticing and we should be good.

 

[ycbm]

One more comment - I treated an abcess for a week thinking it was a sub solar abcess. It wasn’t - it was septic pedalbone osteitis. It needed antibiotics swiftly and through my arrogance of thinking I knew what I was doing I had left it too long (7 days) and horse required surgery.

I think you should cut yourself some slack there. I don't know any vet who would treat for pedal osteitis, or x ray to find it, before about a week had gone by with no sign of an abscess breaking out. I suppose you could always x ray early but if people did that for every abscess they'd be well out of pocket.
.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

My farrier has been known to refer to one our very respected equine vets as 'the butcher with a hoof knife'.
The only time I had vet out for an abcess was because I thought it was going to be something else. He made a hole in the sole the size if a fifty pence piece. When called the farrier to replace the shoe, he did so but said not to ride for 6 weeks until the sole recovered.

Years ago a vet butchered my mares hoof so badly for an abscess her foot was so unstable she had to have an egg bar shoe and plate on to help stabilise it, my farrier was so disgusted by the state of it

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I think you should cut yourself some slack there. I don't know any vet who would treat for pedal osteitis, or x ray to find it, before about a week had gone by with no sign of an abscess breaking out. I suppose you could always x ray early but if people did that for every abscess they'd be well out of pocket.
.

My mare had pedal osteitis and they only x rayed after she had 3 abscesses quite close together was never mentioned on the first one so I agree.