Abscesses following on from my last thread

[StoptheCavalry]

So on Monday my farrier manages to get out to did the mystery abscess out and it's burst over night through the coronet band. Pretty gross but clean and farrier has a look and recommends cleaning it up but leaving it out in the air to heal as he was confident everything that needed to had come out. Zak was much sounder and much happier. Have pretty much left him to it apart from washing it daily until yesterday as it had for a bit muddy after all the rain and was worried about it getting dirty so put on a trusty nappy and wrapped it up. After further inspection I saw what looked like another exit hole on his heel. So go down again tonight to change bandaging and can see on the inside of the trusty nappy there is definitely another one if not two more exit holes, so that's either one ginormous abscess or 3!! Poor thing no wonder he was a cripple.

Anyway to the point on my thread, he really needs his feet trimming, should I leave this until his feet have properly healed? Although I suspect his feet being a little long and having developed a bit of a flare with a stretched white line may be the cause of the abscesses so feel a bit like I'm in a catch 22 situation. Any suggestions greatly received.

 

[magicmoose]

My instinct would be to have his feet trimmed. The stretching of the white line probably has a dietary component, but mechanical leverage will not be helping.

If you leave the exit on the coronet band open to the air, do keep an eye out for flies, until it dries up. Picking maggots out of the cavity is no fun!

 

[joelb]

Did your farrier not advise on trimming whilst there?

Sounds just like my mare who had mother of abscesses over Easter, burst twice on coronary band and once on opposite heel. I left shoeing far too long because I didn’t want her done whilst bruised but with hindsight that was a huge mistake as I am now treating thrush and a sheared heel. Gutted is an understatement!

 

[StoptheCavalry]

He didnt want to trim him there and then mainly as he was still reluctant to bare much weight on that foot and so would have been a bit unfair to do his other feet while he was so uncomfortable clearly there was still more abscess to come.

He is fed pretty much everything for a barefoot diet so thinking he must be quite sensitive to the grass but really think its his feet being too long and stretching white line that is causing the issue. I decided to not go forward with a barefoot trimmer as his feet were simple (clearly my cockiness is biting me in the bum ) and when the farrier saw him about 4 ish weeks ago he said he didn't want to take any off and wanted more growth so he could correct a few things (I wasn't there and would have explained I just really wanted a trim, nothing really changing, he's been barefoot for at least 2 years so wouldn't have wanted too much meddling) following this road work was working wonders and he seemed to be self trimming, then I noticed he was starting to get a little flare on the inside of the abscess foot where the white line was stretching, then a few days later he was struck down by the abscesses. Everything seems to have really come to a head at once really and the 2 weeks off have one made his feet longer (obviously!!!) as I can't get him out to wear them down.

I have poulticed tonight as there is still lovely stinky stuff coming out the second hole and I was worried with it being so wet and now warm the flies are hanging around and like you've said would hate to find maggots! So is it fair for him to have a trim this week then? Never had to deal with an abscess on my own horse before so not sure what is the norm.