Another abscess

diamonddogs

diamonddogs

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Can you spare a few vibes for my poor mare please.

For the past two years at this time she's had an abscess in her near fore, and my heart sank when I got The Call this afternoon at work to say she's on three legs again.

I phoned my farrier and rushed off to the yard to find her looking sorry for herself in the stable. It's been dug out and poulticed so I left her lying down with a pile of hay in front of her and water close by while I came home for some food and to get my phone charged (do phones know when you need them urgently?!) and I'm going to check her when I've finished this lovely cup of coffee.

Quick question if anyone's here to answer immediately - she had a couple of bute at 5.00pm. Should I give her another to see her through the night?
 
RE Bute, both my Vet and Farrier said that they don't recommend it for abscesses. Do you have any idea why she tends to abscess at this time of year?

I hope she's much happier in the morning, abscesses are such a rotten thing for the poor horse.
 
Yes, my farrier said she shouldn't have had it really, but I had to do something while I was waiting. I'll know in future.

He thinks she's just really unlucky, but it's the same foot every time, although it's in a different area.

I checked her about 10pm and she was up and eating her hay, and she'd had a drink, so I feel a bit better about things.
 
I'm glad that she's eating up. :)

I would wonder if the white line is nice and tight on that hoof? I have found with my horses that cutting carbs (even swapping to an unmolassed chaff made a difference) from their diet has tightened up their white lines. A tighter white line means less chance of grot getting in.
 
Shoes wouldn't stop the abcess, just mask the pain.

Next time she's trimmed, look closely at what is pared from the sole. Those black thread like marks are indicators of old abscesses - for some reason some will cause more bother on certain legs than others.

You can't really prevent them altogether unfortunately - movement is the best thing in terms of both prevention and cure.
 
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