ashcass
New User
Ok so this is a long story. My 23 year old Shetland was diagnosed with a really rare (and by really rare I mean less than 10 horses worldwide and the vets know little about it) immune disease over the summer. This basically has almost completely knocked out his immune system and affects the growth of skin and horn. His skin in certain areas is thin and flaky, he has no chestnuts and ergots anymore what does grow in those places tends to break off after a week or so but the majority of this problem has focussed on the coronet band. his hoof growth while at a normal rate is rather uneven and is prone to cracks. He regularly gets inflamation of the coronet band and was very painful for him. Three weeks ago he was put onto steroids which has helped no end, he's much more comfortable and to a degree, teamed with aloe vera baths, has improved his skin. The major problem is that if he cuts himself etc it just takes ages to heal. a graze on his nose literally took nearly amonth to repair. Now just after he started on his steroids he got an absess on his coronet band which promptly split a horse shoe shape, less than an inch wide covering the cornet band and down onto the hoof, leaving a middle fleshy section. The crack was cleaned out by the vet and weve been polticing his hoof and used magnesium paste to draw out the puss. but while the majority of the puss has gone, still a tiny bit, the thing just will not heal and is still quite sore for the poor thing. My vet, who trust me is consulting everyone about the whole condition my pony is infact becoming something of a case study, says this is one of the side effects of the condition and there are likely to be more absess in the future. The major problem is because of his other medication he isnt allowed bute or finadin pain relief. So if anyone has any ideas that mite help with healing and repair and herbal pain relief other than 'No Bute' which doesnt seem to have any effect, I would be really grateful to hear them. I cant tell you what a nightmare the whole thing has been, knowing that the vetinary world knows little about the condition either. Sleepless nights are an understatement, its soul destroying but the vet is convinced hes a tough cookie (this is the first in a long line of ailments hes had) and its all worth persevering with which is something I guess. Sorry that was so long!
