Clubbed Foot - Lameness/Abscess

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Starwind

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Hi just looking for some help to see if anyone has had similar issues to me and what i should really do next. My youngster has one front foot that is slightly clubbed and has suffered with abscess in that foot. We have established that having shoes on has helped with this issue but last weekend he came in on 3 legs again.. Farrier couldn't find any puss and vet couldn't either. Vet nerve blocked foot and definatley in the foot.. Polticed and boxed rest again and now whatever it was/is has gone again !!! he is still slightly lame when he turns on it and seems to be on his toe slightly... does anyone think it may all be down to this club foot issue or am i just unlucky with constant abscess in that foot?? He did have Xray about year and half ago incase it was a fractured Pedal bone..but again nothing showed up... Now my insurance company have exluded that foot on my policy (even though nothing was found) all his other feet are fine its just this one front foot every single time. Help....:(:confused:
 
If he's on his toe he has sore heels. Does he have thrush in his frog? Does he have a deep central sulcus in the frog - sheered heels are common in contracted feet? If so, dig a hoof pick in it and see if he winces.

Personally, I believe that abscesses are encouraged by sugary diets that cause poor white line connection. I doubt that the shoeing was responsible for curing his abscesses other than by covering up the white line to make it more difficult to get dirt in. If he suffers recurrent abscesses then you might need to check his diet.

If it is not an external infection of the frog or an internal abscess, then you would need an MRI to find out what is going on, but that would set you back £1000 or so on an uninsured leg. Lame on turning is typical of injured tendon/ligament inside the foot and in the early stages it also comes and goes with work and ground conditions.
 
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He doesn't usually suffer with Thrush and i will have to check deep central sulcus in the frog. As for diet he is on non molassed Hi-fi, speedi beet (low sugar) and a cup of maintenance mix. He was a welfare case and came out of terrible conditions with an abscess and in his 3 and half years of life so far he has had about 8 or 9 abscess..plus the club foot due to he conditions he was in.. yesterday i noticed that he doesn't want to put that heel down (this is the first time he has done this) so i'm now wondering if its a contracted tendon issue.. Vet is coming monday to xray.
 
OK, that's interesting. Probably not a problem with things in the diet, but there could be things missing. Do you supplement magnesium oxide? Many people with barefoot horses find it very beneficial. I also wonder if you are in one of the many areas with excess iron and/or manganese. If so, you would need to supplement copper.

If he doesn't want to put the heel down now, my first guess would be that you are going to get an abscess pop on that heel before the Vet arrives to x-ray. Have a feel for a soggy spot the size of the end of your finger anywhere on the heel bulbs. If you're feeling brave and find one you can stick a sterilized needle in it and watch the relief on his face when it pops :)

I hope it's nothing more serious.
 
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