Could this be an abscess?

C

countrybumpkin727

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 June 2015
Messages
51
Location
West Sussex
Visit site
So last Friday my boy lost a shoe. Sadly i blame myself as I didn't put over reach boots on the next day my normal farrier couldn't make it so I got another chap to do it as like any ex race horse with terrible feet no shoe means very lame!! It is normal for him to be sore for a few days after lossing a shoe so I waited until the Wednesday when there was no improvement to call my normal farrier. He came on the Thursday and said that the other farrier had put the nail too close to the sensitive part of the hoof. He took the shoe off and put it back on without a nail in the offending hole. He told me to put him on bute for 2 days and see how he was...I did tub his foot and poultice it in case we had an abscess as well. He improved and went from my leg is falling off to I'm just a little sore. He has now been like this for nearly a week (he isn't on bute) In walk you have to search for signs he is not happy and in trot he has a visible head nod.
thought he has stayed the same and if it was a nail bind it could takes ages to heal I'm worried this is secretly turning into some nasty like an abscess. My farrier said as long as he isn't getting worse we should be ok..but obviously iv now read everything under the sun about abscess and I'm not convinced he has one..he has no digital pulse though and only some slight heat. If it is a nail bind how long would it takes to heal??
I chatted to a friend who told me to put him back on bute to make him comfortable and wait for a few days and then remove the shoe...but my instructor said don't give him bute as we want to see if he gets worse!!

Trying not to worry but def am!!!
 
It could be an abscess brewing where the nail pricked him so I would not give bute, nail bind usually recovers fairly quickly once the offending nail has been removed but there could be some bruising left.

I would look into addressing the main issue, being an ex racehorse does not mean he should have terrible flat feet that cannot cope without a shoe, I have 2 on my yard, 1 is in full work with no shoes, he came with terrible feet but they are now excellent, the other is bare behind shod in front, owners choice but if he loses a shoe he is now happy to walk over stones without going lame, it should be possible to improve your boys feet with possibly a few tweaks to the management.
 
How long would you expect the bruising to last for? Would you box rest at all as the ground is hard for me at the moment...? If it was an abscess would he go hopping lame?
We have only had him a short time so we are working on improving his feet. He came to us with shoes 3 times too small and never had been hot shod. They are already a lot better but we are getting there :)
 
Nail bind often leads to abscess as the bacteria can get in, it's happened to my horse a couple of times. I choose to take the show off have the vet/farrier hoof test and dig the abscess, then I would wet poultice for a couple of days, dry poultice and then only when sound the shoe goes back on. Don't bute for abscess!
 
At the moment he isn't that lame... Just a tiny bit short in walk and has a slight head nod in trot... I poulticed for 2 days and nothing came out. The whole was left open as the nail was not out back in :) no digital pulse anywhere and only very slight heat...so we think *touch wood* we are out of the woods...but it's all about stressful!!
 
I would probably see how he is after the weekend and if no better get the farrier back to remove the shoe so you can poultice properly, get him earlier if it gets worse, he was sore for 5 days with the nail pricking him so I would expect similar time if not a bit longer for it to fully recover, turn out if you can as that will help bring the abscess out if it is there.
Good the feet are improving generally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top