feel like I could cry for him

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Finlib

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Got our Anglo/arab in on thursday evening lame looked like foot so poulticed called farrier who came out next day friday at 9:30am. Friday morning he was worse farrier dug about found something but said it wasn't flowing enough (just a little pus) poultice twice a day for 3 days then phone him.
Farrier didn't want to dig any more.
He looks really sore I could cry for him! Given some bute and put back out .The horses live out 24/7 with an open barn straw bedded and loads of hay as well as access to 8 acres of good grass (going over a bit now) I feel he may be better outdooors .He is spending most of his time in the barn and hobbling about!
The poultices are staying on no trouble and I have been tubbing with epsom salts twice a day as well.
is there anything else I can do ? He is no worse but no better from the friday morning.

To cap it all going away for 3 weeks on 18th January!!!!
Why do horses do this!
 
Just <<HUGS>> .... they do it because they can!!

Some years ago, 4 or 5 days before my wedding (and subsequent 2 week honeymoon) I let my friend exercise my horse. He put his foot in a hole, ruptured a check ligament and thus started 6 months box rest!!!! Bless the girl I'd lined up to look after him, she cold hosed, bandaged etc etc for the whole two weeks I was away. (and earned a substantial "bonus" for her efforts ....) Timing is what horses are good at!! Good luck with your boy.
 
I think you are doing all you can. I have had dealings with abscesses and it takes a while before you see any improvement. Keep giving bute morning and evening it will help with the pain. You probably won't see it burst out anywhere, they sometimes don't.
 
Oh dear - it is awful to see them in pain and I sympathise entirely.

Sometimes abscesses do take a while to pop and, if your farrier is fairly convinced that is what it is, I'm not sure you can do much more than you are doing. I agree that they are better moving about outside if possible.

Fingers crossed you get a load of pus over the weekend but certainly I would think again on Monday morning if nothing has changed.

My horse was treated for a suspected abscess for a nearly fortnight (farrier and vet) before going off for xrays. It turned out to be a fractured sidebone which took a lot of xrays to find but vet agreed that he had thought it was an abscess too. The sidebone fracture needed remedial shoeing and box rest but resolved pretty quickly so don't worry that yours is any more than an abscess!
 
I thought bute prevented an abscess from popping. This could be why he is no better but also no worse.

Am sure someone else will be able to clarify if this is right or not.
 
Moon Dancer said:
I thought bute prevented an abscess from popping. This could be why he is no better but also no worse.

Am sure someone else will be able to clarify if this is right or not.
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Yes, bute does seem to hinder the process. I now never bute for an abcess, just poultice and turn out.
 
Will stop the bute now as research seems to say bute doesn't help.
I just feel so helpless watching him hobble. Will carry out poulticing twice a day and contact the farrier on Monday
He is such a good natured lad I really want to make him better!!!
 
horselib said:
Will stop the bute now as research seems to say bute doesn't help.
I just feel so helpless watching him hobble. Will carry out poulticing twice a day and contact the farrier on Monday
He is such a good natured lad I really want to make him better!!!
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But is an anti-inflammatory, so will work against the effect that you want from the poultice & tubbing. Neither is it much good at painkilling in the feet, so definitely best to stop giving it.
 
Vet out this morning as no better very sore only a small amount of pus draining foot warm and horse standing on the edge of foot reluctant to take weight.
Phoned farrier long discussion and recommended vet as horse needs some serious pain relief.
Rang vet and fortunately the vet covering is the really experienced senior horse vet.
He has opened it some more recommended more poulticing and gave him a pain killing injection he felt we couldn't leave him as he was in so much pain .
Definitely an abscess as really smelly pus draining 'vet feels it may also break out at the top as it is tracking that way.
Fingers crossed he improves now.
 
Take great care of your horse. I sadly lost my horse to complications from a foot abscess. She had such strong horn that a deep seated abscess would not drain and tracked up her leg setting up seticemia in her body. She was operated on at Rossdales but sadly had to be put down. Rest in peace my lovely mare and your unborn foal.
 
My TB was on 3 legs due to an abcess, farrier came out and walked across the field to TB (long story) with his tools as TB was in pain, 5 mins and lots of blood and pus later, TB was cantering round the field, poulticed for a few days and he was fine. Trotter X had a small nick on his coronet band, thought he had caught it on something and purple sprayed it, a week later, nick was getting bigger, horse was on 3 legs, heat, swollen tendon, cold hosed the leg and put on box rest, bandaging overnight, vet came out, said strained tendon, box rest for a week, bute, never mentioned the obvious wound on his foot, farrier came to do the lot, realised straight away it was an abcess, by which time my lad had a hole in his hoof wall, farrier opened it slightly and my trotter x came good, whenever I have a lame horse now, first call is to the farrier, then the vet if needed, never under estimate an abcess
 
AAARGH horse only marginally better I suppose the foot will be sore from all the digging about
If no better in a few days will contact vet and farrier again.
Getting a bit concerned .
He is taking more weight on it but only small amounts of smelly pus coming out.
Horses why do they do this !!! especially when I go away on 19th
 
Fingers crossed for some gunky messy puss soon. I'm sure it will have resolved itself by the 19th.
Cassy - that's tragic. A similar thing happened to a friend's mare although in her case the infection got into the pedal bone and just rotted it away.
 
sorry to hear- abscesses are horrible :( Mine had one from nail bind and one from a stone in a barefoot (cannot win!) literally the day before I was going on holiday abroad. Was riding her and she suddenly wouldn't walk, I got off and led her home in tears I thought she had a broken leg! Vet came and it was very deep in foot which made me feel awful that I hadn't noticed anything before. Good job I had discovered it that day or I would have gone away for a week and it might have ended up in her pedal bone, but luckily it started to get a lot better after a week or so.
Felt so bad as my mum had offered to 'check still alive in field' while I was away and it was now the full workload ''in with poulticing!!'' I nearly didn't go, but needless to say lots of porto brought back for my mum who looked after her! Vet's advice to me was go on holiday and have a good beer lol Hope yours gets better soon :)
 
For the first time today I feel like I might be turning the corner.
Not masses of pus but he is much more comfortable and on grass he looks walking lame he was reluctant to walk at all and standing on the toe.
He is standing more square and taking weight on it.He is perky and interested in his food and neighs when he sees me so much more like his old self.
Contacting the vet and farrier tomorrow as requested fingers crossed we are on the mend!
Off abroad for 3 weeks on 19th so hoping sorted or mostly sorted by then
I fortunately have a really great sitter living in looking after dogs cats and horses(horses at home) and she is really on the ball .I will but vet and farrier on stand by .
 
Glad to read he's looking better, foot abscess' are a nightmare, I had to treat one for months in the summer time although the horse luckily was not very lame on it.

Hope things keep improving!
 
You said your farrier had dug into his foot. If your vet hasn't been out, you should get them to have a look. I have a good farrier, but sometimes you need a vet for these problems.
 
oh no! abscesses are horrid aren't they!

sounds familiar, Tom had 2 weeks in a stable in 2013 whilst we tried to get to the bottom of a huge abscess that refused to come out. We hot tubbed, poulticed etc several times a day, and he got crosser and crosser and grumpier with us (he hates being in, even when he's poorly!) until eventually it burst out of his foot in 4 places - either side of his frog, between the bulbs of his heels and out the toe as well.... poor lad. I've never seen so much pus in my life! The farrier still keeps finding pockets in his hoof a year later, so no wonder he was so sore.
 
BigRed said:
You said your farrier had dug into his foot. If your vet hasn't been out, you should get them to have a look. I have a good farrier, but sometimes you need a vet for these problems.
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Farrier dug foot friday afternoon but vet was out Sunday as he wasn't improving at all and I was concern as he was in so much pain he was off his food and really hangdog.hardly walking about at all just standing in the corner of the barn whilst the others were off grazing in the field
Fortunately the vet on duty was the senior experienced horse vet he opened it up some more and gave him a pain relief injection as he was so unhappy with the pain he was sweating a bit.
He wants him to move about as that helps with foot abscesses.
Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Have to phone vet and farrier tomorrow to check if further visits needed
 
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I had literally hundreds of abscesses with my horse over a 5 year period. Im sure I could write a book on it now. Its antibiotics that hinders pus from draining rather than bute - believe me - my bank balance alone is proof as ive had literally thousands of pounds worth of Danilon and Bute from the vet for abscesses over the years.
Treating an abscess is such a very fine line and it can be tricky to get it right. Its bad to over poultice but also bad to stop poulticing too soon before youve got all the pus out. Also dont keep a wet poultice on 24 hrs a day. I always left a poultice on for 24 hrs, but they were alternated each day between warm wet ones (squeezed out, not dripping wet) and totally dry ones. This was all under close guidance from the vet and everything I know has been learn from the vet who is an equine vet only. You're also better leaving out as the movement will help the pus work its way to the surface. Sometimes (often) the pus can come out of somewhere else EG the coronary band - I would often have to strategically place animalintex in a couple of places on the hoof to try to draw out the pus.
Oh, and it can take quite a long time for the horse to be 100%. They can bruise inside the foot and my horse even used to form a habit of being non-weightbearing - he seemed to lose confidence standing on his bad foot. So again, it was a fine line between starting gentle exercise to build up the wasted muscles, and genuine soreness. I learn to read my horse quite well, but they are all different. Good luck - they are a pain in the proverbial !!
 
One more thing to mention - on one occasion my horse was more lame than I had ever seen, inspite of treating for the abscess. Vet attended and found that due to all the treatment for the abscess, he had developed deep sulcus thrush and was in incredible pain ! So youre damned if you do and damned if you dont sometimes
 
know how you feel my mares took two weeks she would sweat and shiver at same time laid down a lot to relieve pain once we got main body of abscess it resolved quite quickly just carry on you will get there its hard to see them in that much pain
 
Notimetoride said:
. Also dont keep a wet poultice on 24 hrs a day. I always left a poultice on for 24 hrs, but they were alternated each day between warm wet ones (squeezed out, not dripping wet) and totally dry ones. This was all under close guidance from the vet and everything I know has been learn from the vet who is an equine vet only. You're also better leaving out as the movement will help the pus work its way to the surface. Sometimes (often) the pus can come out of somewhere else EG the coronary band - I would often have to strategically place animalintex in a couple of places on the hoof to try to draw out the pus.
Oh, and it can take quite a long time for the horse to be 100%. They can bruise inside the foot and my horse even used to form a habit of being non-weightbearing - he seemed to lose confidence standing on his bad foot. So again, it was a fine line between starting gentle exercise to build up the wasted muscles, and genuine soreness. I learn to read my horse quite well, but they are all different. Good luck - they are a pain in the proverbial !!
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Funny enough my vet is a really experienced horse vet with many years of equine practice and he doesn't like a poultice on for 24 hrs
He says to poultice and turn out as walking about is good for bring the pus out but then bring in for about 4 to 5 hours and leave the poultice off and put a clean dry dressing on before re poulticing.
Fortunately he is now standing much more square and taking weight on it he is walking lame rather than looking like he has broken his leg!!!!I am also putting animal lintex on several places where the pus is draining and then a nappy wrapped around the lot .
Honestly it really is an art form dealing with abscesses.
When I called them in tonight to check and feed them he actually came walking over like this morning rather than me having to go a drag him in ok he was lame but wasn't terrible.
When I put them back out he went off down the field with the others rather than staying in the open barn to eat hay so he is feeling better and much more social than he was.
 
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