Following on from earlier thread - photos of C's feet

Here's an additional pic of all the feet and a pretty crappy poultice attempt! Nb it came off and I tried again a bit more successfully!
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BoolavogueDC said:
Hi, I haven't read your previous thread but have had a quick read through this one so hopefully I'm on the right track!

My TB has poor foot confirmation and has previously suffered from collapsed heels and long toes due to poor shoeing. She also suffers from abcesses more so than any other horse I know but this has improved now the feet have been improved by my new farrier.

With regards to the abcesses one of her worst ones kept her intermittently lame for 3 months. At times she was field sound and only slightly unsound when ridden in walk, and at other times she was absolutely hopping. Neither my vet nor farrier could find it, and to make things worse she was being shod with gel support in her feet so this had to be taken out. I was beginning to doubt it was an abcess and was fearing something much more sinister especially when there were days she was so bad she couldn't even walk up the field and I called the emergency vet fearing she had broken her leg. ( Sounds daft now but that's how bad she was and at the time I was beside myself with worry).

I think my point is that horses with an abcess can appear fine one minute and close to death the next! All you can do is give it time, get yourself a DECENT farrier and vet and get these to work together.
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Thanks :)

Yes, we were convinced it was something very, very bad on first glance. Vet said the same on phone and then I read the same in my lameness book! So glad I wasn't the only one thinking she'd be shot :) I am going to speak to vet in the morning with a view to someone popping out again to have a look for me.
 
They can come on very suddenly, i've seen horses go from sound to hobbling within hours, it also depends alot on the horse, my horse has had massive abcesses and only been slightly lame, whereas horses i work with have had the slightest little bit of pus and been holding their leg in the air!
When poulticing are you using vetwrap aswell? Don't be afraid to wrap the vet wrap around the bulb of the heel, as long as it's not tight it won't cause her any discomfort and it'll help the poultice stay on. You can then add duc tape to this as long as the tape isn't directly touching skin or pulling any hair. It might also help to add a layer of gamgee between the poultice and the vet wrap. It does get easier with practice, i've been poulticing twice a day for months now with horses i work with!
 
Hi Mancha, yes believe it or not there is vetwrap under there too :D Its not as bad as I thought (well the result isn't brill!) but its not as hard really. You are right, I have been worried about putting it round the heel - but just watching some poulticing videos and getting some tips, so thanks :) I'm always happy to learn!
 
I'm not sure if you're keeping her out but my farrier always recommends keeping mine out, the movement helps to expel the abcess. He also says that on the days she is only slightly unsound she should be led out if possible as the walking on the road helps speed the process up.

Our field are very muddy but he told me never to worry about that and to keep her out as much as possible, but bring her in for 3 or 4 hours a day to clean/disinfect the foot and let it dry completely, then wrap and duct tape it well before turning back out.
 
She's been staying in, the vet advised in case she gets infection into the hole (if there was a hole I guess?!)

ETA - plus I don't think she'd make it up the drive to the paddocks, she finds it hard enough to come out from her stable :(
 
With regard to poulticing.
1) apply poultice
2)apply vet wrap
3) apply silage tape(available from most agricultural traders)
You can also apply a baby nappy between stage 2 and 3.
Of course there is always step 4) remove scissors which have become embedded in your thigh. And step 5) Unglue poultice,screwed up vet wrap and silage tape from the concrete,bin the lot(a few quids worth) and start again.:D(Have worked with horses,so done all steps many times!)
Finally make a v cut in the vet wrap to stop it constricting the bloodflow.(vet wrap tightens after application and can cause damage,so this is an important step)
The end result should look like a hoof boot.
If the horse is out ,it might last 24 hours and will need to be re-done(hot tub while you are getting the ingredients organised)
One more magic ingredient is myristica/silica from Crossgates biogenerics. (I am a tad sceptical about homeopathy,but this stuff does seem to help.)
 
Please get a different vet!!!
Any horse vet worth their salt would be asking for the feet to be rebalanced in the first instance, aswell as asking a better farrier to see the horse and make a neat hole where needed.
Kaoline clay poultice great for drawing deep abcesses.
Hopefully feet havent been like this too long or it may be something more serious...
 
Sorry have not read previous thread...

From what I can see there, especially above photo is a set of poorly balanced feet. ong toe, underrun heel, flaring of the walls and white line seperation and an abscess that can blow either way (coronet or sole).

The back legs.. is that the horses conformation?? Those are seriously long toes and seriously contracted heels. I would not be surprised if there is some pain in those hooves just standing. All hooves look to be liney classic dietary imbalance lines.

New farrier maybe? New vet perhaps too?

Nappies are really good. Wrap it in duct tape or use an old welly.
 
There isn't any pus on that poultice! I rarely say change farrier but in this case you really ought to. Those are not pretty feet!

Hope poor C is feeling better soon. My old TB used to get abscesses and sometimes the second attempt to open them up was a lot more successful due to the fact the horn was softer from being poulticed for a few days.
 
i would be getting a different farrier out asap to take shoes off and trim feet, once foot is trimmed back you will have a better chance of finding the abcess. a good farrier will make quite a difference with a new set of shoes, and ongoing shoeing at 5 to 6 week intervals.
 
I don't know if you saw the photos of my mare's hooves after I'd had a bad farrier? The way your horse's heels are under-run reminds me of how my mare's heels were. The lack of heel support is very bad for the tendons down the back of the leg. My mare has had some terrible abscesses and my new farrier firmly links them to her hoof shape caused by bad trimming. Her hooves are so much better now, infact they were dramatically better after one trim from the new farrier.

Everyone is right - get a new farrier and pronto.

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^ Here's my mare when she had her poultice. It was Animalintex, then a baby nappy and finally gaffer/duct tape. I did it right over the bulbs of her heel and around the pastern (not too tight) and it stayed on for 12 hours without getting holes in the bottom.

I would guess that your horse is standing with her/his hind legs right under, is to take some of the weight off the painful hoof. My mare did this just before her abscess popped out of the coronet band. When it did pop, the gunge wasn't black like it is from the sole, but creamy-brown and it stunk so bad. I had to scrub my hands three times to get rid of the smell.

PM me if you want my new farrier's details. He's brilliant and only takes on 'difficult' cases.
 
The 4 feet shot is taken on a slope so yes I guess she is trying to take the weight off her bad foot by standing like that, for comparison
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I was wondering wether the farrier should come anyway and see what he can do, however she wont even consider picking up the other foot (and load her bad foot) for me to even pick-it, so I dont know how much he can do?
 
Luckilly there's no swelling at present, well that is apart from the normal filling she gets having been stood in for a while.

I am now just waiting on new potential farrier to call me back, am hoping he can come out quickly for her.
 
Oh fats, no wonder she has an abcess with feet like that, I also think you should be a little bolder with the poultice, yours looked like a fashion statement, lol! There is no probs being turned out for a couple of hours with a decent poultice. Just goes to show how good farriery is SO important. Good luck.
 
Update.

Still no pus - completely clear poultice yesterday. Rang farrier he advised straight away to get vet - not him. So vet coming back this afternoon.
 
How did it go with the vet?

I'd agree that those feet need some serious attention. Unfortunately it will take a long time to significantly alter the shape with shoes on, but if you do choose to continue to have her shod definitely change farrier! My TB's feet used to look a little like that, but no where near as bad (sorry! :o). In the end I gave up trying to get them right via shoeing and took the shoes off. The improvement has been very quick indeed, so much so that I think I will have shoes taken off every winter from now on!

Good luck, she's a lovely horse :)
 
Vet didn't turn up due to emergency call out so someone else is coming in the morning.

I have been thinking, previous to being on livery she has been kept in damp conditions - I imagine like poulticing, this weakens the foot? On the day she came in with this, she was bounding around in the individual paddocks and when we found her (they have redgra stuff at our yard to save gateway) she had a ball of redgra stuck in that foot (in the same way snow balls) I wonder if bounding on that ball could have caused bruising??
 
Unfortunately it will take a long time to significantly alter the shape with shoes on
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Not true. My mare's hooves were dramatically different (improved) after the first trimming and shoeing by my new farrier. I really wish that I'd taken before and after photos.
 
I'm sorry if this has been covered, but there are so many replies, most of which indicate feet need trimmed properly, [agrees]
I would think she should be on Danolin 2 a day to relieve pain, tubbed with Epsom Salts twice a day if you change the poultice twice, and poulticed till the abcess draws. I think the poltice should cover the heel bulbs, but am not an expert.
I seem to re call a lot of barefooters suggest abcesses may come out through the cornet band with no problem :eek: I admit that would worry me!
I would attend to the diet, make sure she is getting something like
http://www.feedmark.com/Product.asp?Product=Hardy+Hoof+Formula but as she is in distress, be careful to monitor the poop, in this instance I have suggested the Feedmark Formula because I know they tend to have gentle remedies, maybe you could ring and ask for advice.
 
Meowy Catmas said:
Not true. My mare's hooves were dramatically different (improved) after the first trimming and shoeing by my new farrier. I really wish that I'd taken before and after photos.
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I disagree - my horse's feet certainly LOOK a lot better after one shoeing, but there's an awful lot more to improving feet than simply making them look prettier. Getting under run heels back is not something you can do in a single trimming, I'm afraid. If your farrier has told you that he can, I'd be getting a new farrier.
 
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