Foot Abcess - help and tips

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Lockie123

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Hi All

My horse has developed an abcess over the weekend.

Lameness on left fore Friday evening - no swelling, cuts, bumps just minimal heating. Turned him out Saturday to see if he would be better for moving around (we didn't know it was an abcess at this point) and he came in much worse, clearly lame, a lot more heat, soft fluidy swelling up the back of his leg above fetlock joint to the back of the knee. Box rest yesterday. Farrier has been this morning and is sure it is an abcess.

He has removed shoe, and taken away some of the hoof but wanted to be careful he didn't over do it and create more damage. Nothing came out. He has hoof tested too. Been advised to poultice for the next few days.

So despite having horses for years, I have never had a horse with an abcess or had to poultice!! Horsey on full livery during the week and the YM knows what she is doing so I am happy to leave him in her capable hands and i will go up and see him evenings for a cuddle, do some stretches with him and give him a brush.

Just wondering if any of you have any tips, recommendations, thoughts on how to keep him more comfortable and draw the damn thing out?!!!
 
When my mare got a hoof abcess it was the first one I'd encountered too. It was simply a matter of keeping her in for a few weeks, poulticing as often as possible and cutting away at it and pressing the area to try and push the abcess out. After getting a tiny bit more of the abcess out it wasn't long before it cleared up- still kept her in for a bit to make sure but she hasn't had one since (fingers crossed!).
 
At leats its nothing serious!
Your horse will be fine.
Just keep hot poulticing it.

Then when all the puss is out keep it clean until it closes over, a dry poultice or other bandage would be fine.

One its all clean you could soak some cotton wall in something like hibi scruff and push it into the hole, stops bit bit of dirt from causing more problems.
 
blucanoo1990 said:
At leats its nothing serious!
Your horse will be fine.
Just keep hot poulticing it.

Then when all the puss is out keep it clean until it closes over, a dry poultice or other bandage would be fine.

One its all clean you could soak some cotton wall in something like hibi scruff and push it into the hole, stops bit bit of dirt from causing more problems.
Click to expand...

Thank-you. I just feel so sorry for him, so clean as possible and just keep poulticing - hot til its out, dry afterwards. Thanks again
 
Well, having had a horse in the past that was the pus-in-the-foot world champion, this is the only illness that I feel suitably qualified to give advice on.....whether others will agree is another matter :eek:

I would suggest that as the abcess hasn't burst that you turn the horse back out as the action of moving around will get everything going. Otherwise you could be waiting a long time if your farrier hasn't been able to cut it out.

If you don't want to do this (and I can understand why you might not), the hot poulticing at least twice a day with animalintex should help.

A good tip after it has burst is to use nappies to supplement the animalintex as they have similar drawing properties and are much cheaper and the size helps them to stay on as you can wrap them round the foot.

Vetwrap and gaffer tape, and old feedbags if you want to turn said horse out with poultice on, although this is likely to fail dismally, unless your ground is dry. Don't bother buying specialist poulticing boots as they are a waste of money.

I wouldn't bute or anything as you need to see if its getting better and some folk say not to use anti biotics either, although I've never had to.

Most abcesses go and clear up in a few days and you are back to normal, as once the foot has hardened off again (and to help with this you need to stop poulticing, but keep a dry dressing on, once all the gunk has come out) you can put the shoe back on. There are a few that linger, a horse at my yard has had a very serious one and been on box rest and SERIOUS polticing for about 6 weeks, my own ex-horse had one for three months that burst out the coronary band and the sole. But these are very very rare examples. Its usually nothing to worry about, just a small inconvenience to you and your horse!

Blimy - writing all that has brought it all back to me, struggling with a very angry DWB in the dark trying to bandage his foot, and all about 10 years ago.

Sorry, I've gone on a bit, but try not to worry. :)
 
Tub foot in pethidine, syringe hydrogen peroxide onto foot, dry with towel and then hot poultice using animalintex then clingfilm (keeps moisture in), then a nappy (shouldnt bandage anywhere without padding), then vetwrap and then duct tape :) And always dry poultice for a few days after before shoe goes back on to dry foot up abit and i use hydrogen peroxide fairly regularly (one every week or so) hope this helps !
 
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My thoroughbred had an abcess last summer. Possibly slightly unconventional but he continued to live out 24/7 while it mended. I didn't have the vet or farrier dig about just had a hot poultice (with plenty of padding so he was comfortable pottering about) on until it burst (which happened after 24hrs) and then a cold one for a few days until it had finished draining. After than he just had a thin dressing on to keep it clean and pad it a little until the hole had closed. He was only properly lame until the thing had burst was then a little sore in walk and lame in trot until it finished draining and pretty much sound in walk + gentle trot after that although he wasn't 100% right until the hole had healed up. I think I was lucky as it seemed fairly small and it burst nice and quickly, but I also think him being out in the field helped immensely as the movement encouraged it to drain quickly and then kept a good blood supply to the foot so it healed quickly.

I'd recommend a hot poultice, changed twice a day until it has burst and then a cold one and would seriously think about turning him out. Obviously you have to put a fairly tough layer on the top to keep it on - I found a square of plastic cut from a feed bag with electric tape over the top the best.

I hope your chap has a nice quick recovery! :)
 
I agree with all the comments above - can definitely turn your chap out - just mak sure the poultice cover is waterproof.

Also - if you are using duct tape to seal the poultice (and sorry if this is blindingly obvious) - try to ensure the duct tape sticks to the hoof wall, rather than the coronet, if it does extend over the coronet - then nick the duct tape with a knife at the back so that it is not too tight over the coronet area - failure to do so may result in a pretty nasty sore!:eek:
 
Thanks for all your help and tips.

May try turning him out tomorrow but a little dubious as he is out with 3 other young geldings, all very playful, naughty boys. Maybe a section of field on his own would be the ideal.

Thanks again :)
 
Hot tub and poultice twice a day.

Hot tub - 1-2 inches of very warm (not too hot you cannot put your hand in it) and a good handful of epsom salts (get these from any chemist) - in a rubber feed bucket or any wide and shallow bucket 2 x daily (when you take the poultice off is good) for as long as it takes to go cold.

Poultice - you need:

Old exercise bandages or vetwrap bandages, poultice, very warm water, small bowl, duct tape (that silver/black tape you can buy from any hardware shop).

First, fill up kettle and switch on - then make up a large enough pad of duct tape to cover the sole and the wall of the hoof when wrapped around it - do this by laying the duct tape across your thigh (sticky side down on your jods) and criss crossing so it looks like a square. Then get a small clean bowl and put the poultice (large enough to adequately cover the puncture and a bit more) in the bottom and cover with enough hot water to saturate thoroughly, then take it out (without burning your fingers) and cover the puncture (squish out excess water from poultice), wrap bandage tightly round foot (not fetlock, just foot) and then peel off your square from your thigh and put over sole of hoof and wrap up sides of hoof - finish off with more duct tape round hoof (not fetlock) to fix firmly - repeat 2 x daily.

I usually stable bandage the offending leg and its neighbour too.
 
Excellent advice already. I have the abscess queen here, I use cheap disposable nappies, duct tape and carrier bags to waterproof the nappy and as I have no stable she carries on living out. It is horrible to see a horse with an abscess but as soon as it's burst or found a way out the relief is instant. I was also told not to use antibiotics as the abscess would is likely to re occur as it's absorbed back into the body.
 
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