Gash on heel

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sueeltringham

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I brought horsey in tonight as I do every night. Washed off the knee high mud as it's rained all day here -to find the hugest gash in his front heel. It looked like an over reach injury.

Phoned my horsey friend that is soooo experienced (years of working on hunters yards) -we couldn't decide what to do. I could have lost my little finger in the wound and it was about 2 in long, so decided to phone vet for advice. Vet came pronto and it turns out it is an abcess that's burst open. Now horsey comes in EVERY night, same routine and I am very vigilant -I do remember a slight cut/scratch to his coronary band the other day and the heel area feeling a little mushy (like a bruise?), but there was NOTHING significant. Vet says this wound would have happened weeks ago! He has been feeling really well too, apart from a little footiness about 10 days ago when he was shod! I feel like a very bad horse mummy for not spotting something and also very sick as wound had to be cut, cleaned and stitched and there was LOTS of blood. So now he has 4/5 stitches and a very sore foot.
Fingers crossed for quick healing and no complications,

Sue
 
Well he's sound today and raring to go!! I can't believe how well he's feeling. I'm still racking my brains and am positive there wasn't an injury at that site. I bring him in and check his legs every night and he was only shod 10 days ago. I'm wondering if this is an abcess that's tracked from somewhere else, i.e. feet? Is that possible? We've been having very intermittent footiness with that foot for some while and he has lost a chunk of hoof wall from the same side that this abcess is??? He's a very 'footy' horse anyway and we have loads of probs with shoes, so it's difficult to know if this has been grumbling a while.

Sue
 
Hi Sue

My TB mare stood on a piece of fencing wire when we were XC schooling earlier in the year. It stuck in her frog about 7mm towards the back to one side. Vet looked at it and said it would be OK, just poultice and keep clean etc. SHe was sound for 2 days afterwards, then slightly lame on the third day, until midway through a short hack she suddenly went sound!!! I was amazed to find when I got home that there was a little hole in the top of the bulb of her heel. Was obviously an infection bursting out, and though thankfully not as big as your boys its obviously something similar in origin.
Same horse had a warm hoof for a couple of weeks (few years ago now), and when called the vet he found a pocket of pus under the sole (never lame on it though).
Hope you are all feeling better in a week or so (I have got v experienced in the whole vetwrap/animalintex/horsehage bag on hoof palava, so at least the horse isn't stuck in stable climbing the walls).

Fiona
 
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