Hoof abcess

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emaR

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Does anyone have a miracle way to draw out a hoof abcess 🙏 my boys never had an easy one.
Epsom salts and tubbing/soaking I find crap and never seems to have done anything in the past.
They always take weeks to burst and they always come out the coronet band.
I know people who can notice there's a potential abcess and box rest and are burst in a few days. It never ever happens like that for us.
My ex racer is very thin soled so farrier understandabley doesnt want to dig as it probably will just bleed.

Last time I box rested it took 3 weeks to burst and then shortly after he was diagnosed with ulcers. We think from the stress of being boxed for 3 weeks.

An to bute or not bute there's so many pros and cons..getting a definitive answer from the vets is like winning the lottery!

And after all this it could just be a bruise.
 
Only one of our horses suffered from abscesses but he did have quite a few. We used animlintex, a nappy and vet wrap. We also had one of those hoof boots just to protect the dressing and this meant that he could go outside. Moving around did usually help quite a bit - although I have to say that on one occasion when the field had deep mud, he sustained a minor soft tissue injury when the boot got stuck in the mud. However, most of the time it wasn't an issue and he healed pretty quickly. We changed the dressing daily but after the first day or two we found that most of the offensive stuff had come out.

(Whenever I think back on this, I have the unfortunate memory of one of our dogs grabbing a small pus-filled piece of Animalintex and eating it...doggy wasn't harmed at all but it was one of the most disgusting things I've experienced. We did learn to keep the dogs well away at dressing change times!)
 
Nancykitt said:
(Whenever I think back on this, I have the unfortunate memory of one of our dogs grabbing a small pus-filled piece of Animalintex and eating it...doggy wasn't harmed at all but it was one of the most disgusting things I've experienced. We did learn to keep the dogs well away at dressing change times!)
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my memory of past poulticing times wasn't the dog but the horse. It was in the days of bran. Put the bran on, covered it with foil to keep the heat in and wrapped it all in hessian sacking. (that was the "good old days")

horse got through the sacking, ate the bran and also all of the foil. Had to ring vet to find out what to do about the foil he had eaten. Vet told me liquid paraffin. Went to Boots to get as much liquid paraffin as possible and the pharmacist had a fit, I thought she was almost going to call the police. More of less how dare I ask for that much liquid paraffin and to make the excuse it was for a horse. I don't know what "suicide" by liquid paraffin would be like but I'm sure there must be easier ways. Couldn't believe Boots reaction.
 
How long are you hot tubbing it for? Are you hot poulticing after?

Abscess queen here - hot tub in a bucket of hot water with epsom salts and iodine. Make sure the entire hoof os covered by the hot water in case the abscess wants to track upward.

30mins of this until the water is lukewarm warm. Dry off thoroughly.

Use hoof testers to see where the abscess is whilst the sole is soft. If you are handy with a hoof knife you can nick the area that will be the exit point for pus. It’s easy to identify as it is black.

If you are successful at opening it. Redo the tubbing for another 10 mins using clean water and iodine. Spray iodine in the hole.

Hot poultice with animal lintex. Add a layer of tinfoil on the outside of the animal lintex before vet wrap. Bandage, then create a square using Gorilla tape to put on bottom of hoof.

Put hoof in rubber boot and put bell boot with fluff over top to prevent moisture or mud getting in.

Turnout to ensure horse is kept moving and abscess will be out in 24hrs or if you have already opened it, it will drain completely in 48hrs and then you switch to dry poultices.

We keep our covered and poulticed for a week after they have burst. Takes a week for the internal sealing to happen. Any hole after that time I pop hoof pack in, change it every couple of days until it has grown out. Usually 4-6weeks
 
Bonnie Allie said:
How long are you hot tubbing it for? Are you hot poulticing after?

Abscess queen here - hot tub in a bucket of hot water with epsom salts and iodine. Make sure the entire hoof os covered by the hot water in case the abscess wants to track upward.

30mins of this until the water is lukewarm warm. Dry off thoroughly.

Use hoof testers to see where the abscess is whilst the sole is soft. If you are handy with a hoof knife you can nick the area that will be the exit point for pus. It’s easy to identify as it is black.

If you are successful at opening it. Redo the tubbing for another 10 mins using clean water and iodine. Spray iodine in the hole.

Hot poultice with animal lintex. Add a layer of tinfoil on the outside of the animal lintex before vet wrap. Bandage, then create a square using Gorilla tape to put on bottom of hoof.

Put hoof in rubber boot and put bell boot with fluff over top to prevent moisture or mud getting in.

Turnout to ensure horse is kept moving and abscess will be out in 24hrs or if you have already opened it, it will drain completely in 48hrs and then you switch to dry poultices.

We keep our covered and poulticed for a week after they have burst. Takes a week for the internal sealing to happen. Any hole after that time I pop hoof pack in, change it every couple of days until it has grown out. Usually 4-6weeks
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Agree. I usually plug hole with peroxide soaked cotton wool sealed with good.old fashioned Stockholm Tar.
 
Both my farrier and vet normally will dig out an abscess if there's an identifiable entry point. If yours is getting them repeatedly and they are lasting for weeks I'd consider getting the feet xray'd incase there's an underlying problem that's causing this.
 
I use wet Amimalintex and Gamgee [ not a fan of using nappies as they are designed to draw moisture away but I want to keep the foot moist initially to soften the sole .] then vet wrap it all and cut a plastic feedbag in half and wrap it in that and secure with ductape. Put them outside and change it every second day and once it's starting to come out use dry animalintex . Always works over the years .
 
SusieT said:
Bonnie please don't advise unqualified people to dig in their horses foot- this should only be done by a qualified professional
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To be fair, ‘Bonnie’ has advised only if confident, to ‘nick’ rather than excavate, and described exactly how a vet or farrier would identify the likely site of an abscess - hoof testers, blackened spot on the sole.

Hoof trimmers are often unqualified, yet routinely perform paring and cutting on hooves.

Farriers and vets are qualified, yet not always immediately available, and don’t necessarily perform any better a job than a conscientious owner would.

‘Bonnie’ has provided a clear first aid pathway by which to attempt speedy resolution for the horse, perhaps a ‘thank you’ is more in order.
 
Exasperated said:
To be fair, ‘Bonnie’ has advised only if confident, to ‘nick’ rather than excavate, and described exactly how a vet or farrier would identify the likely site of an abscess - hoof testers, blackened spot on the sole.

Hoof trimmers are often unqualified, yet routinely perform paring and cutting on hooves.

Farriers and vets are qualified, yet not always immediately available, and don’t necessarily perform any better a job than a conscientious owner would.

‘Bonnie’ has provided a clear first aid pathway by which to attempt speedy resolution for the horse, perhaps a ‘thank you’ is more in order.
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Rubbish. A description means nothing. There can be multiple black points on a hoof and it is very easy to dig too deep and cause pain which is an animal welfare issue. This should NOT be advocated on a forum where you have no idea what skill or knowledge level someone has. And the farrier has already seen it. The correct advice would be to advocate for a vet if the horse has an ongoing abscess.
 
Exasperated said:
To be fair, ‘Bonnie’ has advised only if confident, to ‘nick’ rather than excavate, and described exactly how a vet or farrier would identify the likely site of an abscess - hoof testers, blackened spot on the sole.

Hoof trimmers are often unqualified, yet routinely perform paring and cutting on hooves.

Farriers and vets are qualified, yet not always immediately available, and don’t necessarily perform any better a job than a conscientious owner would.

‘Bonnie’ has provided a clear first aid pathway by which to attempt speedy resolution for the horse, perhaps a ‘thank you’ is more in order.
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To be fair, OP's qualified farrier who knows the horses feet far better than any of us on an internet forum has advised OP not to dig. I would be referring to a vet in that case not someone on the forum who is not familiar with the horse and may not understand why the farrier is giving this advice.
 
nutjob said:
Both my farrier and vet normally will dig out an abscess if there's an identifiable entry point. If yours is getting them repeatedly and they are lasting for weeks I'd consider getting the feet xray'd incase there's an underlying problem that's causing this.
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Absolutely - as the owner of a horse who had a keratoma removed last year, lots of long lasting and niggly abscesses is a definite warning sign.
 
sport horse said:
It will take weeks if you do not find it and at least open a small hole
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Too right.
If ‘someone’ doesn’t open a small hole below, there’s a much greater likelihood the infection will track up and out at the top. Which sounds a greater problem, with box rest and ulcer-y outcomes.
Is it all the same horse?
I read this as similar issues with multiples (‘horses’) that have been owned by OP, presumably over some time.
If it’s just the one animal with perpetual abscesses, astounding that the farrier (who knows the horse and is reluctant to intervene), hasn’t already referred it to a higher authority.
Hope things get sorted out.
 
nutjob said:
To be fair, OP's qualified farrier who knows the horses feet far better than any of us on an internet forum has advised OP not to dig. I would be referring to a vet in that case not someone on the forum who is not familiar with the horse and may not understand why the farrier is giving this advice.
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If these abscesses are all with the same animal, you’re 100% right, I absolutely do not understand why the qualified farrier has not done anything himself, nor recommended /referred (yet?) on to the vet.
 
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