liz_mack
New User
Hello all,
I am in need of a little advice on hoof abscesses/to hear of anyone with similar experiences.
I have a Tb x Hanoverian who was barefoot for about 6 months (to cut the long story short, we moved to an extremely remote area with no roads where not many farriers will dare to venture, and so decided to go down the barefoot road with the use of Cavallo sports boots). He always had good, hard feet but the ground here, in the Highlands of Scotland, is terrible and so his feet began to look a little bare. About a month ago I decided to get him re-shod and the farrier said his feet were pretty hard and in good enough condition but a bit bare.. I quote 'there's not much hoof to put this shoe onto' and although he tried a short nail he said it was too soft and kept bending so ended up using the usual long nails on his hind hooves. Tiro was uncomfortable when getting the back shoes on and looked a bit pained but unfortunately I did not stop the farrier doing his job, I just presumed he knew what he was doing. Now I am sure the situation lead to a 'close nail'...
After 2 weeks Tiro came in a little lame, and 2 days later was hopping lame.. couldn't put any weight whatsoever on his near hind. No swelling, no heat, no tenderness anywhere. To cut the long story short, I had the vet up twice .. we did nerve blocks which indicated the problem was in his foot, followed by an x-ray which showed no broken bones/fractures. Vet concluded the problem must be an abscess and left me with bute and the instruction to poultice, poultice, poultice.
2 1/2 weeks later and still no sign of a rupture. He is weight bearing better and walking tentatively but easier, though as soon as I attempt to trot him he refuses to put any weight on it. He reacts to hoof testers on the left of his sole but not to a huge extent. I have noticed a small black spot on the sole of his hoof which I believe may be the tract the infection took. I am sure I noticed a very small amount of pus on my animalintex one morning last week, though not a huge amount. Yesterday the vet gave me a 5 day course of penicillin to start on however I am dubious about this as I'm sure that this will not help before the abscess has drained? I am soaking in Epsom salts and poulticing with animalintex.. but it is so frustrating not seeing any signs of improvement.
Has anyone had a similar experience in terms of a long wait for the abscess to surface? Have antibiotics ever worked for you? I just need some reassurance I think, I'm so worried about my poor boy! I have been a horse owner for about 10 years and have worked in a few yards over the years but amazingly this is my first experience with an abscess. Thanks in advance for any information and sorry for the long-winded post.
I am in need of a little advice on hoof abscesses/to hear of anyone with similar experiences.
I have a Tb x Hanoverian who was barefoot for about 6 months (to cut the long story short, we moved to an extremely remote area with no roads where not many farriers will dare to venture, and so decided to go down the barefoot road with the use of Cavallo sports boots). He always had good, hard feet but the ground here, in the Highlands of Scotland, is terrible and so his feet began to look a little bare. About a month ago I decided to get him re-shod and the farrier said his feet were pretty hard and in good enough condition but a bit bare.. I quote 'there's not much hoof to put this shoe onto' and although he tried a short nail he said it was too soft and kept bending so ended up using the usual long nails on his hind hooves. Tiro was uncomfortable when getting the back shoes on and looked a bit pained but unfortunately I did not stop the farrier doing his job, I just presumed he knew what he was doing. Now I am sure the situation lead to a 'close nail'...
After 2 weeks Tiro came in a little lame, and 2 days later was hopping lame.. couldn't put any weight whatsoever on his near hind. No swelling, no heat, no tenderness anywhere. To cut the long story short, I had the vet up twice .. we did nerve blocks which indicated the problem was in his foot, followed by an x-ray which showed no broken bones/fractures. Vet concluded the problem must be an abscess and left me with bute and the instruction to poultice, poultice, poultice.
2 1/2 weeks later and still no sign of a rupture. He is weight bearing better and walking tentatively but easier, though as soon as I attempt to trot him he refuses to put any weight on it. He reacts to hoof testers on the left of his sole but not to a huge extent. I have noticed a small black spot on the sole of his hoof which I believe may be the tract the infection took. I am sure I noticed a very small amount of pus on my animalintex one morning last week, though not a huge amount. Yesterday the vet gave me a 5 day course of penicillin to start on however I am dubious about this as I'm sure that this will not help before the abscess has drained? I am soaking in Epsom salts and poulticing with animalintex.. but it is so frustrating not seeing any signs of improvement.
Has anyone had a similar experience in terms of a long wait for the abscess to surface? Have antibiotics ever worked for you? I just need some reassurance I think, I'm so worried about my poor boy! I have been a horse owner for about 10 years and have worked in a few yards over the years but amazingly this is my first experience with an abscess. Thanks in advance for any information and sorry for the long-winded post.
he is also just had his last sachet of bute this morning so, from the general consensus here that bute and antibiotics just prolong abscesses, I really hope that just continuing to poultice and soak will draw the damn thing out before too long.