Hoof abscess, just unlucky or missing something?

[SweetDreams]

Hope everyone is well - currently loosing the will to live, so please any advice greatly appreciated- If my youngster who currently is turned out with others 24/7 has had an abscess in one front foot and then few weeks later develops one in a different foot (hind this time) am I just unlucky or is there something actually wrong that I’m missing? Many thanks

 

[Barton Bounty]

Have you been on a lot of uneven ground recently?

 

[SweetDreams]

Turned out at grass in a large field so ground is uneven in places yes

 

[Barton Bounty]

Could just be it is that, or just unfortunate circumstances

 

[SweetDreams]

Hope so! Thankyou

 

[Cragrat]

Mine went through a period of abcesses after I bought him. We gave him a much needed improvement in diet/lifestyle/ hoof care, and he responded by chucking out abcess after abcess, on and off for a year. He had much better hooves by the time he had finshed, thnak goodness

 

[Gloi]

Has he got a good mineral supplement for hooves.

 

[SweetDreams]

Has he got a good mineral supplement for hooves.

Currently fed a balancer is there one that you recommend?

 

[SweetDreams]

Mine went through a period of abcesses after I bought him. We gave him a much needed improvement in diet/lifestyle/ hoof care, and he responded by chucking out abcess after abcess, on and off for a year. He had much better hooves by the time he had finshed, thnak goodness

There’s hope for us yet then.. I hope

 

[Gloi]

Currently fed a balancer is there one that you recommend?

I quite like the Progressive Earth Pro Hoof or Pro Hoof platinum.

 

[ycbm]

I bought a 3 year old with multiple abscess exit holes growing down in his feet. He turned out as an adult of 7 to have what I'm sure would now be diagnosed as EMS. I've also had a 2 year old Shetland who by 3 couldn’t eat a blade of grass. So, young as he is, I might have him EMS tested if this goes on.

The idea of one of the no iron/manganese high copper/zinc supplements (post #10) is also a good one.
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[ycbm]

Have you been on a lot of uneven ground recently?

BB I don't understand what link you're making between abscesses and uneven ground, can you explain a bit more?
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[Trouper]

We have had some really weird weather this year - one minute bone dry then a constant drenching which I guess might not have helped.

 

[paddy555]

I would look at the field surface, small flinty stones he canters over, black thorn hedges and thorn that has broken off onto the ground. Blackthorn is a good source for abscesses.

 

[ycbm]

A barefoot horse should be able to tread on blackthorn shouldn't it Paddy? It's a big risk in soft tissue but I've never thought of it as a risk to good soles.
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[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would think that the root cause is dietary, maybe as a result of the change of location but would also look into the possibility of EMS. Sometimes it's just bad luck, though.

 

[Highmileagecob]

If your grazing is good, then I would look towards reducing carb/sugar intake. A blood sugar/insulin imbalance will often show itself in the feet in the way of abscesses before laminitis is detected. As ycbm says, EMS would be a first thought. Think of it as type 2 diabetes - as more food is broken down into sugar, more insulin has to be released to complete this process. High circulating insulin will trigger foot problems and eventually laminitis will develop. If the food intake reaches a tipping point where enough insulin cannot be released to break it down, the horse will be labelled insulin resistant. Research has shown that injecting horses with insulin to assist this process triggers laminitis immediately, so it would seem that trickle grazing is the best option.

 

[Barton Bounty]

BB I don't understand what link you're making between abscesses and uneven ground, can you explain a bit more?
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Thats how bbs abscess started, he stood on a large stone

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would also test for EMS when my mare kept getting them she tested positive and also had cushings.

 

[paddy555]

A barefoot horse should be able to tread on blackthorn shouldn't it Paddy? It's a big risk in soft tissue but I've never thought of it as a risk to good soles.
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no they can't.
a cause of abscesses in land with blackthorn including mine. Definitely blackthorn as you can identify it as you finally dig it out of the sole. .

all our lanes (single track) have thorn hedges either side. All my riding horses are fully booted for the next couple of months whilst the hedges are cut.

horrible, hateful stuff.

 

[SweetDreams]

Thankyou for everyone’s responses, after no further drainage of infection and poultice is clean, hoof is dry I’m now left with a fairly decent drainage hole, anyone use anything in particular to pack it with to avoid any further infection or to help hoof re grow??

 

[Barton Bounty]

Thankyou for everyone’s responses, after no further drainage of infection and poultice is clean, hoof is dry I’m now left with a fairly decent drainage hole, anyone use anything in particular to pack it with to avoid any further infection or to help hoof re grow??

Stockholm Tar

 

[Highmileagecob]

Red Horse field paste

 

[ycbm]

Thankyou for everyone’s responses, after no further drainage of infection and poultice is clean, hoof is dry I’m now left with a fairly decent drainage hole, anyone use anything in particular to pack it with to avoid any further infection or to help hoof re grow??

Further infection is unlikely as abscesses encapsulate and any blood supply it did have is likely to be sealed off by now. In young unridden horses I've always just left it, but if you want to do something then Red Horse is good stuff. While Stockholm tar works it's difficult stuff to use and can get everywhere!
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[tristar]

i would put him on a proper dose of complete vits and mins, in one year he will have totally different feet

unless something else is the cause, in which case he will still need stronger hooves anyway, but get going sooner the better

but he is young so soaks up loads of nutrition, nutritional deficiencies often show in the feet not being strong, tough soles etc

does he throw out any excess sole

 

[SweetDreams]

i would put him on a proper dose of complete vits and mins, in one year he will have totally different feet

unless something else is the cause, in which case he will still need stronger hooves anyway, but get going sooner the better

but he is young so soaks up loads of nutrition, nutritional deficiencies often show in the feet not being strong, tough soles etc

does he throw out any excess sole

Thankyou! No she doesn’t and she has a regular trim every 6 weeks

 

[SweetDreams]

Further infection is unlikely as abscesses encapsulate and any blood supply it did have is likely to be sealed off by now. In young unridden horses I've always just left it, but if you want to do something then Red Horse is good stuff. While Stockholm tar works it's difficult stuff to use and can get everywhere!
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Perfect Thankyou!