Hoof abscess. Worst one I’ve seen.

pistolpete

pistolpete

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Poor boy has the typical ‘broken leg!’ Lameness. He started yesterday and today was awful. Still eating drinking ok but so lame. Soaked and poulticed of course and hoof trimmer contacted but please tell me some good time scales on them popping! Hate seeing him in so much pain.
 
Definitely farrier if u are sure it's abscess, my farrier dug out, it burst within 24hrs of her digging ... She had to visit and dig again as second pocket...

I originally called vet who looked and said prob abscess call farrier (vet didn't even take off shoe)
 
Just give him a sachet of bute PP if I were you. It's not really fair to let a horse suffer pain from an abscess when it can be controlled with bute or paracetamol, my vet has said for the welfare of the horse it's better for them to be comfortable than wincing in agony everytime they move as its a welfare issue. Imagine if it were you with an abscess. 😭

You want to encourage movement and tbh I have always buted and always been advised to bute by three different vets practices over the years my horses have had abscesses.

Hopeful for an improvement and the pus God's soon 🤣
 
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My broken leg lame mare had to be dosed up on painkillers and taken to the horspital after standing in one place in the field all night and refusing to move a single step. They thought she might have broken her pelvis but the infection came out of her coronet about 3 days later. I was glad she was at the vets where they could keep her pain levels down until it burst. Also glad she did not have a broken pelvis😃!
 
Petalpoos said:
My broken leg lame mare had to be dosed up on painkillers and taken to the horspital after standing in one place in the field all night and refusing to move a single step. They thought she might have broken her pelvis but the infection came out of her coronet about 3 days later. I was glad she was at the vets where they could keep her pain levels down until it burst. Also glad she did not have a broken pelvis😃!
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Wow. I've only ever seen two horses abscess lame, one was years ago with an abscess and one was a 24 days ago when Lari walked from standstill outside his stable when I asked for a shared call out which led to the recent paracetamol/bute medication, the diagnosis of still remains a mystery.

On both occassions the vet had said "can you just walk them outside?" and then said "second thoughts don't bother".
 
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Mine has only been three legged lame once like that, but he really was hopping - and lying down touching his foot with his nose and groaning. It was pitiful. He went on bute straight away, shoe off, warm poultice in a nappy strapped to his foot, and back out so he'd keep moving. It did drain after a few days (but was hugely disappointing TBH, I was expecting a river of pus and it just dribbled a bit 😆). From memory I think I did ring the vet but she didn't feel it warranted an immediate visit as it was a textbook abscess presentation. I'm sure she'd have come out later though if he hadn't perked up a bit on the bute. Like @Birker2020 says my vet also advised bute and movement before doing anything too drastic, and in this case she was right.
 
I have always been cautioned against giving horses with an abscess bute, as the anti-inflammatory result can reduce the pressure on the abscess pocket and actually stop it from bursting and thus the whole things rumbles along alot longer than it otherwise would have.

Can you seek out a painkiller which isn't anti-inflam? Some vets say you can give them human paracetamol tablets
 
Don’t bute until the horse has been seen by vet or farrier because it can reduce the sensitivity to hoof testers and make it harder to locate and dig out. It should be seen today (and probably should have been seen yesertday by the description of the level of pain)
 
I've heard about the no Bute for an abscess several times. But the last but one abscess my horse had (!) was really bad. Vet, farrier couldn't really find it, but he was in a state so the vet gave him bute. She said that giving them bute can help to concentrate the infection which helps it burst out, which in the end it did - both top and bottom.
 
It kind of depends where the abscess is/how accessible it is to drain. They can take a long time to burst if they head upwards rather than down or backwards and although we much prefer them over other lamenesses they aren’t benign with regards to damage cause if left too long.

Sometimes it’s unethical not to provide pain relief but after the problem has been evaluated not just cos you have some in the cupboard
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I have always been cautioned against giving horses with an abscess bute, as the anti-inflammatory result can reduce the pressure on the abscess pocket and actually stop it from bursting and thus the whole things rumbles along alot longer than it otherwise would have.

Can you seek out a painkiller which isn't anti-inflam? Some vets say you can give them human paracetamol tablets
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Lari was on 30 paracetamol a day split between two feeds and disguised with applejuice PP. He's approx 670kg at a rough guess.

I'm not sure whether you need to ask your vet first though, might be worth a phone call for advice. My vets are happy to chat over the phone without charging.
 
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Birker2020 said:
Lari was on 30 bute a day split between two feeds and disguised with applejuice PP. He's approx 670kg at a rough guess.

I'm not sure whether you need to ask your vet first though, might be worth a phone call for advice. My vets are happy to chat over the phone without charging.
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You may want to edit bute for (presumably) paracetamol? 30 bute would kill him 😂
 
Birker2020 said:
Lari was on 30 bute a day split between two feeds and disguised with applejuice PP. He's approx 670kg at a rough guess.

I'm not sure whether you need to ask your vet first though, might be worth a phone call for advice. My vets are happy to chat over the phone without charging.
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30 Bute a day? Horse would be dead 👀

I was always told not to Bute for an abcess as it can stop it bursting out as quickly and mask things for the vets. I would get the farrier and if the farrier can’t come I’d just call the vet out.

Kia’s abcess turned into Canker which with the Cushings was what caused his PTS early. It had been burst several times by farrier and vet and eventually his 2/3 of his foot was pretty much abcess. He was lame on finedine and IV pain meds 😢 so I’d definitely get it seen to sooner than later. Poulticing helped untill Someone came out.
 
I had a broken leg lame abscess on a rainy Christmas day morning (guests coming too - her timing was impeccable).

She did not get the vet because I am far to tight to pay bank holiday rates but having got her hopping to a stable she got 2 bute and and 2 pm (650kg ish). Hot poultice. Took 3 days and then it came out of the heel which I guess is why it was so painful.

If I'm sure it's an abscess and I have pain relief then I prefer to give them a few days to naturally find a way out before having anyone dig.
 
pistolpete said:
Vet is coming this afternoon stand down the people who think I’m cruel! I’m not. He’s had four years as a field pet living his best life wanting for nothing and certainly not suffering. Retired at 14 and doing rather well off small incidence aside. He’s had bute too.
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I hope it's really clear cut either way - easy to get to, or easy to see that they can't get to it. No great big holes in feet! Is this Fatty Highland (sorry 😆 - I own a fatty horse too)? He has been very lucky to land up with you.
 
Roasted Chestnuts said:
30 Bute a day? Horse would be dead 👀

I was always told not to Bute for an abcess as it can stop it bursting out as quickly and mask things for the vets. I would get the farrier and if the farrier can’t come I’d just call the vet out.

Kia’s abcess turned into Canker which with the Cushings was what caused his PTS early. It had been burst several times by farrier and vet and eventually his 2/3 of his foot was pretty much abcess. He was lame on finedine and IV pain meds 😢 so I’d definitely get it seen to sooner than later. Poulticing helped untill Someone came out.
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Ha meant paracetamol sorry. I think they knew what I meant though 😁
 
pistolpete said:
Vet is coming this afternoon stand down the people who think I’m cruel! I’m not. He’s had four years as a field pet living his best life wanting for nothing and certainly not suffering. Retired at 14 and doing rather well off small incidence aside. He’s had bute too.
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No judgement from me PP. I just said I'd just give him a sachet of bute if I were you.

If course he's not suffering anymore than Lari is! He lives better than me! 😉

Hopefully vet will sort him out. X
 
pistolpete said:
Vet is coming this afternoon stand down the people who think I’m cruel! I’m not. He’s had four years as a field pet living his best life wanting for nothing and certainly not suffering. Retired at 14 and doing rather well off small incidence aside. He’s had bute too.
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I hope it's found and drained easily.

Mine took over 30 minutes to get from his field to his stable (35 metres approx at the time). I thought he'd fractured his pelvis - he was using the stable wall to support himself and was covered in sweat and shaking. It was absolutely awful. His abcess did not resolve easily, but 9 months of mostly box-rest later he was sound and has had no recurrence since - it's been 8 years now since that day but I can still feel the fear!
 
This might be a stupid question but why do abscesses make them so lame? And why do some horses seem to get them whereas others don't? I don't think I've ever dealt with one thankfully, having a horse so lame must be absolutely terrifying
 
FieldOrnaments said:
This might be a stupid question but why do abscesses make them so lame? And why do some horses seem to get them whereas others don't? I don't think I've ever dealt with one thankfully, having a horse so lame must be absolutely terrifying
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The pain is down to pressure. It's a bit like us getting a splinter under our nail, the pus has nowhere to go, so every time you push on the nail, it's agony. Some horses are just prone. Some have better hoof quality than others, so a native with rock hard feet will be less likely to get one than something with softer feet. The weather also plays a part as soft hooves can let bacteria in.
 
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