Hoof abscess

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mareish

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Hi,

My horse has an abscess which has now been going on for nearly four weeks. I initially called the vet as she was very lame. They came out and diagnosed an abscess and cut a hole in her toe. I poulticed for four days until the pus had stopped coming and then kept a dry dressing and hoof boot on for another three days. She was then sound and the vet thought she should be ok. About a week later she was very lame again so I poulticed again for four more days and got a lot more pus coming out. Again I kept her booted and with a dry dressing until she was sound.

I then noticed her heel looked bruised but she was sound. She is barefoot and I had the trimmer out last Tuesday to check and trim her feet and she said the abscess looks like it might break out at the heel too. I hoped it is was ok as she was sound but her heel burst open on Friday. I checked with the trimmer who said to leave the heel open to drain. She was very lame on Saturday and it looked like the heel was crusting over. I was worried so I called the vet. They said to start poulticing again so I did. She was a bit better yesterday and a lot of pus has come out of her heel/ foot but she is still lame. I called the vet today and they recommend an x-ray if she doesn't improve so I've booked her in for Wednesday. I'm still hoping it might just be a bad abscess and will be ok when it drains.

Sorry this is a bit long but I'm really worried now as people on the yard have started saying her pedal bone could be damaged or her hoof could be going septic. Has anyone else had an abscess which a took a long time to heal? Does anyone have any advice? Thanks
 
Yes, me! Scaremongerers on yards are so helpful aren't they.
My horse had a very stubborn abscess (we think actually it might have been there brewing away, and breaking out in various different ways for about six months - it's still growing out now). The vet gave me some horrendously strong antibiotics in the end. The x rays showed that there was a 'shadow' on the pedal bone which may have been slight infection there or just pressure from the abscess.
I'm giving him six months off to let it grow out becuase there seems to be some sort of uncomfortableness there (very long frustrating story) - but my point is don't panic, it will all be fine!
 
Just to reassure you further, my friend's horse actually did have a properly bad pedal bone infection (due to massive crack in his hoof) and is now fine too, so even if it was that - obviously it's serious - but it's solveable!
 
Thanks. I'm trying not to panic. I think I just thought that it should be better by now. Hopefully once it has finished coming out if her heel it will be sorted.
If I'm worried I'll definitely get the x-rays to make sure it's all ok. It doesn't help that my horse is a wimp and the slightest injury gets a big reaction. When I turned her out last night she hobbled to the field like her leg was about to fall off but when she saw I'd moved the electric fence to give her a bit more grass she cantered across to it. Even my friend has said she looks very lame one minute and then trots about the next so it does make it hard to decided how much pain she's in.
 
Get the xray then it's ruling out anything major.

Personally, I'd let the abscess run it's course out in the field once you have the all clear.

My mare used to abscess all the time and it was all to do with alfalfa. I stopped alfalfa about a year ago and none since but in your case it sounds more like a bruise or debris.
 
My mare isn't getting any hard feed at the moment. She is out 24/7 and being strip grazed to restrict her grass as she is a good doer. She has been barefoot for five years and has never had an abscess before. The vet and the trimmer both said it would be best for her to be turned out as moving around will help the abscess to come out.
 
My gelding had an abscess several years ago, it he was lame on and off for 4 months. The abscess underran his sole, every time we would drain something out he would be sound for a couple of days then lame again. I was tearing my hair out and thinking he would never be sound again. Eventually one day a huge amount of pus broke out of his heel which was nowhere near where the original site of infection was.

The people at your yard are NOT helpful, merely scaremongering.

Your horse would only get a infected pedal bone if the abscess penetrated the hoof capsule which according to my very good horse vet ( I asked the same question) is highly unlikely as the abscess will always find the area of least resistance to break out and this wouldn't be via the hoof capsule. All you can do is carry on as you are doing. Definitely being out 24/7 and moving around will help.

Good luck
 
Thanks for your post. My mare is still very lame so I'm going to see what the xrays show tomorrow. I think I'll feel better once I know for sure what's going on in her foot. My vet is very helpful and knowledgeable so I trust her judgement. The whole thing has really upset me as I've done my best to look after her hoof and followed all the vet and trimmers advice. Yesterday someone left a note on the yard owners door saying did she know there is a very lame horse in the field. Since my horse is bandaged and wearing a hoof boot you'd think it was obvious that she is being treated.
 
mareish said:
Yesterday someone left a note on the yard owners door saying did she know there is a very lame horse in the field. Since my horse is bandaged and wearing a hoof boot you'd think it was obvious that she is being treated.
Click to expand...

Some people have nothing better to do... they are winding you up. Don't take it personally if it escalates just make sure the YO knows everything you're doing so she can tell these people to mind their own business.
 
Ive had the xrays done. It's not too bad. They show a big abscess in her toe which has under run the sole and come out her heel. It is on the edge of the pedal bone so she might need some antibiotics. The vet is going to have a good look at the xrays back at the clinic to be sure.
She's cut away a bit more toe and lots of pus is coming out so more poulticing should sort it out.
What a relief. I'm so pleased there's nothing stuck in there or an infection in the bone.
 
Just thought I'd post an update. I ended up having to have antibiotics as the vets were worried about the abscess going into the pedal bone. So she was on bute and antibiotics for a week. She also had to be poulticed for 10 days until it stopped drawing anything out. She is now off the bute and still sound so fingers crossed everything is ok. She's having another set of xrays tomorrow to make sure that the abscess is gone and her pedal bone is ok.
Her heel is still a bit sore and gooey where the abscess burst out but a lot better than it was. I'm still soaking her foot and disinfecting it daily. I'll see what the vet says tomorrow but I'm hoping for the all clear and some advice on her recovery. She has a big hole in her toe where the abscess was draining and her heel ripped straight across so I think it's going to take a while before we can ride but I'm just glad she's ok. This has really made me realise how serious an abscess can be.
 
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