Hoof abscess?

[Trinkett]

Hi everybody, so let me explain the situation:
Last Wednesday after I rode my 4 yo I took off the protection and I fin the left front foreleg swollen along the flexor tendon
Panicked because I thought it was the tendon I called the vet and she told me to bandage and see the next morning
Next morning it's still swollen, call the vet, she came and when she touched she immediately told me it was the foot, just to make sure she ultrasounded every tendon in the leg and they were perfect. She took the hoof tester but my horse didn't even flinch and she was sound when lunged, so the vet gave me aspirin (she doesn't like anti inflammatory if not needed) the problem is almost a week later the leg is still a little swollen and quite hot, but she is perfectly sound and the foot is not hot
Is it possible that is an abscess that have to come out?
She is stalled but I turn her out everyday and she is mostly good but like to run around from time to time
She is barefoot

 

[Carrottom]

Did you or the vet check for raised digital pulse which would indicate problem in the foot?
I would speak with the vet and ask if she would have expected the heat and swelling to be gone by now. Did she scan ligaments as well?

 

[Trinkett]

Did you or the vet check for raised digital pulse which would indicate problem in the foot?
I would speak with the vet and ask if she would have expected the heat and swelling to be gone by now. Did she scan ligaments as well?

My vet checked the pulse and there was, but no sensitivity in the foot
She checked the suspensory ligament and it was fine
Since my Horse is zero lame my vet doesn't really know what to check for because she can't even nerve block to find the origin

 

[ycbm]

I don't understand your vet. They said they did not want to give an anti inflammatory, then gave aspirin. But aspirin is an anti inflammatory.

If she isn't noticeably lame I would wonder if something was missed on the scan, or possibly not developed enough at the time to see. Or that it may be a developing splint. In my experience it would be very uncommon for an abscess bad enough to swell the leg not to cause obvious lameness.

 

[Trinkett]

I don't understand your vet. They said they did not want to give an anti inflammatory, then gave aspirin. But aspirin is an anti inflammatory.

If she isn't noticeably lame I would wonder if something was missed on the scan, or possibly not developed enough at the time to see. Or that it may be a developing splint. In my experience it would be very uncommon for an abscess bad enough to swell the leg not to cause obvious lameness.

Shes 0 lame, I lunged her every day after the vet came and today I even rode her and didn't put one foot wrong
the vet gave me aspirin because it's for human so very faint for Horses and she gave me that to promote circulation (that's was she told me)
On that leg she already throw a splint on the inside, but it's been healed for more than a month now, we checked with x rays

 

[ycbm]

Is the swelling on the same side of the leg as a newly developed splint? It sounds a lot more likely that it's the splint giving issues than anything else, they can grumble on for a very long time.
.

 

[Carrottom]

If you have heat and swelling even without lameness I would not lunge or ride for at least a week to give whatever is wrong a chance to mend.

 

[Trinkett]

Is the swelling on the same side of the leg as a newly developed splint? It sounds a lot more likely that it's the splint giving issues than anything else, they can grumble on for a very long time.
.

The swelling is both inside and outside, when we last time checked the vet did both xrays and ultrasound and she told me that it didn't interfere with anything but I don't know

 

[Trinkett]

If you have heat and swelling even without lameness I would not lunge or ride for at least a week to give whatever is wrong a chance to mend.

I'm following the vet instructions. The swelling went down a lot since first detected but the heat it's still there

 

[ycbm]

If you have heat and swelling even without lameness I would not lunge or ride for at least a week to give whatever is wrong a chance to mend.

I understand why you would recommend that, but I'm in the camp of if the horse is genuinely sound then I would exercise slowly on straight lines (and stop immediately if it gets worse). Obviously the vet's advice should be followed.

 

[Trinkett]

I understand why you would recommend that, but I'm in the camp of if the horse is genuinely sound then I would exercise slowly on straight lines (and stop immediately if it gets worse). Obviously the vet's advice should be followed.

I work in a small arena so I go as straight as possible, I almost never turn if not to change direction with very large movements, but I usually walk to change direction anyway
I'd be very depressed if it's a soft tissue injury because shes been under saddle for not even 3 weeks and I ride her for 20 min max after I gently lunge her to warm up