Hoof Problem! 2 week lame!

katiieking

katiieking

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Around two weeks ago my horse became very lame in his front hoof, we cleaned it out and gave it a scrub, and took him for a walk on the concrete. He tripped as he walked down the ramp and he seemed to rupture an abcess as the usual sticky black smelly liquid started leaking out of a small hole! I thought great! We poultice for around 3 days and the hoof seemed to be completely cleared! He was kept inside for another 4 days and seemed to be losing the lameness very quickly (he was very very lame). Then he started getting worse again, so I thought maybe the entire abcess hadn’t cleared and was re-filling inside the hoof, so back to poulticing! But after one night in a poultice, part of his frog fell off and now there is about a 1cmx1cm whole with a yellow/white part in it. This is firm and not smelly, but I am not sure as too whether that is just part of his hoof or solid puss?

It’s being washed twice daily, and he’s getting it sprayed with antibacterial spray to try and clear up/keep out any infection and his lameness is getting less but he’s still not “recovered” by any means as he still has this hole!

Any idea what it could be? Or is there something I should be doing?!

I’ve have him two years now, and he has previously had an abcess which cleared itself up very quickly and no other hoof issues with him! I’ve had horses 11 years and never seen anything like this before!
 
Our farrier takes a few days to get out, so we are still waiting on him & due to full time work I can't get the horse to the vets during the hours they ask so I have to wait until this weekend.

Thing is though, the horse's personality is fine, he doesn't seem to be in any pain at all, even though it looks painful! But I just worry that as I can't get him till a vet for another 2 days (ugh) that there is something I could be doing in the mean time!
 
I'd take a little bit of time off work, and arrange a visit from your vet and farrier to discuss the problem.
 
Just keep the hole cleaned out regularly like you are doing and let it heal from the bottom up. If he is getting sounder a bit more each day then it's very unlikely that he has any problems with it.

It sounds like a foreign body got into his frog where that hole is and produced the abscess. It could have been something like a thorn or a little bit of glass off the road, maybe.

If he gets worse again you need a vet immediately, in case whatever went into the hole touched the pedal bone and has injected an infection deep into his foot.
 
Unfortunately my job doesn't allow me to randomly take time off work, rather it must all be booked two weeks in advance, unless in the case of a death of immediate family or illness proved by a doctors letter.

Apologies if I sound rude, but I posted here to ask for a bit of advice if anyone has had this issue before or could help me out a bit with their own experiences, not to be told the obvious answer of "get the vet out".
 
katiieking said:
Apologies if I sound rude, but I posted here to ask for a bit of advice if anyone has had this issue before or could help me out a bit with their own experiences, not to be told the obvious answer of "get the vet out".
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Well, it is the most obvious answer (to me at least). But there we are. Good luck with your lame horse.
 
cptrayes said:
Just keep the hole cleaned out regularly like you are doing and let it heal from the bottom up. If he is getting sounder a bit more each day then it's very unlikely that he has any problems with it.

It sounds like a foreign body got into his frog where that hole is and produced the abscess. It could have been something like a thorn or a little bit of glass off the road, maybe.

If he gets worse again you need a vet immediately, in case whatever went into the hole touched the pedal bone and has injected an infection deep into his foot.
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Thank you! Makes me feel a wee bit better about it, he does very little road work, but could have picked something up in the field possibly!

Any idea if it is better to keep it soaked & poulticed or let it dry & harden?
 
Is there any sign whatsoever of a channel/hole at the bottom of the hole in the frog? If there is the slightest doubt, then I would keep it open with twice daily tubbing. If the horse is in at night then I'd poultice it, but I wouldn't keep him in to poultice it. But it would probably be wise to boot or pad his foot so that no dirt can be driven up the hole, just in case there is a channel that goes in deeper. I'd do that for a week after the bit blew out of his frog, and then as long as he is sounder than he was the day before and the day before that, you should be OK.


Having said this, there is a risk, albeit I believe it's pretty small, that he is getting better in spite of having some damage/infection deeper in his foot. A more cautious person than me would want some xrays. A middle course would be to get your farrier to take a look at it as soon as you can get hold of him.
 
rema said:
No need for the attitude!..You asked for advice and Amymay gave you her advice..
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Personally, I don't feel I gave any attitude. In fact, I feel that it was the other way round. Calling a vet is the easy answer out of everything, when in fact I just want a bit of help or advice on how I can help my own horse without putting him in more trouble or pain before I can get him to a vet.

Some of us arn't lucky enough to have our own transport, have extensive amounts of cash floating around, or have a vet who is willing to work into the night to sort out my horse. So "calling the vet" just isn't feasible at the drop of hat when working a full time job with a 3 hour daily commute.

So before you try telling me off for what you believe is "giving attitude", when I'm just being brutally honest, maybe consider why people post here for advice and help, because the last time I looked, every single post on this forum could be solved by "calling the vet".
 
katiieking said:
Personally, I don't feel I gave any attitude. In fact, I feel that it was the other way round. Calling a vet is the easy answer out of everything, when in fact I just want a bit of help or advice on how I can help my own horse without putting him in more trouble or pain before I can get him to a vet.

Some of us arn't lucky enough to have our own transport, have extensive amounts of cash floating around, or have a vet who is willing to work into the night to sort out my horse. So "calling the vet" just isn't feasible at the drop of hat when working a full time job with a 3 hour daily commute..
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I gave you no attitude, just a suggestion.

Calling the vet out might be perceived as the 'easy answer', but after two weeks of little to no improvement, one might say that you're negligent not to.

I don't have my own transport, but I do have a vet who comes out to the horse (isn't that the norm?). Neither do I have pots of cash floating around.

I also work full time - as do most of us.

Your commute is neither here nor there.
 
As stated, the horse seemed to be recovering per usual after an absess, it has been 4 days that the second bout of an abcess has seemed to have developed.

I live in a very rural area, our closest equestrian vet is 17miles from my house, he will not travel further than 10miles from his surgery, so we have to go to him.

The commute does come into play actually, last time I checked, veterinary surgerys don't open past 7pm. I arrive home at 7.30.
 
katiieking said:
As stated, the horse seemed to be recovering per usual after an absess, it has been 4 days that the second bout of an abcess has seemed to have developed.

I live in a very rural area, our closest equestrian vet is 17miles from my house, he will not travel further than 10miles from his surgery, so we have to go to him.

The commute does come into play actually, last time I checked, veterinary surgerys don't open past 7pm. I arrive home at 7.30.
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A vet that won't travel more than 10 miles, is that for real?? So if you had an emergency, colic, severe bleeding etc he wouldn't come out? What a nightmare. Regarding your current situation could your farrier not see the horse? How do you manage with work when he is shod/trimmed? If this has been going on for a couple of weeks I would follow the good advice given by CP Trayes & then if no real improvement I would book some time off & get the vet to see him.
 
katiieking said:
Personally, I don't feel I gave any attitude. In fact, I feel that it was the other way round. Calling a vet is the easy answer out of everything, when in fact I just want a bit of help or advice on how I can help my own horse without putting him in more trouble or pain before I can get him to a vet.

Some of us arn't lucky enough to have our own transport, have extensive amounts of cash floating around, or have a vet who is willing to work into the night to sort out my horse. So "calling the vet" just isn't feasible at the drop of hat when working a full time job with a 3 hour daily commute.

So before you try telling me off for what you believe is "giving attitude", when I'm just being brutally honest, maybe consider why people post here for advice and help, because the last time I looked, every single post on this forum could be solved by "calling the vet".
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You are very rude ,personally I don't try to self cure very lame horses but there you go good luck with your lame horse.
It's ok for you be brutally honest but not Amymay funny that.
Two weeks is far to long for a horse to be lame without you seeking professional help.
 
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