Horse found with nail stuck in hoof! Should I be worried?!

ImmyS

ImmyS

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Brought celine in today with the plan to take her out for a nice long hack, but when I went to pick out her feed she had a nail stuck in her off fore, in the frog, it must have gone about half an inch deep. She hadn't shown any lameness when I caught her so we removed the nail (it was a very thin nail, not a type we've ever used before so god knows where it came from!), it bled initially but then stopped instantly. I cleaned all the hoof and nail entry area thoroughly and she is now padded, poultices and booted up, she's a 100% sound at the moment but I'm guessing there's still a chance of some damage and possibility of infection/abscess in there? Any opinions or experiences please!

Thank you!
 
I was always taught never to remove the nail and to phone the vet for an x-ray so they could see if it had damaged anything before it was removed.

Hope your mare is okay.
 
I should think with it only going half inch in, you may have gotten away with anything massively serious, that is so long as it hasn't gone deeper while shes been walking on it. I think you've done the best you can for now Farrier is probablY best person to call first thing in the morning if you're worried. Just keep it clean and poultices to minimise infection.
 
Yes vet will be called in morning for at least a chat or will be called out if she has deteriorated in any way at all.
 
The wife said:
I should think with it only going half inch in, you may have gotten away with anything massively serious, that is so long as it hasn't gone deeper while shes been walking on it. I think you've done the best you can for now Farrier is probablY best person to call first thing in the morning if you're worried. Just keep it clean and poultices to minimise infection.
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The nail had gone straight in to about half way down the nail then bent over so hopefully it couldn't have gone any deeper.
 
Will really depend where it's gone in - and hopefully it will have missed anything important. Would advise vet tomorrow without fail.

My lad did something similar last year - went right through the bulb of his heal but fortunately missed everything important. Vet gave antibiotics and I kept it very well poulticed for about 10 days. He was back out eventing within a month but I appreciate he was one of the lucky ones. Hopefully your's is too but please get the vet.
 
I would say, the good sign is the blood as this will have meant that any dirt should have come out. You have done the right thing cleaning and poulticing. If she's not lame then again, that to me would signify the nail hasn't penetrated into any sensitive tissues.

Many years ago my pony did this and actually had a proper nail (again, no idea where he got it from) right in his foot. My sister (who isn't particularly horsey) was riding him that day and rode him up to a local riding stables (can't remember if it was a show or something). Anyway, maybe she hadn't picked his feet out, who knows but she'd not noticed anything and he had hacked (trotted) a lot of the way with no lameness. I can't even recall now how we discovered the nail but he was not lame and didn't suffer any ill effects. I believe we just poulticed as you have done and kept it clean for a while.
 
Definitely call the vet tomorrow morning & get them out to have a look, nails in the frog can be very nasty. Hope she's ok in the morning, keep us up to date x
 
ImmyS said:
Brought celine in today with the plan to take her out for a nice long hack, but when I went to pick out her feed she had a nail stuck in her off fore, in the frog, it must have gone about half an inch deep. She hadn't shown any lameness when I caught her so we removed the nail (it was a very thin nail, not a type we've ever used before so god knows where it came from!), it bled initially but then stopped instantly. I cleaned all the hoof and nail entry area thoroughly and she is now padded, poultices and booted up, she's a 100% sound at the moment but I'm guessing there's still a chance of some damage and possibility of infection/abscess in there? Any opinions or experiences please!

Thank you!
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The same thing happened to me. Its a safe bet that near the frog or in the frog won't have caused any permanent damage but for reference I would have left it in.

I know to do this as the same thing happened to my horse and he had a nail in his foot. I had read somewhere that you should leave nails in for the vet to see. Luckily it had gone in where the frog meets the sole on the outer side of the frog and it wasn't near any important structures in the foot.

Also if you leave the nail in the vet can see the depth and angle it has gone into the foot and is better able to judge whether to treat the problem as an emergency. I don't meant to worry you but you can permanently lame a horse by a nail going into a foot in the wrong place and infection in the pedal bone can be fatal.

I know its scary having to hold a foot up for a long time until the vet comes, but if you can you can put rolled up bandages either side of the nail and wrap it around the foot with gaffer tape to stop the nail going in deeper, or better still get a really clear photo of the foot with the nail in and remove it if you clearly have no choice as putting the foot down will drive the nail in deeper.

It cost me about £85 for the vet to come out on a sunday afternoon after a farrier had been out to shoe a horse and hadn't swept up after themselves. Despite me putting a warning in the yard newsletter last year, twice in the last ten days there have been signs of the farrier outside the stable next to mine as all the broken off nails and shavings have been left on the floor for horses to tread on!!! The nail my horse picked up was a full size clench and somehow stuck up from the floor for my horse to tread on. It was quite shocking seeing it in there.

I hope your horse is okay after all this. x
 
My old lad stood on a nail and chipped his pedal bone, instantly hopping lame. I thought that was the end but the vet had him in, operated to remove the chip. He was in horsey hospital for a week and I had assumed it was the end of his ridden career (it didn't matter to me, he was my horse of a lifetime). When I went to visit him (didn't take flowers) the vet casually mentioned that he would be ready to start work again in a couple of months. He came right and never had a moment's problem from the injury.
 
Happened to me last year too.. Vet .... But was lucky as pony was a bit footy and it went through a poltice packed with epsom .
 
Definately get a vet.
or atleast call for advice initially
Antibiotics and deep cleaning.

This can be very serious and fatal.

My sisters youngster had a sharp object probably a nail go into his hoof.
He spent two week at the clinic with 2 opertations to deep clean the joint that had become infected, but it just wasnt enough and he sadly was put to sleep.

Hopefully your horse will be find but you cant be too careful.
 
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ImmyS said:
Will do! Blinking horse, I swear she has a death wish :rolleyes:
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She's a TB, her life is essentially a mission to self-harm in the most creative way possible. Our boys say nail in the hoof is pretty hardcore, so hats off to her- they've not reached that level yet :D

Vet, and hopefully they'll say that as she's happy and sound on it there's no need to worry at all :)
 
vet - for future, if possible leave the foreign body (nail in this case) in place, pad and bandage around it to stabalise and prevent it going in any deeper. This allows the vet to x-ray and see exactly where it's gone which gives a good indication of the risk of further complications.
 
Thank you for all the advice, looking back I know it would have been better to keep it in but I think I just went into panic mode! So for future reference it will be staying in, but hopefully it won't happen again!

Anyway- just a quick update. I've just come back from the yard, Celine was sound and her normal cheeky self, the poultice was clean when I took it off. I thoroughly cleaned and re padded, poulticed and booted. Going to ring the vet this morning and see what they think, if there's any concern they will come out :)
 
Been there with a friends horse, resulted in a trip to vet hosp at midnight after being seen by vet who removed nail as it was more dangerous to leave it in to travel. Horse sedated and blocked. A fine metal probe was placed in the nail track x ray was done that showed Horse was fine, but if the nail had been 1-2mm over it wouldve destroyed the navicular bursa, hope vet gives you the all clear
 
my horse ended up dead from just such an incident, my vet said its best to leave in so they can see where its gone, but my friend had removed the crappy little thing and poulticed before I got there, I can't blame her she did as she thought best and it wouldn't have changed where it had got to. Such trivial things can be fatal.
 
mjcssjw2 said:
my horse ended up dead from just such an incident, my vet said its best to leave in so they can see where its gone, but my friend had removed the crappy little thing and poulticed before I got there, I can't blame her she did as she thought best and it wouldn't have changed where it had got to. Such trivial things can be fatal.
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I know of one that was pts because of this as well. Its scary!
 
My horse was very nearly pts a few years ago when a small piece of wood (less than 1cm long - part of a twig) punctured his front off frog. The wood was embedded in the frog and was only removed by the vet. It became infected even though the vet dug out the infection and it was poultice and kept clean. I had to have xrays taken to determine how far the infection had spread and whether the joint had become infected, but fortunately it hadn't. My poor horse was on antibiotics injected daily for 4 weeks, then a further week with powdered AB's. It was touch and go for a while but thankfully made a full recovery and left me with a vets bill for £600 :(
 
I'm worrying like crazy, but I'm school, parents are at work. There's not much I can do right this minute. Vet was called this morning and is coming out this afternoon
 
This happened to a horse at our yard , who nearly lost her life because of this , always remember the advise of the vet to leave it in until they get there , hope everything turns out ok
 
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