How long lame after abcess?

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xena_wales

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Ozz has been lame for a few days and the farrier came out lunchtime yesterday and located an abcess in his hoof wall at the toe. This has been opened and was draining, and I've been poulticing. He's been very lame yesterday (non weight-bearing) and this morning. I was hoping he would have been feeling better by now? Will the relief take longer than that to show, or do we have a deeper problem?

He'd had 3 days of Danilon as it presented as a probable strain (as he came in lame after having a real hooley in the field) or a bruise on his pastern (as he had a graze there and the boys often have leg-biting competitions) and there were no marks on his foot to indicate an abcess. Then the farrier found the abcess up inside the hoof wall.

He's currently stabled in a big stable (18'x18') with a deep shavings bed in one corner, and haynets scattered around, but is choosing to hop rather than walk.

Would appreciate replies and experiences as am very worried.
 
I am in the process of treating an abcess in my boy.Is there much coming out on the poultice?.Your horse might of twisted something whilst hooning and is still lame because of that and not the abcess.My lad went almost sound once the abcess was popped.It could be a combination of the two in your horse as too why he is still lame.
 
Our vet recently opened up an abscess in our pony's hoof and said it would be 2 to 3 days before he would be weight-bearing on that hoof. He turned out to be spot on...it was exactly 3 days, improving a little bit each day...he went from hopping to putting his hoof down but not putting weight on it,
then to standing with some weight on it and finally to walking. He is fine now, off Danilon and waiting to be reshod to go out and play.
 
Thank you Janesomerset - that's really good to know that it's not unusual for it to take that long to feel better!

Rema - I don't think he's twisted anything as the coincidence would just be too much, lol! And there's no swollen areas on his leg, but I'm not ruling it out just yet. There is black stuff coming out of the poultice still, and I'm going to give his foot a soak too in a minute when he gets up - he's spending a lot of time lying down atm, sensible horse! Thanks
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I've just spoken to the farrier again and he said to just keep poulticing it until Monday when he's scheduled to come out again, and we'll reassess then and get antibiotics if necessary. He's still confident that Ozzy should pick up in the next day or two now the abcess has burst.

What's people's thoughts on Danilon? I have 4 sachets left - do they help abcesses or not? Won't do any harm to try, will it?
 
I wondered about Danilon too! I had been giving it to my boy when he had his abscess, but then I wondered whether it was really helping at all, or if it might even have slowed the healing down. When I asked our (very patient) vet, he said, "oh yes, your pony would be relieved you had given him some; in fact it would be better to up the dosage!"
 
Good, as I gave him some earlier! I'll give him another one tonight, and again tomorrow morning and evening, and I will have run out then, but it'll be Monday morning by then so can hopefully get some more off my vet then!
 
I had been giving my boy half a Danilon morning and evening, but then the vet said to double it, so he had the same as you are giving yours, one morning and one evening. I gradually cut it down again as he improved. Hope your boy is better tomorrow! They are a worry!
 
Sounds like there is still more to come out, or maybe the strain is the cause of the prolonged lameness. They usually come sound once it's draining.
 
There's still pus coming out - there's plenty on the Animalintex. The farrier has just been out and had another look and minor trim and said he's pretty sure there's no more untapped pus, and to see how it goes over the next day or two.

I've also spoken to the vet and they've also said give it another day or two, and if he's still bad, they want to xray his foot as they're worried his pedal bone may be infected
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Oh dear, I do sympathise with you! Perhaps he has another abscess higher up in his foot. If so, an X-ray should show it up. I guess you have electricity at your yard, and your vet would bring up a mobile X-ray machine? If so, do make sure you have a lengthy extension cable! Our vet came up and plugged the X-ray machine into the power point in the tack room (our only one) and then found his cable nowhere near reached our pony's stable. I had to leg it to the YO's house and borrow more cables. Cue dark clouds overhead exploding into a blizzard. You couldn't see a hand in front of your face for the white stuff! So I had to hare around collecting up old towels and long-abandoned motheaten coats to wrap up the cables, all the while wondering what NFU would say if I had to claim for half a veterinary surgery blowing up. Please post how your boy goes on. I shall be thinking of him.
 
That's really thoughtful Jane! Unfortunately, it's far from the first time that Ozzy's had xrays (yep, he's that type of pone! Was OCD last time) so we already know that the extension cable reaches!!

Yep, they bring out a mobile xray machine. I've had him xrayed at the clinic before too, and that's better really as they can bring up the xrays straight away to see if there's anything they want a better look at. They can't do that when they bring the mobile machine out, but I can't really travel him with his bad leg I don't think. Though saying that, I'd have to if they hospitalise him!

He's at home, luckily, which makes life so much easier. I'm just about to pop out and try sticking his foot in a bucket of warm salt water, see if that does anything at all. The vet wants pics too, so I'll take them at the same time.

He's my homebred baby, he's only 2 and a half, and his mum died when he was a youngster, so it really is about time the poor guy had a break from all this bad luck
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Oh boy, he sounds like our Shiloe's stunt double! Shiloe is eight and a half now, I've had him since he was a yearling, and he must have a whole filing cabinet to himself at the veterinary clinic. Prior to him, I had two horses for 13 years and had one callout! Some horses are just born unlucky. Hope Ozzy goes on OK. Shiloe seemed to find us soaking his foot in warm salt water quite soothing, so hope it helped yours too.
 
yum!!

Fingers crossed its nothing major. If it makes you feel any better, my mare had a certain well known vet at a very large veterinary teaching hospital so convinced that she had done her DDFT that she went for an MRI....only to find an abcess increadibly deep within the back of the foot. Like yours, not associated with any nail holes so it could just be one of those things and there be another one lurking.
 
He's booked in for xrays tomorrow at 9.30. I hope he loads and travels ok - I don't have anyone to help me either
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I'm hoping so hard that nothing shows up on the xray and it's just a case of giving it more time to heal.
 
Well we went to the Equine Clinic yesterday (big thanks and free plug to Dyffryn Tywi Equine Clinic near Carmarthen!!) and I was so chuffed with how well my little boy loaded and travelled for me!!

Unloaded at the vets virtually sound, lol, but that must have been a combination of adrenalin and the Danilon I'd given him for the journey. He had several xrays from different angles, and the pedal bone looked fine in all of them. One of the angles showed the pocket of pus that has been draining, and also seemed to show the abcess tracking up inside the hoof wall to the coronary band. So that was pretty good news really, just seems to be a really nasty abcess, not anything more sinister!

He loaded perfectly to come home again, although he was shouting a bit on the journey! He remained fairly sound through the rest of the evening, but was hopping again this morning, I guess as the Danilon had worn off, so I gave him another one to encourage him to use the leg.

There's a soft bit at the coronary band now too, so I wouldn't be surprised if we have extra mank on the poultice when I come to change it this evening!!

Many thanks for asking
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Interesting looking at the pics you posted, from the depth the farrier had to dig in that would have suggested that the abcess wasnt ready! Hence taking along time to drain and come out. If you had left this it would probably have popped out the top.

Don't you just love the way vets immediately want to xray etc...
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[ QUOTE ]
If you had left this it would probably have popped out the top.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm, a couple of people have said that now (this is posted elsewhere too). Well you live and learn
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I guess it's too easy sometimes, to think we "should" be doing something to help... when actually the horse has it under control themselves.
 
Just an update on this horse - the abcess did pop out at the top of the hoof as well, but this only drained for a day or so before closing again, whereas the hole in the bottom of his hoof has continued to drain.

I am glad that I had the xrays as they weren't extortionate, and it was worth it for peace of mind. If I hadn't had the xrays, and the foot was still draining pus as it is, then I would have been really petrified by now that it was an infected pedal bone, whereas I don't have that hanging over me now (obviously we may have to check again if it refuses to heal, but I'm not worried just yet).

I've got to say, my vets have been brill - have been in contact pretty much every day (even Sunday!) to check that he's doing ok, so I really can't fault them at all.

The only thing which I have been a bit concerned about (alluded to in my post above) is the size of the hole in his foot, and I did think that maybe if I had left the abcess to pop out the top, that I wouldn't have had this big hole to contend with, but seeing how much better it's draining from the bottom of the hoof rather than the top has made me think that it probably was the right thing to do... even if it is giving me a headache trying to keep it clean!

Will update periodically for completeness in case anyone finds this in a search in the future!
 
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