i need some advice on heel abscess and your expereiences?

marley and danni

marley and danni

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hi all my horse has a rather large travelling abscess everyone on my yard is saying it cant be an abscess...

there saying this because he s seruiysly lame hes that bad he will not put his leg down at all not even to move he just hopes about and hes in a hell of a lot of pain and very tense and struggles t get up once hes down... my vet has assured me that its an abscess that will come out of either the cornary band or his heel.

vet has been out twice dug about found the hole but nothings draining from it so he says its moved and is travelling up his leg and thats why hes that bad....

can you all please reasure me my vets right i mean i know he he is but but my horse is in that much pain i cant stand to watch :(

your stories?
 
I've had Vets say to me, 'well it's either an abscess or a broken leg' about my chestnut mare before. Luckily it was an abscess but she was hopping around on three legs when the vet made the comment.

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You can see the holes (circled) where the abscess burst. She was totally sound once it went pop.
 
thanks for posting that i appreciate it :) was she quite bad mine is hes hopping and very hot and depressed hope it comes out soon i really do ... vet suggested poulticing the cornery band and heel as well as the hole to help draw it out and also saok it in warm water or hote towel? x
 
it sounds like it is an abscess to me but id ask for a second opinion if it doesnt start to drain soon. my friends horse's abscess worked its way up the cononary band and the vet said it was serious as it can cause infection of the pedal bone and cause it to rotate! digging it out wasnt enough and they had to drill away most of his hoof, he was on box rest for months. if it hadnt have been caught early it could have been a lot worst
 
I was told similar about my boy. By the time I got a second opinion the infection had travelled up his leg and infected his tendon sheath. Please don't wait too long to investigate further. I hope yours is not as serious as my boy, but if it is, the sooner you find out the better.

Fingers crossed for you :)
 
My mare had the same, an abscess that travels upwards into the coronet band is so painful for them. In the end my horse was stabled for 3 weeks, on antibiotics, poulticed to the hilt and I had to soak her foot 3 times a week in a solution of iodine, salt and warm water making sure the liquid covered the coronet band. I let her out of the stable every day for a few hours to potter around the yard, it helps if they are moving about.
Hope this helps.
 
Vets do recommend different things. I was told to leave mine out as the movement would encourage it to pop quicker. Normally for abscesses you don't give anti-biotics but as her leg started to fill, she did have a short course of AB's.
 
thanks for the replys vet said i can use the bute i have got but it may not help much... and he said he wont give antibiotices just yet as it will prolong the abscess xx i tried pressing around his hoof his most sensative area was his conronet band :( x
 
Fingers X'd that it bursts soon, it does sound imminent as his coronet band is tender. If you are worried, you could get the hoof X-rayed with a mobile machine to check that the infection hasn't spread. I almost did that with my girl, but it burst just before we arranged it.
 
I'd leave out, and soak upto a little above the coronet band in epson salts and water or organic apple cider vinegar and water. If you could do this for a decent length of time morning and evening it may ease the absess out. You could then poultice with epson salts or clay powder mixture. If you look at homeopathy for absesses you'll find a remedy which is used for absesses. You could contact Nick Thompsons practice or Chris Days practice to register and find out more from a vet about alternatives.

Not nice at all for you. Before I got into more holistic way of life my pony had an absess and the pour guy did four weeks on box rest - not a strategy I'd be using now, but you do what you are advised at the time, and just want the best of them. Horrid to see in pain.

Best wishes
Hannah
 
I am going through the exact same thing at the moment with one of mine was slightly unsound one day has been one three legs for two days now, have been hot tubbing foot and poulticing nothing yet although there is a bit of and odour.

She has been given bute but was getting so distressed she has now had an injection last night and had finadyne paste today to keep her comfortable.

She is eating and drinking thank god, between us the vet and myself have made the decision to x ray the foot tomorrow as he has explained a fractured pedal bone will present in the same way, and if it was this you do not want to be digging around the foot or poulticing and it may need a special shoe or a cast.

It is a terrible worry as I am terrified of her having a colic, and with so much weight going through the other feet there is also the risk of stress laminitis, I would be asking for adequate painkillers to keep comfortable, have a deep bed down and would be carfeul of letting it drag on too long.
I am having to go out a couple of times in the night to check on her to make sure she is ok I am praying it will be burst out of somewhere in the morning and I hope your horses bursts out too.

I have seen a few abscess in my time but if it turns out to be one this time have never seen a horse so distressed but everything seems to be pointing towards one. Good luck with your horse, hopefully we can both report good news tomorrow.
 
HOT tubbing etc will help aswell and offer some comfort, wrap poultice all around coronet band...can you feel heat there ????.......turn out is better any movement will help........we poulticed the whole foot area..eventually came out of coronet and heel....the infection is looking for the easiest place to burst out from ......usually coronet......as soon as abcess bursts the relif is instant for them .......best wishes x
 
trinity fox i hope ur horse is ok i really do... do u have an update?

as for marley its poped out his coronet band thru the day andi touched it tonight to test he was still tender and got it all over me was a lil grossed out haha... but hes actually walking now the difference from yesterday to today is amazing!!! hes back to normal mostly hes still sore so iv hot polticed the wound to draw out whats left and to keep it clean.... what do i do next? ill be phoning the vet in the morning just to let him know but i doubt he will need to come out marley is almost sound so glad and im glad i have had the experience now for the future or to help out anyone else tht will be in my situation and is worried x
 
Id poultice for another couple of days just to be sure, its amazing how the wound heals over again it seals up real quick..........and how quickly they become sound again aswell, glad it burst..it is gross though
 
cobden99 said:
Did your vet not advise giving some bute ?
Click to expand...

farrierswife said:
Did your vet not give you a course of antibiotics to start on him?
Click to expand...


Neither bute nor antibiotics are a good idea for an abscess in the foot which is not infecting the leg. They, particularly antibiotics, can cause the abscess to encapsulate and take much, much longer to make its way out - like up to a year if you are unlucky :eek:

OP you will get a horrible hole that will grow its way all the way down the foot. It may be quite big. Don't worry about it, it will grow out fine.
 
OP, keep poulticing for a couple of days... because the pus has to be squeezed upwards to get out the hole, it's important to put a poultice on the hole that will help keep it moist (so it doesn't scab over until everything has drained out). Also it really helps to keep the horse moving, because every time he puts his hoof down and puts weight on it, it helps squish the pus up and out the hole. Yes, it is a bit gross, and it will be sore to touch for a few days!

I have to say the ones that come out the coronary band seem to me to be the quickest to heal. Sometimes, when the hole in the hoof wall reaches ground level, you get a bit of hoof breaking off, but it doesn't seem to affect hoof loading at all.

Glad your horse is on the road to recovery!
 
tjought id poste an update nearly 3 weeks later hes fi ally got his shoe back on and out feild happy as ever
have to keep his foot as clean as i can for nxt week or two but all shouod be good yayyy
 
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