If a horse is only slightly lame, could it still be a hoof abscess?

[u02srg3]

My horse has been slightly lame on a front leg for over a week. The vet came out and thought it may be an abscess so dug a small hole at back of hoof. After 2 days of poulticing nothing has came out. He is pawing on that foot at feed time and does not seem to be in much pain at all! Could it still be an abscess? Should I keep wet poulticing or is there no point? Thanks!

 

[mandk]

2 of ours had foot abscesses this summer........

One incredibly lame, the vet did not dig and loads of puss etc after poultice. He was lame a while.

The other not so lame at all, the vet had a dig and we got no puss when poultice - he was sound after a few days.

But both were foot abscesses! Depends where & how the abscess is caused too.

 

[Orangehorse]

Don't remind me! Mine was on and off lame for about 2 months, even had X rays to see if it was a broken bone, but it was an abscess that had tracked round the foot, so the vet couldn't find the source of the infection and in the end, after the X rays, ended up with 3 biggish holes in his foot!

I don't think it was helped that the first vet out gave the horse bute to ease the pain - but bute is an anti-inflamatory so can make the abscess die down a bit, or so I have been told. Of course if the horse is in pain then you want to give them something to relieve it.

 

[AmyMay]

Has your farrier had a look for you?