Lame tb with suspected bruise not getting better help/advice/sympathy please.

[Nickles1973]

Last week with all the windy stormy weather all the horses at our yard were playing about a bit and Wednesday it seems they must have been hooning around A LOT! My horse came in that evening lame along with one other and vet was called. There was a lot of heat in my boys hoof and this extended up his leg a little but not a lot of swelling if any. Vet took my boys shoe off an applied hoof testers and diagnosed a bruise over the seat of corn. He pared a little sole away and found nothing so just advised bute and poulticing for a few days and said I should be able to have shoe back on on Monday (Tomorrow) Although he did advise that farrier may have to adjust the way his shoe fits over the bruised area and maybe put a pad on.
I called to discuss this with my farrier the next day and he came out to have a look for himself. He pared a little more sole away and uncovered a fair bit of blood but declared G less sore afterwards. He said I should wet poultice for a couple of days just to be sure of no infection and then to switch to dry poultice and he would come back on Weds am to replace the shoe.
I have been doing exactly as instructed and today changed to a dry poultice as the only thing coming from the small hole in his sole left by the farrier is weepy serum. But the thing is he's still really lame. I had hoped that by now he would be feeling more comfortable.
He last had bute yesterday am, as prescribed by the vet.
He is very flat footed and obviously without a shoe his sole is virtually in direct contact with the ground (When you add in the poultice then the nappies and hoof boot all putting pressure against a sore area) but I can't help but worry that maybe their is more going on than a bruise. Any ideas, comments or just sympathy are all welcome Thank you.

 

[Angelbones]

I've been going through this with my horse since mid November and he's now off the rest of the hunting season.

I did exactly as you did, shoe off, hot poultice for a few days, then dry poultice, and when the hoof (and it is only his hoof that is hot, not his leg) went cold he had his shoe back on. That night the hoof was raging hot again, so shoe off again the next day. We can't find anything at all. He's now got a glue on shoe on the premise that his hoof wall is not up to taking nails, and is turned out in the school (the shoe can't get wet or it will weaken the glue) during the day and stabled over night.

He went on the walker when his foot was cold, and came off with a hot foot so now the vet has been and although she is not worried about it being something serious like a fractured pedal bone, and he is not overly lame when trotted up, she is going to xray it in a week or so. She has said that some very deep bruising can take a very long time to go, although I really didn't think she meant this long! We'll see what the xray throws up if anything and go from there.

My horse was sound, loaded onto a trailer, travelled a couple of miles to the hunt meet, unloaded sound, was fine at the meet and then went lame trotting out to hunt, so go only knows what it is. I am reassured by the vet not worrying about anything serious, but am frustrated as hell and feel bad for my horse missing out on his season and going stir crazy not being in the field with his mates.

I hope yours is sorted very soon and doesn't drag on like mine. I'll keep an eye on this tread to see what happens. Good luck

 

[Always Henesy]

Do not despair! Although frustrating, these things can take weeks to heal.
My TB came in from the field a week after I got him very lame on offside fore.
To cut a long story short...he came to me with natural balance shoes on and as a result his heels had collapsed and his toes were very badly bruised.
My farrier took the monstrosities off and I poulticed his foot for a few days in case he had an abcess brewing.
He came sound...double clipped shoes were re fitted....only for him to come up lame again.
Took him to my vet, he was diagnosed 1/10th lame on a circle (hard ground)
Vet thought maybe navicular syndrome or coffin joint arthritis and suggested nerve blocks. However he thought that if we nerve blocked him - he would come up at bilaterally lame. His insurance hadn't kicked in yet (within first 14 days of cover) - so we decided to leave it.
I turned him away at grass for 5 weeks and he eventually came up sound and has been ever since. It appears that the initial bruising had caused soft tissue damage and it had taken that long for it to heal completely.
Sometimes - these things run quite deep and the horse needs a lot of time to recover fully.
If all else fails - sometimes it is worth just turning them out and giving it more time..
Good luck

 

[Nickles1973]

Thank's for replies...Bumping just in case anyone else has any other ideas

 

[SS.89]

As previously stressed by another poster ... do not dispare
My tb lad did EXACTLY the same thing a few months ago ... vet came out and found nothing bar bruising. He was lame for days and I did the same as you but poulticing and wrapping in nappies and plastic feed bags to turn him out in (everyone thought I was mad but I wasn't going to keep him in)

The best thing I ever did was actually put his shoe back on.
5 minutes after having it back on he was absolutely fine and It was a massive relief.
If the poultices you keep applying and removing are clean then I wouldnt be too worried and have another word with your farrier.

SS x

 

[SusieT]

I'd be a bit upset about the farrier paring away to blood :/ as that's the sensitive bit. You coudl try putting extra padding on the rest of the foot so that te sore area is not in cotnact with the ground, puttingo nly a thin dressing on it. If he isn't better by the end of the week, call the vet out to see if an abscess has deceloped since the last stage.

 

[Nickles1973]

Thanks for replies again! I have to say I was a little pi$$ed about seeing blood coming from my lads hoof but the vet drew 1st blood so to speak the night previous>
I have text my farrier this evening and hopefully he'll give me a call tomorrow to discuss but the vet is also visiting tomorrow to see the other Pony that was lame after the shinanagans so I might also have a word with him.
When I went down to feed my boy I changed his poultice again and there is still nothing more than serum showing but I'm sure I could feel a much more pronounced pulse which could be significant. I also gave him another bute as he seemed even soorer than this am. Poor boy :-(

 

[Marydoll]

It may take a while speak to your farrier about soleguard with your shoes for a spell that worked with my girl

 

[Black_Horse_White]

My horse had blood in his hooves after he had an attack of Lami, could your horse maybe have laminitis? Maybe worth asking the vet.

 

[Nickles1973]

As a just about a decent weight tb on rubbish grazing and at best mixed quality hay I'd say he wouldn't be your typical Laminitic but I'm open to suggestions. I'll speak to the farrier/vet in the morning.

 

[Inchy]

My boy took off up the road after been bumped by a van - initially we though bruised solesn but was lame a long time, xrays didn't show anything untoward - ended up with a trip to newmarket for scintigraphy and mri, turnes out he'd bruised base of pedal bone and both surfaces of coffin joint - he's had a few steroid injections in to hoof and is currently on 4months box rest ( half way through now!!!). He's sound now too.

 

[Marydoll]

My boy took off up the road after been bumped by a van - initially we though bruised solesn but was lame a long time, xrays didn't show anything untoward - ended up with a trip to newmarket for scintigraphy and mri, turnes out he'd bruised base of pedal bone and both surfaces of coffin joint - he's had a few steroid injections in to hoof and is currently on 4months box rest ( half way through now!!!). He's sound now too.

What a good outcome, glad its all worked out, its good to hear these stories

 

[maggiesmum]

As a just about a decent weight tb on rubbish grazing and at best mixed quality hay I'd say he wouldn't be your typical Laminitic but I'm open to suggestions. I'll speak to the farrier/vet in the morning.

Sorry but theres no such thing as a 'typical' laminitic, every horses foot contains laminae therefore every horse has the potential to develop laminitis - I own a laminitic TB who's never fat but this weather isn't doing him any favours at the moment, its ridiculously mild for winter and the grass is still growing.

 

[redriverrock]

I have a tb with very thin soles and in hard ground bruises very easily. I have a very good farrier and come spring we will be looking at some sort of boot for him so we dont have the same probs as last spring and summer. He was unsound on and off last year the whole time the ground was hard (we are on clay soil which is like concrete in the summer). As soon as the ground softens he comes good quite quickly.
I have had no personal experience dealing with laminitis but i know tb's can get it just like any other horse or pony so wouldnt dismiss this, could be concussion laminitis?

 

[AmyMay]

Does the horse still have heat anywhere?

If he's lame in his stable I'd be concerned....

 

[Suechoccy]

echo the others, do not despair. Bruises/abscesses can take WEEKS to sort out, and if your horse is used to wearing shoes then he's very likely to be sore/lame if a shoe has been removed as his sole will get bruised where he's not used to being barefoot and the poulticing makes the sole and frog much softer so much more likely to bruise.

My ned's had abscesses in his feet a couple of times over the years I've had him and both times was lame for a few weeks, with all the correct farrier attention, shoe removed, hot and then cold poulticing, one time shoe put back on, still very lame because foot now bruised from having gone soft with the poulticing and bruised where not used to being unshod.

The first one saw him out of work for about six weeks, subsequent one 2-3 weeks.

 

[Nickles1973]

Update. Today Farrier and vet came and it was decided to replace shoe. Farrier has adjusted the shape/fit to reduce pressure on the sore area of his sole while still lifting the sole off the ground. He confirmed not a raised pulse so doubtful of abcess and Vet agreed not Lami. He has very thin soles and where the farrier and vet had parred a small hole the sensitive structure of his foot is protruding from where I have been poulticing for the last 3 days. (Poor boy) He was still very tentative but was deffinately sounder in walk on the concrete in a straight line. Fngers crossed he will start to feel better in the coming days and I'll be able to turn him out by the weekend. Thank you for all your helpfull suggestions.