Laminitis, abscess or else?

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Spartu

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Hey all. My 9 year old, never laminitic horse was sound and playful one day, only to find him severly lame day after. It has been going on for 8 days now. The day I found him, he was his normal happy self, eating/drinking, but held left front leg in front of him. I walked him a bit, and he would do a huge head bob with every step, so I brought him back to his box. His hoof was hot, but no swelling in the entire leg. Vet was coming tomorrow and I left the horse in deep bedding, cut off his grain to the minimal amount and left him for the night. Tomorrow, vet came, did hoof testers, blocked the foot and the pain is definitely in his foot. He gave him pain medication and something for inflammation, turned him in circles - horse really struggled. He's been on the therapy for 8 days, no improvement. When walking, he would stumble and limp first few steps, then walk slowly but soundly. and then limp again, and be normal again. He can do easier circles on concrete now, vet says it is good. He was shoed with bar shoes with full pads, and something across his sole, part of his shoe. He kept even weight on all 4, resting his hinds, before and after shoeing. Shoeing did not made a big difference to how his walks, maybe none at all, and bute didn't too. :/ Day after shoeing, I find him holding left front ahead again, slight swelling in pastern, fetlock, and upper leg, and part of his coronet band was really swollen and puffy, in front, and painful when touching. Vet said it could be abscess about to burst, and it is causing him pain, but on the other hand, he speaks about mild laminitis where rotation did not occur, and I'm kind of confused. He never showed laminitis signs, like this classis stance with extending fronts, never stopped eating/drinking and willingly gives his hooves, and doesn't switch weight between legs. Only has hard time turning/walking. But he is a bit fat. :/ I am kind of shocked, because this was so sudden and severe, and because all the therapy and shoeing is not making difference. His hooves are not dramatically hot, right one gets ice cold at some times of the day, left is hotterr, but not much, and gets colder too, but never completely cold. And pulse can be felt, but not severly. I am so scared, and need your help and experience, because this has given me many sleepless nights. :( Will post back soon, and thank you! <3
 
If I'm honest, it sounds like your vet is making more of it than need be! Bar shoes and pads? I would be removing the shoe and poulticing the foot as it sounds like a classic abscess. Hot tubbing in Epson salts daily before re-poulticing. Do this for 4 days. Then if no better get the foot xrayed. It could be laminitis, but unlikely in a horse his age and this time of year. It could be a pedal bone fracture. But I am 95% certain you will find that it's an abscess.
 
Wagtail said:
If I'm honest, it sounds like your vet is making more of it than need be! Bar shoes and pads? I would be removing the shoe and poulticing the foot as it sounds like a classic abscess. Hot tubbing in Epson salts daily before re-poulticing. Do this for 4 days. Then if no better get the foot xrayed. It could be laminitis, but unlikely in a horse his age and this time of year. It could be a pedal bone fracture. But I am 95% certain you will find that it's an abscess.
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Thank you so much for your kind words that give me hope. This ignorance is so upsetting for me. :( Only things that make me think he has laminitis is his walking slower than normal and the fact he really is fat. :/ But it is a bit long for him to stay the same, not get worse. I mean, he does walk slowly and weirdly with his fronts, but special shoes made no difference. :(
 
Leg was a bit worse today. More swelling, behind and front of the pastern, filled leg and puffy fetlock. So we will have to x-ray his whole leg. Might be a pedal bone fracture. Devastated. :(
 
It is still likely to be an abscess. My horse had one which took about 3 months to come out. It didn't even show on the x-rays. My horse was is so much pain, she was on three legs and sweating. Abscesses are evil things until the come out! Fingers crossed it's nothing more serious.
 
Holly Hocks said:
It is still likely to be an abscess. My horse had one which took about 3 months to come out. It didn't even show on the x-rays. My horse was is so much pain, she was on three legs and sweating. Abscesses are evil things until the come out! Fingers crossed it's nothing more serious.
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I would kill for an abscess. But after vet took him out for check up, he got more swelling. I wonder if he would be the same if he stayed inside. Plus the coronet band and pastern swelling. o.o One thing that puzzles me, is how could he get the fracture in the first place? He is out of work, not going at high speeds. Even if he stood on something, he could have done it in walk only, and that is not big enough force to cause a fracture of pedal bone. :( So confused... :( Thank you so much, I do hope it is not serious. <3
 
Spartu said:
I would kill for an abscess. But after vet took him out for check up, he got more swelling. I wonder if he would be the same if he stayed inside. Plus the coronet band and pastern swelling. o.o One thing that puzzles me, is how could he get the fracture in the first place? He is out of work, not going at high speeds. Even if he stood on something, he could have done it in walk only, and that is not big enough force to cause a fracture of pedal bone. :( So confused... :( Thank you so much, I do hope it is not serious. <3
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My little mare was swollen from her coronet band right up to just below her knee. I was convinced it was a tendon injury. But it was just an abscess. My sister is a barefoot trimmer and says abscesses often cause swelling up the leg. I wouldn't panic too much. Pedal bone fractures usually happen when the ground is hard, moving fast on stony ground or kicking a solid object such as a wall.
 
Wagtail said:
My little mare was swollen from her coronet band right up to just below her knee. I was convinced it was a tendon injury. But it was just an abscess. My sister is a barefoot trimmer and says abscesses often cause swelling up the leg. I wouldn't panic too much. Pedal bone fractures usually happen when the ground is hard, moving fast on stony ground or kicking a solid object such as a wall.
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Ugh. All of this has given me bad anxiety. Not eating/sleeping. I just want this to end. When I heard my vet say to cut off all of his grain, my world literally crushed. I will keep you all informed. But as this has been going for around 10 days now, I'm so scared. Seeing my horse is pain is the worst thing ever. And my vet who is leaning towards laminitis/pedal bone fracture is only making things worse. No clue how will I survive x-rays. :(
 
Yesterday, his 3 feet were as cold as ice, literally, like a rock, only his left hoof had varying heat - from mild heat/nothing scary to much hotter, but never cold as the other ones. And his swelling at the front of the hoof where the coronary band is, is kind of soft and expanding. Like being more wide. And he might have a bit of depression, you know, the thing they say for laminitic horses, but his right front and hinds are perfectly cold, and no swelling, so I have no clue. Will keep you updated. <3
 
It does sound like an abscess to me too. Have you been poulticing it during any of this time? I certainly would be as it won't do any harm and may just bring the abscess out. I would also call my farrier out to whip of the shoes and have a look. Good luck OP and keep up posted.
 
I agree. I would get the shoes off and start poulticing, right up to the coronet band as it sounds like it is ready to burst, and most likely it will be at the coronet band. Pads can act like a pressure cooker keeping the abscess in and building up the pressure and pain.

Having said that, my old mare presented with laminitis in just one front foot the first time. But she was much older than your horse and was found to have cushings. If he is as fat as you say, laminitis is not out of the question, but it is unusual to present in just one foot. Obviously, I would get as much weight off him as you can though.
 
Glad you both agree it is leaning towards an abscess. He was also more comfortable yesterday, walking around his box, even crossing front legs when turning, but still not comfortable on tight circle, but is making good progress. He even did some rearing in the box while I was bringing his food. :D One thing I forgot to add, is that he has higher heel on the right hind, and pretty much low heel on the left, so that could be the reason why he presented so severly in the left front. But yet again, his right foot was dead cold yesterday, so it really puzzles me. Anyway, thank you guys, I really appreciate your help during this, and will definitely keep you updated. <3
 
Hello all. Mostly good news around, and I hope it will keep up with improving. Horse is off any medication for 3-4 or more days now, and from the first day we took him off pain-relievers he never took a bad step. He is happily standing on all four, comfortably turning in circles around his box both way, pikcing up his feet, and walking soundly, even on hardish ground. But we just took him out for 7-8 strides, to see if he would be lame again as he gets out of his box, but he wasn't. He will still be on box rest for a bit. And we didn't force him to turn in tight circle yet, this was good enough imporvement for us. So I don't know if he will be comfortable or not. But he is definitely better. Swelling at the top of his coronary band is still there, it is kinda wide and puffy, but not around his whole hoof, just front part, and not all the way. And he still has heat in that hoof, so definitely some proccessing inside there yet. From now on - we will put Animalintex pads on his hoof, to drain whatever is inside out, and rest him. Once it drains, we will take him for a walks, and try him trotting in the circle. If he is sound, no work for him, we will give him another additional 20 days or a month of rest, and then slowly introduce him to small pasture. And look into taking his special shoes off. From the first day this happened, it has been around two weeks since he got right. And he never stopped eating grain - only smaller amounts. And he never got worse, so probably not real laminitis - maybe a warning sign. I will keep you updated, and thank you for your support. <3
 
Glad he seems to be doing better, OP. If it is an abscess, then he's better being turned out though as the movement helps it to drain.
 
Wagtail said:
Glad he seems to be doing better, OP. If it is an abscess, then he's better being turned out though as the movement helps it to drain.
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With an actual abscess, I would expect some severe lameness. BO told me one of the possibilities. First time I saw him lame and almost three-legged was one abscess was there, then he was lame, but better - because we treated him agressively. 2nd time when he held leg in front of him was after shoeing, we irritated his hoof and abscess in there. And he was sore while abscess was making way through his hoof. Now when he has plenty of swelling at the coronary band, he is better, because pressure is released there and was able to expand. I want to trust BO, because it is the best version possible. :D
 
Sounds like an abscess to me. Some abscesses don't always cause major lameness though. Whenever my horses go lame and there is no obvious sign of what is going on like a cut, the first thing I do is call my farrier as I was always told that a majority of lameness comes from the foot. He is brilliant and normally comes out the same day or the next morning to inspect and is a fraction of the price of a vet. However, he will always tell me if he thinks they need the vet instead. 9 times out of 10 it is in the foot and either bruising or an abscess, which he will pierce a hole in the sole to allow it to drain out. With an abscess, I will hot poultice for 2 days and then dry poultice for the rest of the week or however long it takes for it all to come out and I wrap silage tape around the bandage to keep it clean and dry. I turn my horse out into an all weather area (or dry field in the summer) so that he can walk around which will help get out the yucky stuff and he is normally sound and back in work within two weeks. Hope your boy is okay and feeling better!
 
Hey all. Good news are continuing to happen. but normally, I cannot stop worrying. It has been around 3 weeks now, and he has been turned out everyday. He is moving very well, cantering, and no lameness when lunged on the circle. but I feel like he is still a bit reserved. So I mostly try him in trot when vet comes, and try to keep him moving as less as possible. But vet said movement is good for circulation. What is worrying the most is his swelling at the front of his coronary band. It is hardish now, not much painful, but it is there. And it is kind of big. With him not being lame, I don't know if I should ship him for x-rays. We will try poulticing with Animalintex pads. And his hoof is still hot, and even his leg a bit. You can clearly tell the difference, because his whole right leg is cold. I want to trust my vet, because horse already made an amazing progress, but I just can't get it out of my head. I might try cold hosing his leg. But I am sure that swelling on his coronary band is bigger than it was when it first showed up. ;/ Thank you all for help and advice. <3
 
Have you tried poulticing the spot on is coronary band? He could have a thorn or something in there and if it has got infected and tracked down into the foot, it will be very uncomfortable for him. In case it is laminitis, I think it would be a good idea to cut all grain out of his diet, rather than reduce it - there are plenty of threads on here about feeding overweight and laminitis -prone horses that you will hopefully find useful
 
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