Longest time for an abscess to come out?? your experiences please!!

[devonlass]

So my lad has been cooking an abscess now for weeks.I am sick to death of poulticing and so is he I think by now!!

It started off as an obvious hole in the white line due to changes in grazing,trimmer dug about a bit (but minimally as neither of us are fans of gaping holes in a horses foot) and seemed to help,and assumed would 'pop' out of there.Not so it seems and now that part of foot looking healthy and growing back well,but black patch on sole nearby and I think tracking up to heel bulb.

He is happy and well in himself and hardly lame,I think it's me who is more fed up with the work of having him penned in and the constant bl**dy poulticing
My trimmer did say I could turn him out but my field is a bog and don't think I would have a hope in hells chance of keeping a poultice on TBH,so have decided to keep him penned for now which I appreciate does mean some of the work is my own doing but can't really see an alternative unless get some real cold weather and ground hardens up,I am prob the only person wishing for freezing weather conditions lol

So how long have others had abscesses hang around,or heard of them hanging around for??

Just after a bit of light at the end of the tunnel really,and a break from riding my cob lol.Fabby and safe riding horse that he is,he bores me to tears with his plodding and want to be back on board my bonkers but fun pony

*disclaimer* Please don't feel the need to lecture me on getting the vet,I am quite happy with mine and my trimmers 'diagnosis' and treatment.My vet recommends my trimmer to clients and would almost certainly agree with her advice which to carry on as we are anyway,only difference between them would be the bill I suspect
Only other possibility would be to dig about and create large holes in my lads foot,this doesn't appeal to me either so for now the vet is not something I am considering.If he becomes more lame or in obvious discomfort then I will of course be calling my vet but for now it's not necessary,and I would appreciate if vets (or farriers as I don't use them at all and don't intend to) are your only thoughts on the matter that you keep it to yourself,many thanx

 

[be positive]

4 months, in a pony 2 years ago, farrier, vet, x-rays, daily poultices, tubbing, keeping in, turning out, anti biotics, huge quantities of danilon as at times he was non weight bearing, the vet wanted to pts as he also had pedal bone rotation which was getting worse in the good foot.

He is still here, sound, has been out competing this summer so it was worth it.

 

[devonlass]

4 months, in a pony 2 years ago, farrier, vet, x-rays, daily poultices, tubbing, keeping in, turning out, anti biotics, huge quantities of danilon as at times he was non weight bearing, the vet wanted to pts as he also had pedal bone rotation which was getting worse in the good foot.

He is still here, sound, has been out competing this summer so it was worth it.

Oh lord that sounds like a hideous experience not to mention expensive!! G;ad it worked out in the end though and pony is good to go now

Do you mind if i ask what yout think helped the most in regard to turning out or bringing in?? I have thoughts that the movement would help bring it out but that the nightmare of poulticing in bad conditions might make it worse,how did you find it??

Was there something you think did the trick in the end or did it just happen when it was ready so to speak??

Sorry for all the Q's just trying to give myself hope and/or save any wasted effort

 

[Pinkvboots]

It can take weeks and weeks, I agree about not making too many or really big holes in the foot, few years ago a vet cut so much of my horses foot it made the heel unstable which you really dont want, I think farrirs do a much better job as its them that have to get a shoe back on the horse so they tend to make smaller holes.

Are you still hot poulticing it? If yes do a dry one for a day or so as the hot one softens the foot, I then put a mix of iodine and surgical spirit to the sole before I left it uncovered my horse was fine after that took about two weeks though, I find you can often feel the abcess on the sole it depresses in where it is have a feel round see if you can find anything else. They are a pain I know went through
same thing a few weeks back.

I still turned mine out as fields not too bad, but if you have reallly deep mud its difficult for the poultice to stay clean, I wrapped mine in hifi bags and duct tape nappies are good to fit perfect.

 

[be positive]

The final push was when he was turned out, to start with he was so lame he had to stay in, then with the other foot having issues he had to stay in for that to be supported, I finally managed to get him out in a small paddock and later that day there was black gunk in the poultice, it drained and he slowly recovered, the ligaments were also constricted from him being non weight bearing, he probably should have gone to hospital but you just think its an abscess it will soon come out, I never thought it could take so long and there were many times I wondered if he should have been pts when the vet first suggested it.
My farrier was brilliant, he came out every time I called him, sometimes twice in a day, luckily he lives nearby.
I am sure yours is not going to be anywhere near so bad but you did ask how long
I would wrap it up really well and get him out, if he is not too lame moving around should help, my problem was that most of the time mine was too lame and we also had the snow that winter I could not have turned him out in that as his other foot would have really suffered.

 

[devonlass]

It can take weeks and weeks, I agree about not making too many or really big holes in the foot, few years ago a vet cut so much of my horses foot it made the heel unstable which you really dont want,

Are you still hot poulticing it? If yes do a dry one for a day or so as the hot one softens the foot, I then put a mix of iodine and surgical spirit to the sole before I left it uncovered my horse was fine after that took about two weeks though, I find you can often feel the abcess on the sole it depresses in where it is have a feel round see if you can find anything else. They are a pain I know went through same thing a few weeks back.

Thanks for that The large hole in foot is an issue because not only do I not want it for the reasons you mention of compromising the foot itself,but also my lad usually lives out 24/7 in a field where some parts get very boggy and others have a lot of stone in so the worry is that something else could get in and start the whole thing again,can't cover effectively to stop this happening due to the boggy parts.On top of that he's barefoot and works barefoot but if there was a great big hole would mean booting for every ride until grew out which will do his hoof health no good at all.
All in all gaping holes in the foot are just not an option,and my trimmer feels it wouldn't help anyway due to being impossible to get an exact location of abscess to dig for!!

Haven't had much luck feeling around recently,but will have a go and another look for what you mention.There is a definite area on sole that looks troubled and reacted to the hoof testers and trimmer convinced that it going to be where it comes out (thinks it will just peel off eventually),but is looking less of an issue as time goes on and he reacted less to the hoof testers second time around in that area as well so I am now not convinced and have a gut feeling it's heading more towards the heel bulb.

Just a case of waiting it out I guess,bah humbug!!

 

[devonlass]

The final push was when he was turned out, to start with he was so lame he had to stay in, then with the other foot having issues he had to stay in for that to be supported, I finally managed to get him out in a small paddock and later that day there was black gunk in the poultice,

I am sure yours is not going to be anywhere near so bad but you did ask how long

I would wrap it up really well and get him out, if he is not too lame moving around should help, my problem was that most of the time mine was too lame and we also had the snow that winter I could not have turned him out in that as his other foot would have really suffered.

Thank you so much for that,most interesting

My trimmer did mention turn out and i have suspected it might help,your experience would suggest that would be the case.

I have no concerns about turning him out from a lameness POV,he's pretty much sound now with his poultice on (little bit less so without,but still not hopping lame like he was at first),and my field is flat and very soft so shouldn't be a struggle for him in that sense.

It's just a case of how to keep his foot clean and dry I am using feed bags,lots of tape and hoof boots which are doing a fine job in the pen,but my field is basically marsh land/flood plain so you can imagine how wet and boggy it is this year with the weather we have had

The higher parts are fine but unfortunately the lower bit which includes the track to the gate and water trough etc is very deep mud with a lot of stone underneath so pretty pants for a compromised foot or poultice to stay on in.

Someone on here suggested a car inner tube over the foot which I am trying to source but as cars these days don't have separate inner tubes that is proving quite a job!!

Thanks again for all your thoughts and hopefully you are right that mine won't be as bad,everything crossed that it isn't anyway!!

 

[barehoofhannah]

Not nice for you, your trimmer may have suggested soaking to above the coronet band already in a water and organic apple cider vinegar solution or Epsom salts, if not way want to think about that. May mean it comes out at the top, through coronet band instead, rather than leaving another hole at the bottom. There are sections in the natural books I have on herbs and bits that help, I hope it eases soon, Hannah

 

[sychnant]

Mine was off for weeks with what the vet and farrier both thought was an abscess. Poulticed, soaked etc. They thought it was a highish one which would most likely come out the coronet band.

By the time I decided to seek a second opinion the infection had tracked up and infected the tendon sheath, so please don't assume that it is just taking a long time - hopefully that's all it is, but waiting and assuming can make things worse.

Good luck, and I hope it bursts soon!

 

[stimpy]

I have dealt with lots of abscesses over the years (particularly this year) and I would say that whilst there are many people who are *much* better than me in all sorts of areas of horsemanship I am pretty bl**dy good at keeping a poultice on in the field I hot tub, then apply (in order) hot soaked lintex, a nappy, vet wrap the whole foot, put a double square of feed sack on the underside of the hoof and then strips of gaffer tape all around with extra thickness on the toe to make a waterproof 'hoof'. I can do this on my own, without the foot touching the ground by setting everything up beforehand in reach of me sitting on a crate with the offending foot balanced on my knee.

The longest I have had to wet poultice for was 6 weeks in my mare whose foot had fallen apart through acute laminitis in one back foot and the pus just kept coming. This was followed by 6 weeks of dry wrapping so I had three months of dressing her foot at least once a day. It is gruelling and I feel for you!

A few years ago my old boy had a suspected foot abscess and I was hot poulticing for 4 weeks before the penny dropped that my vet had dropped the ball and was fobbing me off. I got a second opinion, and the new vet diagnosed a pedal bone infection that was by then pretty aggressive and my poor elderly horse had to have IV antibiotics for two weeks. He recovered but shouldn't have had to go through that and needless to say the original vet is no longer my vet.

I would be xraying any suspected abscess that hadn't burst or at least shown itself within a couple of weeks to rule out bone infection and to see what is going on inside the foot.

 

[wildflower]

We had an abcess in sept , started on the base by the frog , (entry of foreign object ).........it never drained from there though and took 3/4 weeks to pop out of the coronet band.Our mare was minimally lame and we turned her out , I used vet wrap, nappies and tape , but we weren,t as wet back then.Turning out helps I think as the motion/movement can bring out the abcess quicker.I,m not a fan of digging out either .

 

[devonlass]

Thanks all for your comments,seems i may just be being impatient then and could have another week or two to go yet,great

I won't get into it much as want to avoid a should I or shouldn't I call the vet debate,but to put some minds at ease I am pretty confident that he is not harbouring a major bone or tendon infection,he just hasn't any of the signs of that and is very happy and bright in himself,no temp,no pain or heat in the leg and not much in the foot.He does however have and has had all the usual signs of an abscess including an original grazing related event and subsequent foot falling apart scenario that was no doubt the original cause of the abscess occuring.

I will of course be having the vet out if he alters or becomes unhappy or uncomfortable,but until then we will carry on as we are,and hopefully not for too much longer!!

I have dealt with lots of abscesses over the years (particularly this year) and I would say that whilst there are many people who are *much* better than me in all sorts of areas of horsemanship I am pretty bl**dy good at keeping a poultice on in the field I hot tub, then apply (in order) hot soaked lintex, a nappy, vet wrap the whole foot, put a double square of feed sack on the underside of the hoof and then strips of gaffer tape all around with extra thickness on the toe to make a waterproof 'hoof'. I can do this on my own, without the foot touching the ground by setting everything up beforehand in reach of me sitting on a crate with the offending foot balanced on my knee.

Lol it does sound like poulticing is your area of expertise

I have been doing similar but with a few less layers so to speak,but then he is in a pen so no need to go the extra mile at present.I have had a couple of admiring comments about my poulticing so must be doing ok but nowhere near your level of skill I fear!!

My problem is my field is very wet and muddy,in parts it is almost up to their knees and I can barely stay upright on it as sucks your wellies off when walking,how do I,or indeed can I poultice for these conditions??

OH is having no luck so far sourcing a car inner tube as per one suggestion have seen on here.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Lami toock two weeks for it to burst and then three for it to stop draining.....I think.

You might want an X-ray just to besure it isn't anything else, or it hasn't tracked in ward.

 

[Circe]

My tb brewed an abscess, ( lameness, pus draining, then nothing, then lame again ) for 4 months. Eventually the abscess started draining properly, there were about 4 spots on the hoof it was coming from. I hot tubbed and poulticed daily for 2 weeks ( either wet poultice or dry depending on hoof condition ).
I kept my boy out, but we were very dry at that time, and he was good at keeping the bandage/wrap on.
I did get xrays during all of this though, as I was worried that he must have more going on than 'just" an abscess, but it was all clear. I think the abscess must just of been deep in the hoof... It was an extremely worrying time, but he has really good feet now, and hasn't had an abscess since.
Kx

 

[Ranyhyn]

4/5 months here. It finally blew with walking out, hot tubbing and poulticing. When it did blow, it came from bulb, coronet band and she then dropped her entire sole.

 

[whizzer]

Mine was lame on & off for 5 weeks after shoeing in the summer. Had farrier back out, found nothing, horse kept going sound but then few days later would be not right again. Eventually went sound enough to ride,then when we were having a canter out hacking went so lame I thought he'd done a tendon,farrier back out & found teeny, weeeny little abscess. Was fine once it was poulticed for a few days.

 

[my bfg]

longest was 2 months to pop Ems been quite prone to them in summer but they usually take a couple of weeks to pop an mostly come out thru the coronet band. this was awful, came to the point after 2 months of poulticing the vet said if the farrier couldnt do anything to help during his visit later that day then Em would be off to hospital in case it was something else wrong, the farrier came out, dug some holes out as usual then said he couldnt do anymore, we stood looking at her when i noticed something wet by one of the holes, crotched down to see (and smell!) it had burst and was trcikling out, never been so happy to see pus!!!