Mother of all abbesses - help

only_me

only_me

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So around 2 months ago horse came in crippled in front and barely weight baring. No reaction to hoof testers whatsoever and farrier couldn’t find anything either. Suspicion was that he had broken something inside pastern/ hoof due to the severity of the lameness - I’m talking 8/10. Xrays done and no fracture. Continue poulticing as nothing to loose and hey presto, after 4 days of tubbing and poulticing some pus appears. First some old dirty stuff and then the loose pus appears - which continues to pour out for 5 days!! But now one very sound and happy horse. Happy days.

Then on Tuesday, horse appears same way - crippled, non WB on the other hoof this time. Still eating & drinking but reluctant to walk. Myself and farrier get no reaction to hoof testers & vet gives pain relief to see if any difference. Poulticed anyway as same presentation. Reactive to testers last night on mid lateral wall, but no sign of abscess on digging or even a mark suggesting - he has excellent feet and not a mark on them. Farrier wondering if he’s stood on something. Poulticed again thinking getting nearer or at least abscess closer to bottom. Still very much 8-9/10 lame and reluctant to step out of stable so I can tub on clean surface.

This morning - appears to be something very freshly burst out of mid front cornet band and very sore to touch. Looks like small amounts of pus but droplets and probably only burst within the last hour if that. imo horse looks slightly happier, and I think is putting a tad more weight through that foot. Still 8/10.

Here’s my question - do I continue to poultice the sole as I’m now poulticing the coronet band area?

I’m sure there’s a lot of pus to appear but obviously more difficult to pull up than pull down but unsure if need to do sole as well as the band area.
 
In my experience, years ago my horse had this, I tried to pull the abscess away from the band but it just continued to come out there, , it just meant recovery time was a bit longer and its a more delicate area, really important to stop poulticing when the pus has stopped. It will dry out pretty quickly
 
I had one like this. When it started to come out the top, I just hot tubbed twice a day, making sure the water got over the coronet band. There’s little point in poulticing the sole if it’s not coming out there. My farrier did find a hole at the bottom once he had something to go on, which he then opened to allow it to drain down.
 
I'd get your farrier back now as he can track down from where the hole is in the coronet. I'd hot tub and use a syringe to push the liquid into the hole in the coronet.
Horse should be happier now its burst as the pressure has been released, you need to be careful now that it doesn't heal before the puss has completely gone, or you'll continue on the same merry-go-round of sound for a few days and then back lame again.
 
Goldenstar said:
I am another that would be tubbing that as much as possible for a couple of days .
The horse needs a Cushings test .
Click to expand...

He’s already been tested from last time and all ok - well within limits for September. There was no clinical suspicion from the vet but was tested anyways to exclude.
 
I agree with the tubbing suggestion. Warm water and a splash of iodine if possible.

If negative for cushings, check that the white line isn't stretched. Long toes can cause this or a lack of the correct vitamins and minerals can be linked to abcsesses. There have been cases mentioned on here in the past where horses that have had multiple abcsesses have ceased to have them once on the correct supplement. I believe it was forage plus, but I'm not 100% certain.
 
I would get some CleanTrax from your vet asap. Magical stuff, and I use it for all the horses I get in for rehab with mega abscesses.
 
Greyskull said:
I agree with the tubbing suggestion. Warm water and a splash of iodine if possible.

If negative for cushings, check that the white line isn't stretched. Long toes can cause this or a lack of the correct vitamins and minerals can be linked to abcsesses. There have been cases mentioned on here in the past where horses that have had multiple abcsesses have ceased to have them once on the correct supplement. I believe it was forage plus, but I'm not 100% certain.
Click to expand...
The forage plus story was a horse that had multiple abscesses caused by a copper deficiency .
 
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