multiple foot abscesses, any tips please. Need horse wheelchair!

0ldmare

0ldmare

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My mare went down with a terrible bout of laminitis in the autumn and it turned out to be cushing related. She had another less severe bout a few weeks ago and then went sound again. Now she seems to be being plagued with abscesses.

I had to get the farrier on saturday as she was one 3 legs. It was a hind foot and the farrier found it and pus duly came out. Been poulticing for the last couple of days and its improving.

Went to get her in this evening and I'm 99% sure she's getting another in one of her fronts. I'm pretty sure its not laminitis as its not presenting right and also its the least effected front foot, plus its very sudden.

So now she looks like she will mostly be weight bearing on 2 legs, one of which being the worse effected laminits one :( :(

Obviously depending on what I find in the morning I will get the farrier out, or vet. Just not sure which at the moment!

Does anyone have any tips, ways of avoiding abscesses. Would shoes help? (When her feet stop hurting obviously!)

As I said my horse needs a wheelchair - urgently!!
 
Ah poor pony!! All I can suggest is to contact the laminitis clinic. Also if applying shoes is going to be too painful at the moment, would hoof boots and pads help her out at the moment?
 
Hmm I was wondering if hoof boots might help until her hoof grows and hopefully quality improves after the laminitis. I'm just not sure if they could be worn all day (no need at night as she's in at night and *never* steps in poop which she deposits neatly in one corner (she is such a lady :) )
 
Sadly we had a six year old show Shire who developed cushings syndrome, with associated abcesses and laminitis, she was not treatable and after two months of struggling we had to make the decision that she really had had enough. Sorry I cannot be more optimistic, but think once the abcesses have started there is little hope.
 
YorksG said:
Sadly we had a six year old show Shire who developed cushings syndrome, with associated abcesses and laminitis, she was not treatable and after two months of struggling we had to make the decision that she really had had enough. Sorry I cannot be more optimistic, but think once the abcesses have started there is little hope.
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I fear you could well be right, a friend went through this a couple of years ago. Her horse just got abscess after abscess until she had to give up too in the end. I'm gutted my mare has got one, now 2 days later looks likely to have a 2nd one :(
 
I think we may have this problem with one of our horses, only thing is he is so big & heavy (18hh Perheron - weighs nearly a ton:rolleyes:) he gets really uncomfortable on his (crappy) feet.

What is it that causes the abscesses?

Ours is worse when the ground is soft (in winter) and improved last summer when the ground was harder/better. He is coping with 4 bute a day atm :eek:
 
Have you got x-rays done? I had a horse what kept getting abcesses andowed t the x-rays showed that there was a very slight drop in the pedal bone. This was sorted by trimming her feet to change the angle slighlty. Also it was that really really wet summer so I ended up keeping her in quite a bit. That was over 2 years ago and she hasn't had a problem since.
She is also a heavy breed btw, shire X
 
Our girl had a very badly rotated and dropped pedal bone as well, she was 17hh pure bred shire, the farrier did the absolute best he could, but sadly the last option offered by the vet was to operate and keep her in slings for weeks. We made the decision that this was not viable, a ton of horse on slings is not really on. We also had to consider the quality of life she would have had. The other thing we had to consider was that this was only a symptom of the underlying problem, which caused the foot problem. We have since also lost a Clyde at 11 years old and have made the decision that we will not have anymore of the really heavies, as we consider that the gene pool is just too small and the possibility of systemic illness is too great. This is after we had a Clyde who lived to be at least 40 years old. We have always assumed that she was ok as she was born during the time that there were many more heavies and so there was less in breeding
 
Mine is shire X dales pony so she is a bit tougher, though compared to proper 'natives' they deffo aren't as tough. Infact my pure TB is tougher, and my TBx. If they weren't clipped they would need less rugs etc. The only thing is that heavy horses are so gentle and have great characters which is ideal for my nervous mother! :)
 
Absolutely, it is very sad that they have become so 'fragile'. Mind you the newest girl is a very heavily built Westphalian mare, stands at 16hh, but is built so that I think a howdah is more appropriate than a saddle :D She is the sweetest and most calm mare we have had since the Old Clydie. She has only been here a fortnight and is so settled it is amazing. She is very very calm. Not been ridden here yet, but we are intending to take her out this weekend and have no qualms about her first trip out :)
 
YorksG said:
and have made the decision that we will not have anymore of the really heavies, as we consider that the gene pool is just too small and the possibility of systemic illness is too great.
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Hhmmm I wonder if this is the case,

We have another 18hh Percheron with different breeding and his feet are great, I am not sure what to do about this boy with the bad feet, vet has been and xrayed, nerve blocked etc..etc..etc (over £2k of vets bills - thanks :rolleyes:) but has only found one abscess in one foot but for ages it looked like it was all four feet, this year it looks like the front two feet that are sore, but vet says it is just thin soles ... maybe? bute does help him a bit.

Good luck everyone :)
 
Sadly with our Shire, she had underlying systemic illness (cushings syndrome) although at age 6. She had a delayed diagnosis as the vet was flummoxed, she had the opposite of cushings coat as her coat became thin and she had skin lessions. The Clyde had also some underlying systemic problem (possibly liver tumour). Having had similar problems with 'overbred' brown labs we have made the decision not to have pure heavies again :( Mind you as I said the new girl is absolutely no light weight! :D If she weighs less than a ton I will be amazed!
 
YorksG said:
Sadly we had a six year old show Shire who developed cushings syndrome, with associated abcesses and laminitis, she was not treatable and after two months of struggling we had to make the decision that she really had had enough. Sorry I cannot be more optimistic, but think once the abcesses have started there is little hope.
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We sadly had a similar case for the old hunter. After years and years of rock crunching feet with not a days lameness she just got abcess after abcess after abcess :( They healed quickly but that, combined with her arthritis, was the last straw.

Boots and pads would really help make her comfortable. If her abcess's are cushings related, not due to knocked feet (think she lives in a soft school, right?) then putting shoes on won't help.

There are a couple of types of boots she could wear for 12hrs. If they are really good fit for her feet (depends on her foot shape), the trainer type boots (boa's, old macs, cavallo's) would be fine, esp with the gaiters to stop rubbing. They are also perfect for putting pads in (gardners kneeling pads cut to size are brillaint!) Alternatively have a look at the Easycare Boots, or Glove, which fit entirely below the hairline so don't rub (but harder to use with pads)
 
Ohno oldmare big big ((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))) to you and your mare. You've both been through so much this is the last thing you need. :(
Merryn had a run of obcesses when I first got him. He had Lami in June (thats why he ended up with me). He was sound when he arrived and I rode him for a week then he suddenly went very very lame. The farrier said it was Lami :mad: but I wasn't so shore it was, I know abcesses can be an after effect of Lami. (Merryns lami had caused a gap in his whiteline and were the laminie had become inflamed and died in his lami attack there where gaps in the laminie perfect for an abcess to form :( ) so I tubbed and poulticed the foot and after the first night loads of puss was coming out the foot. (The abcess was in his right front and he was putting all his weight on his left front so I put support on his left front foot and made shore he had a deep bed) I poulticed and tubbed the foot for over a week till the puss had gone. He then became sound but after another week he went lame again. So in he came and we went through the whole routine again This time pouticing for nearly two weeks. I called a diffrent farrier, she came out and looked at his feet and agreed with what I said about the lami and abcesses being linked. She trimed his feet and tried to help the whiteline close. He came sound this time for a week and a half then he throw the biggest abcess I've ever seen I polticed and tubbed the foot for over two weeks :eek: Finaly the puss stopped coming out. Just after the new year we put front shoes on him as he had grown enough foot and so far so good he has remaind sound. *touches every bit of wood she can find* :)
I wish you and your mare all the luck in the world. I'm shore your farrier has told you already but make shore you support her other feet and provide her with a soft bed to help avoid lami in the other feet which are now baring all her weight. Hoof boots may help prvent abcesses till her feet are able to be shod. I kept Merryn in and only turned him out in the school. Luckly the route from his stable to the school is all concreate. After the last abcess untill he could be shod he stayed in and I only rode him in the school. Since he's had shoes on we have been hacking loads and he now lives back out in the field :) Again good luck and remember i'm here if you need someone to talk to. xx
 
I have a horse who has recently had an abcess after getting a bruised sole as he has very thin soles.
A homeopath recommended that I give him Hypericum. Maybe have a word with a local homeopath to you about giving this, it may help.
 
Thanks so much for the replies. This morning it seems highly likely to be another abscess so am calling the farrier. So far her other front leg seems to be bearing up (the one that was particularly bad with laminitis) although its a little hard to tell. Her back one which had the original abscess seems much better - although it could be that its just less painful than the new front one and she's got to take her weight somewhere. I'll get the farrier to check that one while he's out.

I do think we are very much in 'last chance saloon' here, but while she's very lame she's bright enough - big whinney when she saw me and scoffed her breakfast and seems quite cheery in herself.
 
This is the side of lami we don't hear so much about. A friend had a rescue case and despite the best efforts of the farrier and vet hospital the pain she was in as a result of the long term effects of the laminitis and the deep seated abcesses was too great and she was pts.

The laminitis causes dead spaces within the hoof which then leave the horse permanently predisposed to infection.Good farriery, foot hygiene are necessary.

The pain of abcesses is extreme and heartbreaking to witness.
 
I think maybe try getting either shoes put back on or invest in some boots - Boa boots are quite good.

Our old TB got a very bad abscess in the summer a couple of years ago. He is 26 and he was actually not weight bearing at all on it so we had to section him off in a small paddock. Vet and farrier struggled to get to the seat of the abcess and at one point he seemed to go sound-ish. However, this turned out to be because he developed an abscess in his other front foot due to putting all his weight on it! It was a nightmare. Eventually the vet (our usual vet who a little better than the first one who visited) did manage to get to the root of the problem and we spent a good long time hot tubbing (in hot salted water) both his front feet - we had a huge rubber bucket and he was very obliging and let us put both feet in at once - wrapping them both up with poultices and then putting Boa boots on him. When we'd finished poulticing we kept him wearing the Boa boots until we felt everything had completely healed. We then decided it may be best to shoe him infront which we did.

We have since removed his shoes for the winter months but they will go back on in summer as it seems to be the dry weather that causes him problems.

I think with yours shoeing could certainly help, especially if like some have said, the pedal bones have rotated slightly. Remedial shoeing may just help.
 
use a name said:
Im just going to post this,it has some info on your horses problem.Not trying to put about the barefoot thing!But this might help with some info on abscesses.Look at the rest of the site.Wont post anything else.Im sorry to hear about your horse.I hope she gets better,good luck.

http://www.thenakedhoof.com.au/html/article-WhyShoeingBadIdea.htm
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:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
no more said

I'm so sorry, iv followed you and your mares progress for a long time now and think you do great to carry on.

My laminitic boy had to have shoes in the end after 10 yrs off being bare footed, once the damanged part off the foot from the lammi made it's way to the bottom he couldn't even stand and foot abcesses being the norm. The vet explained about the damaged White line, open gaps and lack off support now at the bottom off his foot. I put shoes on him and it worked but only until the damaged foot was all gone. He's now back to no shoes. Good luck with her.
 
To the OP, I really hope that things work out for your mare. Lots of luck and get well wishes.


Re the link above, Dr Strasser is an infamous lady and her theories and trimming techniques are very contentious issues.
Reference: Concepts and illustrations from A Lifetime of Soundness by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser
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I have a mare that had cushings related laminitus and she had multiple abcesses, it probably took about 12 months for it to settle, she had imprint shoes and was on box rest for most of the time but could walk out into a small area if she wanted. We had an excellent farrier who regularly had to come out, remove the shoe and relieve the abcess pressure. The imprint shoes were fantastic as she did not want to stand without them. A number of my friends thought I was mad but she had given me so much pleasure I thought I owed it to her to persevere. She is on pergolide now and has normal shoes again (well back to front shoes to support the heel and relieve the pressure on the toe) and she is sound and goes out every day and no abcesses for 18 months, so there is hope but it will take time and money!! Good Luck.
 
0ldmare said:
Hmm I was wondering if hoof boots might help until her hoof grows and hopefully quality improves after the laminitis. I'm just not sure if they could be worn all day (no need at night as she's in at night and *never* steps in poop which she deposits neatly in one corner (she is such a lady :) )
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I used to look after a little pony in a similar condition to your mare, we would put hoof boots on him out in the field and at night he was in his stable with a nice thick bed. The only problem we had was he would sometimes get the boots off.

If you decide to do this just keep an eye for any rubbing and try an get a pair made of nice material. I hope you find a solution soon :)
 
Thanks so much for your help, we are struggling on! I'm fairly sure she now has some level of laminitis again following the 2 abscesses (or at the least she's put so much weight on her 2 'good' feet that she's still very lame on any hard surface).

The farrier is coming early part of next week and I will obviously ask his opinion. Her condition is definitely not being helped by being un-shod, but there is no chance of doing anything about it at the moment as she's so sore. In the meantime she is back in the school as a precaution. She's not AT ALL pleased about this :( and let's me know she's been falsly imprisioned everytime I leave the house and she spots me!
 
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