Need some sympathy - what would you have done?

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sonjafoers

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I am feeling very sorry for myself tonight :(

Tuesday morning one of my horses is very lame, not weight bearing on a forelimb. No obvious signs of any trauma, no swelling of the leg so I suspected an abcess especially as the hoof on the lame leg dried very quickly when hosed. I left her in for a few hours and when I came back there was some 'leakage' around the coronet band which I assumed was the abcess beginning to break out. I didn't notice this when I first tended to her but it is possible it was there & I didn't notice because she was wet when I got her in and the hole is under the hair.

I had 3 days supply of bute so started her on that.

Farrier came Wednesday, pretty sure it's an abcess but slight possibility it could also be a puncture wound to the coronet band. Tender when hoof pinched but not in any obvious area so he didn't take the shoe off to test as if it was an abcess it was already breaking out and made appointment to come back next Friday to shoe her unless she gets worse in which case to contact him. Turned her out to keep her moving in the hope it would push the abcess out.

Yesterday pretty much the same but much better yesterday evening. Final bute sachet given Thursday evening.

This morning slightly worse so left her in and turned her out at lunchtime. Text my farrier but he said not to worry, I asked if I should call the vet and he said it might give me peace of mind but this does happen with abcesses. I should say at this point I've had more than my fair share of abcesses over the years so I know how sore horses get and I know they can knock on for some time.

Came back 3 hours later and she hadn't moved and very sore, not moving correctly on the back end which I assume is because of how sore she is on the front - but of course now off the bute which could be relevant. I decided to call the vet to be sure it was an abcess & I hadn't missed something much more sinister. Because my farrier had mentioned it could be a puncture would I was starting to worry she had some sort of infection going on.

Vet came, I asked him not to remove shoe but just to look at her moving and to check it wasn't something other than an abcess. He said it was hard to tell,hoof tested but couldn't find much so took the shoe off anyway, dug around so deep that he made her bleed and then said he couldn't find anything so couldn't be sure what it was but to soak her foot in a bucket of warm water and see if anything happens. Then said he would need to give her penicillin because he had opened the bottom of the foot up and gave me a 5 day course of bute.

I asked him to look at her move because she was moving very strangely on the back end and was I missing something there, I was a bit concerned that I had to ask him to do this during a lameness investigation as I would have thought he would have done it as a matter of course. Anyway he thought she was moving strangely on the near hind so started paring chunks of sole away until I asked him not to take any more off. He asked if she had ever had an abcess in this foot or had ever had laminitis - negative to both so he drew no conclusion from that and put her back in her box.

Felt pretty c**p when he left as I hadn't gained a diagnosis, he had actually made her much more sore than she was and had now dug so deep into her foot that there was another area of concern - and to no avail.

Then YO arrives so I gave him an update and he hit the roof, called me a complete idiot for getting the vet out, told me I should listen to him and the farrier who told me it was an abcess and to leave it, told me the vet had completely b*ggered my horse up etc etc. No excuse but this is one of many issues I've got going on this week and when he left I burst into tears and am still feeling awful.

Please tell me there is somebody else out there who would have also called the vet because I am feeling so guilty that I did so and have made my poor horse even worse.
 
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I would have had the shoe off, hot tubbed and poulticed and absolutely not buted. If no improvement after 2 days I would have had the vet.

I'm not sure what treatment you've given other than bute (which doesn't help an abcess) and keep in.
 
Don't beat yourself up... If in doubt always call the vet...I hope everything comes good, if in any doubt I would get a different vet for a second opinion.

Just to say when my chap had an abcess first thing I did was called vet for advice but he wasn't shod at the time.

There is always conflicting advice, I cant remember if I buted, I think not but did hot tub but was told movement would help the process rather than keeping in.
 
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You got a professional out to look at your horse with an obvious problem that is clearly eating away at you, you did nothing wrong, horse belongs to you, not the YO or the farrier!

If I had even an ounce of doubt I would have done the same,

Hope your horse heals and comes sounds soon
 
amymay said:
I would have had the shoe off, hot tubbed and poulticed and absolutely not buted. If no improvement after 2 days I would have had the vet.

I'm not sure what treatment you've given other than bute (which doesn't help an abcess) and keep in.
Click to expand...

This ^^ except I would have well wrapped the foot & turned out.
 
Thank you guys, the theory behind the bute and turning her out is that the bute allows her to walk about a bit more which should help the abcess break out.

I don't know if it's correct or not and I guess there are conflicting ideas but I am feeling so awful that I only called the vet to see if he could pick up anything else and it's actually made her worse than ever.

Should I be concerned that the vet has dug her sole so deep it's now bleeding?

The vet has given me a 5 day bute course - should I use it?
 
If it is an abscess, they are a swelling/inflammation, so bute will stunt it's progress and make the process of it coming out longer.

If it is an abscess, personally I wouldn't bute, but each to their own.
But there is no evidence of one if I had read correctly?? Nothing was found after digging?

Hope you sort it out quick!
 
I know of a horse that recently had all four of its feet hacked at away at (and I mean really HACKED) to investigate and treat (?) abscesses, and to be honest I don't really know why vets do that. But if you were concerned that there was something more sinister going on then of course you were right to call the vet, particularly given where the abscess was. Seriously, don't beat yourself up. :)

Other than poultice an abscess I wrap the hoof up with diluted iodine on cotton wool once the abscess has drained to turn them out to keep the infection out while the hoof hardens back up.

Hope your girl recovers quickly :)
 
Definitely agree with those who say the shoe should come off, hot tubbing and then wet poultice. This is what I was advised by my farrier for an absess.

Seems like there is a lack of consensus on whether bute is appropriate for an absess. I think if the horse is in severe pain then bute would make it feel a bit more comfortable by acting as anti-inflammatory. Obviously you need to take the horse off bute in order to gauge how sore he is.
 
Ditto the shoe off hot tubbing and poultice. OP you did what you thought was best and it's fine for YO to rant about how they were right; but its your horse, you must do what makes you feel best.
 
I got the vet out for an abcess because it was really grim looking and I don't know what I'm doing with them. Cost me £60.00, of my money, and I got peace of mind and a professional to look at my horse. Ignore your YO OP and I hope your horse is better soon
 
The problem with giving bute is you were not 100% sure it was an abscess, and if it had been a fracture the bute would/could have masked the severity, so no do not give bute, feel for a pulse, hoof test, hot tub, poultice.
 
Yes I've called a vet out to make sure a really persistent bout of pus in the foot really was just that. You've done nothing wrong at all. It's best to err on the side of caution.
A recent horse I know suffered with a stubborn abscess recently for 2 weeks before the owner called a vet who rushed the poor thing to theatre to operate on her fracture! Best be safe than sorry
 
Last September my boy was seriously lame on his hind leg, I called the vet out and they came the next morning. He couldn't bear any weight on it and generally look sorry for himself. There was no swelling, no cuts...nothing.
When the vet came she felt his leg and couldn't feel everything but then suddenly she started wobbling his fetlock around saying she thought he'd fractured it. Told me it was going to be £200 for an x-ray as she was certain but just wanted to make sure. I said I'd rather try other methods before an x-ray.
She didn't really have a clue so she bandaged it up and a different vet came out the next day. He dug a hole in his hoof looking for an abscess- still nothing. I was told to leave him for a week see if he got any better...he didn't.
My farrier then came out, found a sensitive spot on his hoof..dug it out and found an abscess.
He was lame and on box rest for 4 months!
Just wait it out, follow your head. Vets aren't always perfect!
 
Didnt read all the other replies as you say VERY lame I would have had vet and farrier out(and I prefer farrier to vet). But as you were concerned what you did was fine. Some folks would have grabbed the vet as first choice.
The YO has a cheek to have a go at you as you wanted to double check that the treatment was right and that is a vets job. I always use an equine vet but I know farriers and vets will often come up with differing opinions(but I trust my farrier 110% but not everyone can do that).

So you did nothing wrong but re vet ...not too sure as I dont know if they are equine etc. Difficult one and sometimes things are not straightforward.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We live and learn. But no you did absolutely nothing wrong.
 
OP, I was in this position last summer. I checked my mare in the field on the Saturday lunchtime, and she was looking very sorry for herself and not putting any weight on her near fore. I managed to get her down to the yard and we collectively decided she could go back out, but in the isolation paddock.

I checked her next morning and she was just the same, so I left her where she was till early afternoon. She was still uncomfortable but no worse, but I'd just got into the car to go home, having texted the farrier to come first thing next day, when they called me back - she was literally hopping. So here we are, Sunday teatime, farrier booked for 8.00am next morning and not in a position to give me an emergency call-out, horse can't walk and clearly in agony.

Of course I rang the vet - what else can you do in that situation? It could have been laminitis. Hoof tested, abscess diagnosis confirmed, poulticed, bandaged, that'll be £95 please. :eek:

Luckily my mare's abscess was on the point of bursting by the time the farrier arrived so he enlarged the hole (not before he'd found three tiny stones lodged in her toe which the vet had missed, though tbf the poultice might have drawn them out) and dressed the hoof, and she was immediately sound.
 
I've had horses for 30 plus years but until 10 years ago had been fortunate and never had an abscess , the first time I did I called the vet he took the shoe off and left a huge hole which was a b***er to heal up, took longer to get rid of than the abscess. I think they are so intent in finding the source that they lose the fact you have to care for the horse and the farrier put a shoe on.
Now I've had a soft footed TB, and a flat footed cob I feel like a minor expert and would call a farrier first to do selective paring, poultice, and give pain killers and turn out and only call a vet if the abscess was 'blind' and not draining as it could track up to the joint.
At the end of the day its you horse and you have paid for an expert opinion and its nobodies business but yours and you did the right thing.
If there is a huge hole left when its finished draining, flush out with hydrochloric acid solution for irrigation, you can get it from the chemists then pack the hole with cotton wool soaked in Stockholm tar to stop dirt getting into the hole. Then dry wrap with a layer of disposable nappy, vet wrap, then duck tape wrap and a final layer of very tough plastic. I can turn out in this and it lasts about 2 days. At this stage they shouldn't need and bute unless you have a very hypochondriac TB like I had.
 
Oh Im sorry to hear the YO made you upset. I think Id have cried too. Hugs. My YO always thinks Im wasting my time getting the vet when there's things wrong with my horse. But its for peace of mind. If it was something bad and Id not got the vet Id never forgive myself.

I had to get the vet when Bertie had an abcess, cause my farrier was away. He gave Bute cause Bertie was really feeling it. I had to hot tub and poultice it.

You did the right thing. You know your horse better than anyone. I hope she's feeling better soon x x
 
Your YO needs to butt out, how rude. I'm sure the vet hasn't beggared up your horse, the feet will heal. I hope you get to the bottom of the problem asap :)
 
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