please tell me... do you leave a hoof abscess to burst or have it dug out?

[mightymammoth]

Hi,

Can you please tell me if you have your horses hoof abscess dug out by the farrier or vet or if you leave it to burst through on its own...

and why?

thanks

 

[BillyBob-Sleigh]

have vet or farrier look first if suspected abscess and then poultice to come out on it's own.

 

[Clippy]

I always get the farrier to try to get to them.

Reason: They are so incredibly painful for the horse and if you can get to them, they get relief fairly soon. To leave them to track out can take a long, long time. Also, if they can be got at, you can poultice to help them clear up and soon get a sound horse back!

 

[be positive]

I always get the farrier to try to get to them.

Reason: They are so incredibly painful for the horse and if you can get to them, they get relief fairly soon. To leave them to track out can take a long, long time. Also, if they can be got at, you can poultice to help them clear up and soon get a sound horse back!

This, they are usually very painful and not helped by bute so I would not want to leave them for too long.

 

[whiteclover]

get farrier/vet to dig it out. My horse has just had one and I had the vet out because his vacs were due at the same time. Im hoping he doesnt get anymore this winter.

 

[Shysmum]

You poor thing, you are really having a hard time (and so is the horse)

Tbh, i would get a farrier out and try and get the abscess opened up, and then tub and poultice. Any bursting will relieve the pain a lot.

(((((HUGS)))) I do feel for you x

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I always get the farrier to try to get to them.

Reason: They are so incredibly painful for the horse and if you can get to them, they get relief fairly soon. To leave them to track out can take a long, long time. Also, if they can be got at, you can poultice to help them clear up and soon get a sound horse back!

This.

IME the farrier is better than the vet at this job.

 

[tallyho!]

Wellit really depends how much digging you have to do! If the abscess is near the sole or white line then, helping to release pressure is fine, however, you don't want to open up too much hoof or you will have to wait for it to grow back before you can turn out again.

Less is more...

 

[Dobiegirl]

I always got my farrier to do it and he used to say the trouble with vets is their knives are never sharp enough. Once you hit the site after allowing it to drain, poultice.

Apart from the welfare i would never ignore an abcess as they can track up the foot and burst out the coronet .

 

[mightymammoth]

Thanks all, its hard to know whats the best thing to do.

 

[bonny]

Another one for getting the farrier not the vet to do it. Vets always seem to cut away too much hoof whereas farriers are much more cautious. Don't leave it, too painful for the horse and easily relieved by your farrier.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I've done all the options (Vet dig it out, Farrier dig it out, poultice, not poultice) and they heal quicker if you do nothing - no poultice and no digging, whole process from 'oh I think she may have an abscess' to it bursting was 48 hours. However if the horse is really suffering and on three legs for days on end, I wouldn't leave it as the pedal bone can become infected.

 

[tallyho!]

It is Victoria, the thing is, if it is already tracking up through the coronet, digging at the sole will not release the pain and pressure. It's hard to know where it is sometimes.

My filly has had two abscesses this year. One in the fore, one in the hind. The fore burst at the coronet and the sole, the hind burst at the white line and the frog. Both took two weeks to burst on their own. She was brought in and buted, we did dig the hind very slightly at the white line and this did help. We didn't dig the fore as it had tracked up the side of her foot and you can't exactly dig at the coronet band!

Get the farrier or vet to hoof test, you can quite accurately find them this way... Although I don't like hoof testers...

 

[dafthoss]

Always left them, he has been slightly short for a day, two max, then the hole appears. So don't really have time to get vet or farrier out before he has done it him self. If he was really sore rather than just a tiny bit short on the affected leg then yes I'd get some one out.

 

[cptrayes]

I've done all the options (Vet dig it out, Farrier dig it out, poultice, not poultice) and they heal quicker if you do nothing - no poultice and no digging, whole process from 'oh I think she may have an abscess' to it bursting was 48 hours. However if the horse is really suffering and on three legs for days on end, I wouldn't leave it as the pedal bone can become infected.

Absolutely this.

I have not had an abscess dug out for years. They burst usually at the heel bulb, or at the coronet band and occasionally down the side of the frog and once in the middle of the frog (though that was more likely something like a thorn having got into the frog). I pump the hole with hydrogen peroxide at 3% dilution daily for about 10 days. No poulticing is required, no time off to mend a hole in the sole is required. No vet bill has to be paid.

My timing would be

Day 1 - is this horse lame?
Day 2 - yes, this horse is probably lame.
Day 3 - ah, this horse has a really sore foot
Day 4 - ooh look, pus OR call the farrier, this has gone on long enough.

Sometimes there are days in between when the abscess makes more room for itself and the horse is comfortable for a day or two or three, then lame again.

 

[Irishbabygirl]

My old boy was fracture lame with his last foot absess, farrier out and instantly sound horse! Well...nearly, but you get what I mean!

 

[amandap]

I'm a do nothing person too. Unless of course it went on 'broken leg lame' for more than a day or so. None of mine have had any noticeable for a few years now but the one dug out years ago became an ongoing problem for months. Then there is the huge problem of trying to keep the hole clean.

The hoof is/should be, a sealed structure, digging holes in it into the corium is risking introducing infection.

 

[Foxhunter49]

I will always have them dug out. I would also rather have a larger hole than smaller so that it does not close over before it has totally drained.

Leave ay infection in the foot it will break out on the coronary band leaving scar tissue to grow down the hoof wall. Also draining from the top is going against gravity so, it might well offer some relief but then flair up again.

 

[LD&S]

Another vote for having it dug out, by the time your horse is lame the infection has possibly moved onto internal soft tissue.
I've had the vet and farrier do it and unlike a few here my vet was very conservative with his knife and he did point out both times he didn't want to make the hole any bigger than it needed to be but there was a possibilty it would need to be enlarged. One hole was fine one had to be enlarged but the relief to both horses was almost instant, walking almost normal within minutes, prior to the lancing my mare looked like she had broken a leg, she could barely hobble, the other not quite so bad but was still in a lot of pain.

 

[Ibblebibble]

had my first abscess case earlier this year and big girl was on 3 legs so had vet out first and then farrier 4 days later to re-dig. in future i would call farrier before vet, i know you can leave them to work themselves out but i'd rather not

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Leave ay infection in the foot it will break out on the coronary band leaving scar tissue to grow down the hoof wall. Also draining from the top is going against gravity so, it might well offer some relief but then flair up again.

Yes, but it causes no problems (see wavy line approx half way down the hoof) and I've never known one to flair up again.

Edited to link, as photo is huuuuge.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z87/kij_pictures/100_2327.jpg

If you let it burst at the coronet, the horse is instantly sound and you don't need to worry about it any more. When I let the Vet/Farrier dig them out of the sole, the horse was footy for days.

 

[Alphamare]

Abcess's that are dug out reinfect way more often causing the horse more lameness and pain than ones that are left alone. Personally I leave them asthey tend to only take a couple days. Never had one cause any scar tissue either and a coronet closes up far more quickly that the sole of the hood. Personal choice really. Also feel vets tend to do more harm than good and pretty much get in there with a jcb going by the size of the hole left behind!

 

[smellsofhorse]

I get them opened by carrier or vet.

We all know how painful a spot us! (yuck)

The pressure Is horrible and incredibly painful.
Waiting for it to burst is unnessesary pain for the poor horse.

 

[Echo Bravo]

You get the farrier out quick pronto!!!!! I'm surprised you had to ask on the forum.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Is Victoria1980x for real??? that she had too ask, whethr to leave her horse in a lot of pain???

 

[Shysmum]

^^^ Echo Bravo that is not fair - this poster has been asking for help for a while, but is tackling recurring abcessess. She put piccies on yesterday and got advice - I believe she is trying.

 

[nicolenlolly]

From my experience, vet dug it out to start with but only underneath so once poultice came off he still had a large hole to fill with mud etc and get re-infected. My farrier then came and cut out a semi circle out the front of the hoof so that anything that went in would come straight out the front. If in future I required any assistance, I would call farrier as he would have done this in the first place and he would have less of his hoof missing. It did work ever so well though. He went from hopping to sound within a couple of days good luck xx

 

[Ali2]

The one and only time I've had an abscess to deal with the vet dug it out on day 2. He was absolutely hopping and the immediate relief of it being released outweighed the damage to the hoof IMHO. It sealed and healed really quickly. I'd do the same if it happened again.

 

[mightymammoth]

Yes echo bravo I am "for real", how do you know if my horse is in a "lot of pain", sorry didn't realise you were in my stable earlier. Maybe if you were you would have the guts to say something to my face as you are obviously an expert? Pathetic judgemental person

 

[Echo Bravo]

Come off it Victoria1980x. When my horses have pointed their feet and being in pain the first thing I do,is ring the expert my FARRIER,never the vet,farriers have spent more time studying the horse foot as that is their livelyhood than a vet, so if your horse is in pain and it's a foot you get your farrier out,they can tell you if you need the vet.