Prolonged lameness from abscess?

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shierbird

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Advice please! My pregnant mare has been lame now for 6 weeks, initial abscess seemed to heal but second one came in sole. This seemed to drain well but she is still lame 2 wks later. I have been hot poulticing and soaking in cider vinegar and water. She is turned out in day with easyboot gloves on- i made barefoot decision after first abscess as she was wearing bar shoes from a previous soft tissue hoof lameness in same hoof but i didnt feel they were helping anymore and really wanted to try her barefoot. Classed as typical tb with flat feet undere run heels and thin soles. Im starting to feel like she wont come sound! Trimmer says weak digital cushion etc and i know i have to be patient but concerned that she should be looking better by now. She is not hopping like she was to begin with but def not right! Diet it half hay half horsehage, stud balancer, apple chaff which im changing to unmolassed chaff and speedibeet. Any advice or shared experiences much appreciated! Oh, lameness in hoof was back in april and no bony changes on xrays. She was sound by july and stayed sound til dec.
 
It could be the abscess or it could be what ever is your causal factor for the thin soles etc

I am sure your trimmer will be able to advise - but I am wondering if the abscess has fully cleared out?

As far as diet goes, I experimented with the low sugar horse hage and found it made the metabolically sensitive ones that I look after quite footy. I don't know, but I think it is because as a fermented product it is acidic and this tipped them over the edge.

It is possible to put a decent sole on a metabolically sensitive horse, I've done a few, but it can be trial and error to find what works. I am sure your trimmer has taught you about the healing angle etc. Once you can keep that heading to the floor you know you are on the right path.

One thing I've had a success with is putting these tricky ones onto turnout that is mostly nettles and bramble, the sort of turn out that we have been trained to turn our noses up at :-) Especially if the nettles are already dead. Otherwise you might need to cut them and let them dry.

My own is now so keen on them she will eat the nettles even when stinging, but that is unusual. But it does look funny as she wrinkles her lips to avoid stinging them.

In the winter I buy the nettles dried which is expensive, but is my indulgence and she has handfuls as a treat as well as in her feed.

Good luck in resolving your abscess/other issues.
 
Classed as typical tb with flat feet undere run heels and thin soles.
Click to expand...

And there is only one way of addressing that.

Abscesses are fascinating in an icky kind of a way. They need time to fulminate and mature, and may have multiple tracks.

My own big lad was unsound for spells last summer, and in the later part of summer a huge chunk came off one heel - basiclaly the whole heel broke away. He's put out extra horn in the seat of corn to support himself, but underneath was all black stinky gunk like dried out marmite. An abscess of course. It took months to get right.

He had typical flat TB feet - but after being bare for a couple of years he had a good 20mm sole thickness (I have xrays) and the vet doesn't want to dig in that sole!!!

Nettles - fantastic - we have an old muck heap that is covered wiht them and I scythe them and wilt them for the laminitic pony. He does really well on nettles. Rosehips too

Key thing is to manage the diet and environment to give yourself the best chance of successs - so look to your copper and zinc and magnesium levels, maybe think about restricting grass - and you're doing the right thing cutting out the molasses. Maybe skip the sud balancer in favour of a good mineral mix
 
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Yep - absolutely. My little chap's best year was when he was in a paddock that was chock full of them. He spent the summer with a pink nose, but he was tip top!

Rosebay Willow Herb - or Fireweed in the US - is also excellent for them and they will clear an area of it very quickly, it grows back quickly so it can give you several crops in the year.

I'm maybe going to try to grow some fenugreek on a bit of churned up waste ground this summer as an treat for him. Will only feed in limited quntities though as it is same protein as Alfalfa, but it has lower NSC.
 
OP at this stage if the mare is still lame I would be seeking some further veterinary advice.

You're not still poulticing are you??
 
Have you considered stopping the horsehage as well? I'm just wondering if this in her diet may not be helping.

All mine love wilted nettles when in season. I might consider buying the dried for my pony with laminitis after reading this thread.
 
She has a dry poultice on but that's all. Gunk stopped coming out bout 3 days ago properly. I'm concerned as she seemed to get a lot better but has got worse last couple of days. Will walk on it quite happily but obviously lame. Thank you for all yr replies
 
Shierbird, hope your mare is sound again soon and has a lovely foal! Please forgive me sidetracking your advisors with my nettle question, and thank you to everyone for the info re nettles! Off to look up Cotswold Herbs now!
 
Hi. We had three attempts at getting rid of my mares abcess when she was 4 as it had made further tracks so was a sod. We kept thinking it had gone and then a couple of weeks later she would be lame again. In the end the vet drilled out a large area and then the farrier filled it with something along the lines of antiseptic tar (sorry it was three years ago and the stuff was black and gunky and definitely had antiseptic qualities!) and then a plate was cut to size and put on. The plate stayed on when she came sound again under her shoes when they were put back on. Six weeks later at the next shoeing the plate came off and she has been sound as a bell for the past 3 years.

I can only recommend you get your farrier and vet to speak to each other, mine were fantastic and even co-ordinated their visits with no help from me. I am still extremely grateful. Chin up, it seems never-ending now but it's all worth it in the end.xxx
 
Thank you... my trimmer has been today and said to keep going as we are getting there but may take a while. Gunk back on poultice so Iknow infection still there!!
 
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