Recurring abcess?

[badgerdog]

My horse appears to have a recurring abcess but I'm not sure. About 2 months ago he was hopping lame. No sign of injury on leg, no swellings or heat (apart from a little on hoof) so I put a poultice on. Within a few days he was sound again so started riding him. After a few weeks he was hopping again so put poultice on and after only one poultice he was ok. Continued with wet and then dry poultices and then started riding again. He was fine for a few weeks and then the other day he wasn't right again, put a poultice on and after a day he was sound. I'm continuing to put poultices on as I'm frightened it gets infected again. In the middle of this the vet has looked and thought it could possibly be a corn but my farrier thinks this would make him sore all the time and not just intermittently. Farrier has up to now not been able to find an abcess!
Has anyone else any experience of this? He normally lives out and although he lives on a hill and the ground is relatively dry, he has to wade through a sea of mud to get through the gate. I think this could be a contributory factor in making it flare up again.

 

[be positive]

Your post reads as if no abscess has actually been found by either the farrier or vet, is anything draining when you poultice or is it just keeping the hoof padded and more comfortable. The farrier would be able to find a corn and treat if that was the problem, the same with an abscess even if it was very deep it would be working its way out in one direction or the other and would show a reaction to hoof testers.
If the horse was mine I would be getting another opinion, 2 months of lameness for no obvious reason is too long and I would want to know why it is lame, nerve blocks and xrays would be the way forward, most abscesses should have resolved by now.

 

[JillA]

Your post reads as if no abscess has actually been found by either the farrier or vet, is anything draining when you poultice or is it just keeping the hoof padded and more comfortable. The farrier would be able to find a corn and treat if that was the problem, the same with an abscess even if it was very deep it would be working its way out in one direction or the other and would show a reaction to hoof testers.
If the horse was mine I would be getting another opinion, 2 months of lameness for no obvious reason is too long and I would want to know why it is lame, nerve blocks and xrays would be the way forward, most abscesses should have resolved by now.

Ditto this - if the seat of the abcess (if such it is) hasn't been found and opened and drainage provided you will have pus inside the foot still, and possibly doing damage to the bony structures. If abcess is confirmed by your farrier, but no seat found, it is possible you have a stretched white line which allows foreign matter in, especially in liquid mud, even a tiny grain of sand or soil would do it. Supplementing with magnesium can help tighten the white line, it would be well worth doing IMO.

 

[Shysmum]

Poulticing has only worked if pus has drained from the abcess onto the poultice

I would be look at a lameness work up as well as an abcess check.

 

[badgerdog]

Thanks for your replies, I appreciate you taking the time to answer.
There has been a little pus, that's why I have kept pursuing it. In the two months he's actually only been lame around 4 days in total, otherwise I would have gone down the scan/x-ray route. The vet felt some tenderness with the pincers around the seat of corn and thought that was what the problem was. She didn't think it needed further investigation at the time but I'll obviously be talking to her again. There have been a few people in the area who have had ongoing abcesses, I was interested to know what other people's experiences were.

 

[mightymammoth]

It could be the exit hole is getting reinfected causing another abscess. Once there is no more puss keep the hoof clean and covered for at least ten days to give it chance to seal. (I turned out in a poultice boot)