Scabby legs on box rest?

[AnotherNewbie]

The horse i share went lame and so has been on box rest for about the last 6 weeks. Eventually, just before christmas the vet found an abscess, a big relief! The abscess must have been huge, as it is still being poulticed and still draining. However, i noticed scabs in his heel about a week ago, which i treated as mud fever and hibiscrubbed, picked the scabs and put sudocreme on. This seemingly cleared it up, but i've just heard it's come back much worse last night/this morning. Surely he can't have mud fever having been in and on a dry bed for so long? It's not sore and he's not lame on it now. We did have to clip his feathers out for the vet about 6 weeks ago, so i guess this would expose skin that's not used to it. However, we clipped both back legs and it's only scabby on the one with the abscess. I wondered if it was the abscess breaking though, but it's not on his coronet band and is towards his heel, where the abscess is in his toe!
Any help or ideas muchly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[putasocinit]

Seems horse is run down, 6 weeks to find an abscess and box rest, now picking up all sorts of things, if you had not box rested and walked horse out movement usually makes the abscess brew quicker. Should not be wet poulticed for more than 5 days, are you hot tubbing daily to help draw the poison out before poulticing.

Re scabby legs i wud say it is from lack of movement due to being box rested, keep clean as you are but get the horse moving asap if you can.

 

[AnotherNewbie]

Thanks, he's not been on strict box rest as such, more in so it doesn't get wet and fall off. It took the vet 3 weeks to find the abscess, by which time he could barely put his foot to the floor so there was no way he could walk to help it 'brew' and we didn't know thats what it was at the time! He's being turned out in the school before poultice changes if it's still on from the last one! We're using a mixture of wet and dry poulticing, depending on what's coming out of hole. Can't tub it as he won't stand for it and there's no way of making an ardennes do something he doesn't want to! Think a phonecall to the vet is needed....!

 

[putasocinit]

If you cant hot tub make sure the poultice is hot then do this for at least 5 days or whilst there is still discharge when discharging has stopped then dry pad with iodine in the hole where the abscess was for at least 5 days. Hot poulticing and paring in the hoof by vet should have brought the abscess out sooner though, otherwise should have been blocked or xrayed if unsure if it was an abscess.

Scabby heels possibly dermatitis which not only comes from wet ground but also wet bedding not enough movement and generally being run down. Can you put him on a multivit to pick him up and just keep heels clean and leave bare, do not over do the hibiscrubbing, maybe put sudocram to loosen scabs but do not make heels too moist once scabs have come off.