Septic pedal osteitis

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soloequestrian

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I tried posting in NL but only got one reply (thank you Oliver12!). So will try in here:
My mare had surgery yesterday for a septic pedal osteitis that developed as a result of a 'normal' abscess. I've no idea why what I would normally regard as a fairly straightforward ailment would develop into something so serious, but perhaps I am just naive. I will have that conversation with the vet. My mare is 18, I've had her for 15 years and she has never had any kind of foot problem before. Anyway, I'm interested in other people's experiences of dealing with the aftermath of this condition.
Thanks in advance!
 
No experience but just to say how nasty that sounds. Hoping she makes a good recovery. It is hard when you have had them for such a long time.
 
Had a friend whose horse had the same op and never had another problem. I hope yours is the same.

Out of interest - was your mare treated with antibiotics for the foot abscess and at what stage? It's my impression that antibiotics can cause huge problems, particularly if they are given before drainage is established.
 
She only had antibiotics once she was in the hospital - she was there for two days before they did the operation and they gave her a big blast of antibiotics and soaked the affected hoof in antiseptic solution to soften it a bit before the op.
I've heard the same about antibiotics, particularly associated with strangles - they just hold the abscess in check but don't do anything to get rid of it.
 
Well good luck with your mare. My friend's was also a mare and it was simply no problem. Kept clean for a while and on box rest of course, but perfectly fine once the hoof had regrown.
 
She's really sore today so I wasn't allowed to take her home. Hopefully will be later this week, she's already been at the hospital for seven days.....
 
Update:
My mare came home today at last, she has been in the hospital nearly two weeks now. She had the operation and all seemed to be going well but four days after it she showed signs of laminitis (which she's never had before). They blood tested her and she had a high level of insulin but no other abnormal levels (ie she's not Cushings, phew) so she went onto several laminitis drugs. Now, five days on, she is much more comfortable. The consensus seems to be that the combined stress of the general anaesthetic, the huge change in management (she usually lives out with her pals and she went to a stable in the hospital where she was often alone) and the instability in the foot all added up to make her insulin intolerant. It should just go away of its own accord as she gets back to normal but for the moment she is on a laminitis regime.
Things I have learned:
There are x-rays and x-rays. The ones my home vets took were done with an ancient machine, took 1.5 hours to complete and were really quite poor quality. The ones the hospital took were completed in 10mins and were amazing quality.
Never look on the internet for information: when they told me about the laminitis, I searched the net and found one paper on post-operative laminitis in orthopaedic cases and it said that of the nine horses that were affected, eight of them were shot. That turned me into a gibbering idiot until I actually saw my horse and spoke to the vet - apparantly her laminitis was very mild and death would have been an extermely unlikely outcome. My death due to crashing the car because I was crying would probably have been far more likely......
 
How's she doing today? Bet she's glad to be back where she belongs, and it must be lovely for you having her back too! Hopefully she'll be much less stressed now and the laminitis will go away
smile.gif
 
Health-wise she seems fine now but in spite of the ACP she is bored and getting cranky! She is also heartily sick of having medicine syringed into her mouth - she won't take anything in her feed and she is on antibiotics for the wound, bute, ACP and aspirin for the laminitis and metaformin (or something like that) for the insulin levels, which adds up to three syrninge-fulls twice a day. I've just ordered one of those worming bits so fingers crossed it will help as soon I don't think she will let me near her with a headcollar!
 
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