Shoes v no shoes and abscesses

Petalpoos

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My 18 y.o. field ornament (unknown stifle issues - permanent f.o.) mare has always had front shoes, no hinds. With the current conditions in my field, thick clay that is drying out a bit, but still mid-cannon depth round the gateways, she is frequently losing her shoes. She managed to lose both yesterday morning! She will never be ridden again and there is no stony ground where she goes. I am not concerned about the cost of shoeing, but I am concerned at the number of shoes with nails still in them that she is leaving in the field and the increasing likelihood of her (or her companion) treading on one.

She used to get foot abscesses fairly regularly, although not recently, so the question is: what experience / thoughts does anyone have on any increased risk of abscesses through being shod v unshod ?

Thanks!
 

Littlebear

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Mine are both unshod, one has never (touch wood) had an abscess, the other had a recurring one last year that took months to heal but that's the only instance in quite a few years.
 

Mrs G

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Id leave the shoes off if I were you. The chance of her hurting herself on them/standing on a nail while she's in the middle of pulling it off is probably greater then her standing on a lost one out in the field. Ideally you'd find the lost ones but Im sure you've tried; I too have spent many an hour looking for lost shoes; where DO they go?!
 

SEL

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Some horses do seem particularly prone to abscesses, but I think it makes no difference barefoot or shod.

My two barefoots have had 3 between them in the last 5 years. One each when out 24:7 in a totally unsuitable bog of a field (long story....) and the mare got one last summer out of the blue. I don't do anything special in terms of hoof maintenance apart from regular trims and a decent diet. I do keep them on bedding which helps dry feet out overnight in winter, which has stopped thrush in my gelding (wood pellets)
 

irishdraft

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I am struggling with this very issue atm . My horse who is normally shod had his shoes taken off 5 weeks ago because he needs time off re ligament injury. I am on my second abcess in 3 weeks. I have been up all night with him in terrible pain with it had the farrier who I think may of dug the foot too much or it may be the abcess . Ended up having the vet with the first one but this second one is much worse so now waiting for vet again . I wish I had never taken the shoes off and I don't have particularly wet fields . I have had this horse since he was a weanling when he had an abcess and has never had once since and he is now 13 .
 

Petalpoos

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Id leave the shoes off if I were you. The chance of her hurting herself on them/standing on a nail while she's in the middle of pulling it off is probably greater then her standing on a lost one out in the field. Ideally you'd find the lost ones but Im sure you've tried; I too have spent many an hour looking for lost shoes; where DO they go?!

Yes, Mrs G, where are they? Possibly with the odd socks in a corner behind the poo heap!
 

Spotherisk

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I’ve owned Harley for 23 years and he never had an abscess before this winter, now he’s had two and although currently sound has a hot hind foot where the abscess is tracking up and the coronet is hot. I’ve taken him off the crappy clay and shale field and he’s on proper pasture with no mud. He’s been unshod for years. Tinner formed an abscess once his shoes were off in January, and this was a major factor in him being pts only a few weeks later as we couldn’t get the pain controlled and he wouldn’t be able to tolerate shoes again.
 

Gloi

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The time I've found most likely for abscesses is when shoes come off or are removed. I think the nail holes give a way in for bacteria. My oldie was prone to abscesses when shod and when newly barefoot but after a few months bare he never had another one. My poor mare when she was in foal I had her shoes taken off when I stopped riding her and she got abscess after abscess over the next 3 months but then was okay.
 

Mari

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What do you do when your horse has a recurring abscess for a few months? Keep them in? My mare seems to have a secondary abscess in her hoof, primary one dealt with but her hoof is quite hot though nothing draining out. Vet thinks it may be travelling up to coronet. She’s not in pain & is maybe 1-2/10 lame on soft ground (arena). She could go out but how do I protect her hoof from mud & stones in the field? Plenty of grass, field is wet but not lot of mud.
 

Gloi

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What do you do when your horse has a recurring abscess for a few months? Keep them in? My mare seems to have a secondary abscess in her hoof, primary one dealt with but her hoof is quite hot though nothing draining out. Vet thinks it may be travelling up to coronet. She’s not in pain & is maybe 1-2/10 lame on soft ground (arena). She could go out but how do I protect her hoof from mud & stones in the field? Plenty of grass, field is wet but not lot of mud.
When mine had an abscess that kept coming and going the reason in the end was that a small piece of wire was buried in the foot by the frog. It was only when the end of it appeared one day and it was removed he recovered but there was no sign of it before.
You could get a hoof boot to protect her hoof when turned out if need be but personally I would be keeping her away from wet for a while.
 

be positive

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What do you do when your horse has a recurring abscess for a few months? Keep them in? My mare seems to have a secondary abscess in her hoof, primary one dealt with but her hoof is quite hot though nothing draining out. Vet thinks it may be travelling up to coronet. She’s not in pain & is maybe 1-2/10 lame on soft ground (arena). She could go out but how do I protect her hoof from mud & stones in the field? Plenty of grass, field is wet but not lot of mud.

We had one on and off all winter, he had the first drained, wrapped up and turned out each day in the driest area, it seemed to have all cleared up so he went back out 24/7 to rest as he also had a fractured splint and the small amount of lameness was thought to be due to that only for him to get worse, more gunk came out, he improved only for it to flare up again, finally clear and sound 3 months later .

I turned out as much as possible which helped get the abscess moving, it was wrapped up when draining below then kept covered for a week or so to get it closed and keep dry, generally it was wet when he came in at night so tubbed and either recovered or left open overnight, it was more difficult to keep the heel clean when it drained from there but the movement from getting out sped things up so when he came in it was washed, tubbed and either poulticed or left open depending on the stage it was at. I think if he had stayed in he would have been in for months, going out kept him sane, moved the abscess up to the heel and made little difference to how long he was off work overall.
If there is no hole to protect, nothing is actually draining I would turn out with nothing on and tub every evening when she comes in, it may well track up and drain without even requiring poulticing, keeping them in can be counter productive and stop it moving.
 

Mari

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We had one on and off all winter, he had the first drained, wrapped up and turned out each day in the driest area, it seemed to have all cleared up so he went back out 24/7 to rest as he also had a fractured splint and the small amount of lameness was thought to be due to that only for him to get worse, more gunk came out, he improved only for it to flare up again, finally clear and sound 3 months later .

I turned out as much as possible which helped get the abscess moving, it was wrapped up when draining below then kept covered for a week or so to get it closed and keep dry, generally it was wet when he came in at night so tubbed and either recovered or left open overnight, it was more difficult to keep the heel clean when it drained from there but the movement from getting out sped things up so when he came in it was washed, tubbed and either poulticed or left open depending on the stage it was at. I think if he had stayed in he would have been in for months, going out kept him sane, moved the abscess up to the heel and made little difference to how long he was off work overall.
If there is no hole to protect, nothing is actually draining I would turn out with nothing on and tub every evening when she comes in, it may well track up and drain without even requiring poulticing, keeping them in can be counter productive and stop it moving.
Thank you. The drainage hole is at the toe & quite large but nothing is coming out though her hoof is warm rather than hot. I would prefer her out & moving but the land is wet although we only have mud at the gateway.
 

be positive

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Thank you. The drainage hole is at the toe & quite large but nothing is coming out though her hoof is warm rather than hot. I would prefer her out & moving but the land is wet although we only have mud at the gateway.

Can you stuff it with cotton wool? we got some hoof putty for ours as the hole was tiny but the sole was soft so the putty covered the area and kept it dry which really helped.
 
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