Stubborn abscess or more sinister?

[donkeyindisguise]

Hi. Thought I’d ask the collective knowledge of HHO for some thoughts. I’ll try not to waffle too much but make no promises it’s a bit of a story

Two weeks ago my mare came out of her stable absolutely hopping lame after coming in absolutely fine the night before.

No obvious signs of injury, but on picking her foot up it absolutely stank and was warmer than the other to touch.

Great news? Sudden onset, heat and smell, points to abscess, poultice and hope for a pop…right?
A few days nothing has come out so text my farrier who came out what ended up nearly a week after initial lameness. Ran hoof testers round to get no reaction so declared no abscess. Must be leg which admittedly is fat.

Definitely relevant that the mare in question has some very dodgy legs on her, after blowing her DDFT, SDFT and annual ligament last year in the other foreleg, this is actually her ‘good’ leg despite being unsightly. Fat leg is normal for her.

Farrier advised vet who was called, but couldn’t come out for 2 days advised pain relief which she has prescribed anyway, and carry on treating as suspected abscess for now.

Called a second farrier out in the meantime, solely as the first is very new to us, and didn’t seem to understand the fat leg is 100% normal for her. Second farrier is a friend with a bit more knowledge of mare, and very experienced (but VERY unreliable hence not my farrier!) confident there is an abscess in there, but that it was deep routed hence not reacting to hoof testers (is that a thing?). Very confident with that so continue to poultice and soak in Epsom salts.

2 days later, vet comes, palpated the leg and declares its tendon, restrict her to get swelling down so we can scan.

I think it is worth mentioning here, that although I am not a vet and admit I may have been feeling for the wrong spots, I had been applying pressure down the leg to see if I got a reaction which until this instance, she never reacted to, however despite being crippled she had spent 2 hours doing her best to run away from me and avoid being caught for the vet, so do wonder if this *could* be the reason for the sensitivity?

Anyway, discussion was had that if it’s leg again she will be PTS as I don’t want a life of restriction for her.


I guess what I’m asking is, is it possible that 2 weeks later now an abscess wouldn’t have burst?
Everything pointed to it, vile smell, sudden onset, heat in hoof wall, pulse in that leg, and she’s definitely more comfortable with a thick poultice on which also suggests foot to me. The smell is fading but faintly still there? It’d definitely not ‘just hoof smell’ as vet suggested, it’d absolutely rancid and sticks to you!

Am I kidding myself hoping there’s still a really stubborn abscess in there?

 

[paddi22]

i would swing towards abcess from what you say, some came be very nasty to get out. i had one that took about 4 weeks to get clear. someone on a yard I've horses on had one that that the vet had to keep releasing pus from that was trapped under sole, that one took about 6 weeks to clear.

 

[nutjob]

If you think it's an abscess and it's been going on for 2 weeks I would get the foot xrayed, a friends had one going on for a while and there was a piece of metal in it. If it smelled there might be a drainage point somewhere. Have you tried giving the foot a good scrub and see if there's anywhere it might be slowly draining, maybe at the heel or coronet band where it has to drain upwards and therefore more likely to linger on.

 

[Zoeypxo]

I had one that went on for almost 3 months. I had to X-ray to find out where it was, vet dug a hole still wouldn't come out. Poulticed and poulticed repeatedly day and night and still nothing. Vet came out again and dug a tiny bit more where he made the original hole following the abscess showing on x ray. Finally it burst. She has been sound since, she also has a previous tendon injury history in the same foot, so it was a worrisome time.

I would have the vet x ray the foot.
Mine also had no reaction to hoof tester at any point, but had a raging digital pulse and a fat fetlock on and off

 

[donkeyindisguise]

Thank you for the responses.
I think I was just looking for some reassurance that there is still chance it’s an abscess after this time as I’ve had very limited experience with them. She’s only had one before which also didn’t react to hoof testers but it did burst within a couple of days.

I had wanted my next move to be X-ray the foot, but vet is pushing to scan the leg and I know already what that’s going to show so am reluctant to do that before an X-ray.

The smell seems to be fading but there is a slight whiff of it still there. I’m so sure it isn’t just a general hoof smell though, even faint, it is absolutely vile, much stronger than thrush which she’s had her fair share of. I can’t see anywhere it might be draining but I did think that maybe there was a small hole which is why it was so strong but it’s stopped draining now which is why it’s fading ?

 

[ycbm]

The longest I've known was 3 months rumbling around before it burst out. Another was 6 weeks and it popped the morning the vet was coming to x ray. Neither were my horse, but it's not unusual, ime.

I would insist on the x ray, the vet can't scan the leg without your permission.
.

 

[AandK]

My gelding had an abscess that rumbled on and off for about 3 months before bursting out of his coronet band in all its glory, he was quite lame in the days before it finally burst. He never once was sensitive to hoof testers. (to add, it was due to a keratoma, but have also known of long grumbling abscesses in other horses not related to a keratoma)

 

[Pinkvboots]

Could still be an abscess and quite often the leg will swell because they are not weight bearing on it properly it happens to one of my horses.

 

[meleeka]

I’ve had legs swell due to abscesses before. It also fits with the smell and the sudden severe lameness. I might be tempted to just keep tubbing and see how she is at the end of the week. If it’s an abscess that’s burst it should improve.

 

[callybbi]

My next step would be to x ray to look for an abscess. We had a mare that came back from loan and was almost instantly lame. Around 4 weeks and lots of stress later and an abscess finally burst.

 

[SEL]

I had an awful one rumbling on with my old boy during that first lockdown when it was hard to get vet visits. It was in his arthritic leg so like you I had sleepless nights trying to work out if it really was an abscess or his pre existing issue. The vets said if it was the pre existing issue then obviously they'd PTS in lockdown but sedation, x-ray etc was a battle I was losing.

When it blew it took an enormous chunk of hoof with it and you could see dead laminae where it had tracked up. His hoof looked shocking but he was instantly sound (as sound as he was with his arthritis anyway).

I think that was about 3 weeks but my friend's mare had one that rumbled on and off for months - we reckon a blackthorn. The pus blew out the coronet band with that and it was green and stank.

So I wouldn't call time just yet anyway.

 

[Orangehorse]

My gelding had an abscess that rumbled on and off for about 3 months before bursting out of his coronet band in all its glory, he was quite lame in the days before it finally burst. He never once was sensitive to hoof testers. (to add, it was due to a keratoma, but have also known of long grumbling abscesses in other horses not related to a keratoma)

Yes, I 've had this too.

OP, definitely ask for a foot xray. Its your money.

 

[Archangel]

Given this wet winter I would suspect abscess rumbling away, but of course you could have two things going on.

This horse went suddenly very, very lame - everything pointing to an abscess - vet and farrier couldn't find anything and no reaction to hoof testers, no swelling.
We were about to go to xray when the vet found a little mark on the sole and had a dig. We all got covered in pus.

Some time later a second abscess burst out of coronary band.
The sole eventually came away due to being under run with pus.



It ended up looking like this... half the wall missing and a gaping hole, horse was 100% sound at this point.



My other horse.
Vet out, horse was slightly lame but they couldn't find anything.
Horse went sound then several months later - boom - out of the coronary band.
Not quite so dramatic as the other horse and she was never quite lame enough to immediately think abscess and didn't react to hoof testers.

 

[setterlover]

I had an abscess a few years ago that started in October and finally horse sound and abscess over mid January .
The vet x-rayed 3 times to trace the pus to different spots in the foot and the abscess was running under the foot and breaking out in different places under running the whole sole.
I honestly began to wonder if we would ever sort it out.

 

[donkeyindisguise]

Thank you all

I really needed the reassurance that there’s a chance it could still be an abscess, as much as I’m being realistic there there’s a chance it’s leg, I’m not ready to say bye to her yet, she’s only 15

I will push for an X-ray first