Abscesses

[martini55]

I posted this at the end of my last thread but thought I'd start another thread about it. As some of you may have read Martini has gone back to being pretty footsore, and in particular she seems to be walking short with her right fore. She was comfortable in her boots a few days ago but when I took her out yesterday she was clearly unhappy and a bit reluctant. Having contacted my EP she has suggested that it is possibly an abscess as she will be susceptible to them.

It was actually my initial thought but I quickly pushed it to the back of my mind and began obsessing about the possibilities of laminitis:rolleyes: It does seem to fit the problem though- sudden lameness and tripping when coming across the yard.

My question is how to determine it is definitely an abscess and what is the best way to go about getting it to 'burst'. The symptoms she is showing are walking short/footsore and there was a bit of swelling to the side of her fetlock. I thought I felt some heat but it was hard to determine whether this was more-so than usual. Any advice would be great :)

[julia gulia]

If you are driving yourself nutty with worry then have the vet or farrier out to confirm if it is indeed an abscess. If you think it is an abscess then don't give any bute as it will reduce the swelling thus hindering the bursting of the goo...goo is good. You can soak the foot once to twice a day...I usually add some Epsom salts and Beta dine to the warm water...then dry it well and you can then wrap the foot( duct tape works well to keep the dressing in place and also keeps it dry) and turn out. The movement will help the abscess to pop! Hope your baby is feeling so much better soon.

[martini55]

Thanks Julia. I am just waiting for my EP to get back to me as to what to do :) If she can't come out and there is no improvement from what she suggests then I will of course get a vet.

[MelanieD]

If you're at all worried about laminitis then can you get her off grass for a few days? If it is the dreaded low grade laminitis then you should see an improvement pretty quickly. If it is an abcess then soaking in epsom salts could help, walking in sole mate pads can encourage them to pop, and gentle movement in general is good.

If you check digital pulses then if there's pulses in all feet laminitis is more likely, while an abcess will usually give a raised pulse in just the one foot.

[martini55]

I can't find a digital pulse at all. I thought I felt a slight pulse in her right fore a couple of days ago but haven't felt anything since. She was walking a bit better today but still has her ears back when walking so looks uncomfortable. I can't really make up my mind. Yesterday I was set on there being the possibility of an abscess, today she just looks more footy. I don't think it is laminitis but she's been on a even more restricted area of field since Sat as a just in case. I'll see what my EP replies with. I'm hoping she's coming in this direction this weekend and may be able to pop in but I'll just have to wait and see.

[capalldubh]

Oh dear, poor thing is in the wars a bit. The mare who shares with Jackson has had two abscesses in the last two weeks - one on each back hoof. The first popped out through the coronet band in a straightforward fashion, drained and is healing well. She wasn't really uncomfortable for more than about two hours. The second sounds just like what you're seeing, walking short and trying not to put full weight on the foot, pointing the hoof a lot and generally grumpy. We're trying to encourage it to pop, but nothing yet :-( She has bad feet and due to absent farrier :mad: , was left a bit long between trims last time - I suspect the abscesses have been brewing for a bit.

Will be interested to hear what EP suggests to you, it could help us too. If it is an abscess (could also be bruising - judging by Jackson at Christmas an unburst abscess and a nasty sole bruise look pretty similar) it would explain why Tini has been a bit uncomfortable for the last while...

[martini55]

Well after all that worry she's given me over the last week she came trotting over quite the thing for her tea tonight :rolleyes:. I had a good prod about her feet this morning and there was a little bit of black yuck around her white line, so maybe it's been a bit of infection? I gave her feet a good scrubbing out with diluted hibiscrub. Hopefully that's all it is. She likes to worry me!

[Nookster]

just reading up on some website about abcesses as i am not sure if thats what my boy has at the moment.

It did mention on a few if a drainage hole is not made it will find the easy route out and that can be throught the coronary line or a crack in the hoof wall

http://www.frontrangefrenzy.com/horsecare/hoofabscess.html

http://www.alphahorse.com/hoof-abscess.html