hoof abscess

[nakedescapee]

Does anyone know what the treatment for a hoof abscess is? The farrier cleaned it out and said it had already turned black and was not up too high so I shouldn't need to use a anti-bacterial or thrush treatment. My instinct tells me I should treat it with Coppertox or soak it. Do I need to call the vet?
As usual, any and all suggestions are welcome.
Ginny

[galadriel]

Is the horse lame? (Who is it? Hopefully not Mama, surely not Baby)

If it's making her lame, then it still needs treatment. It needs to be kept clean and dry, and soaked in something twice a day helps. You can soak in Epsom salts or Betadine mixed with water. Soaking helps it suck the rest of the infection out, and keeping it dry kills the infection that caused it.

Usually I soak, wait for the hoof to dry, wrap the hoof, and turn out if the horse isn't too lame, or stick back in a stall if she needs it. You can wrap the hoof in a disposable baby diaper wrapped with duct tape. Putting another shake of Epsom salts inside the diaper helps it stay dry inside.

You could also soak in a soaking boot (Davis boot):
http://horsestuffco.com/pictures/davisboots.jpg
and also use the soaking boot to protect the hoof while not soaking. After 3 abcesses (my horses had very bad hooves when I got them) I gave in and bought on. They're only about $25 or so.

[Bebe]

You can also soak in diluted apple cider vinegar, it's less drying for the hoof in general but should help draw the abscess.

If there is any pus left in the hoof, poulticing should draw it out. Animalintex is as good as anything although there are various things out there that you can buy.

Agree with Galadriel about keeping it clean and dry, etc.

[ros]

Sometimes abcesses cause a big problem, but sometimes the smaller ones run their course and disappear unnoticed, and you don't even know they've been there until the farrier finds the evidence when he trims the foot.

Generally speaking, if there's no lameness and any residual pus is black, it's probably all over bar the shouting, but what you do in the way of follow-up treatment rather depends on what happened in the first place - if you've got a big hole to keep clean while it heals, obviously you need to plug it and try to keep it dry; if the foot is soft or still tender, you need to be aware that over-poulticing can soften it even more, and so on. If it's just a minor thing, the farrier is probably right and basic cleanliness will suffice.

On the subject of abcesses, I'd only ever had the odd one over the years, but my big old Frank used to get the damn things for a pastime - if a year went by when he didn't get one it was a good year :rolleyes: ! Neither vet nor farrier could explain it, and I'd love to know if it was something I was doing wrong or if he just had some genetic predisposition...?

[Big Ears]

I found that a good way of turning out a horse with an abscess was to use an old horsehage bag, cut into layers, so you had several layers of plastic under the foot to keep it clean. That way they didn't have to stay in, just plug the foot with cotton wool, soaked perhaps in a dilutoin of tea tree oil - disinfects well - and then apply the outer plastic and hold in place with tape - works like a boot

[Sarah]

Ros,

An old farrier we used when we lived in Hampshire said that if a horse persistantly has absesses it can be because they have pedal ostitis. I'm not sure if this is right in general, but on each horse he shod that had frequenct absesses, after a year or so pedal ostitis would be diagnosed by the vet!

bye!

[nakedescapee]

I thought that keeping it clean and dry would be important and perhaps a good soaking every day for a while. Thank you all for the great advice.

Homie is the one with the abscess. She never showed any signs of lameness but she got very touchy about having her feet messed with. I thought she was just being a brat. The farrier had a very hard time with her until he cleaned it out, then she calmed down for him... it must have been bothering her. Poor Homie! :(

There is a rather large hole in the sole of her hoof where the farrier dug it out. It has been sooo wet here and the muck is thick so I may just keep her in for a few days as long as she doesn't stock up. When I went over to feed this morning, all three were covered with mud from head to toe. I hated leaving Homie out to come to work but, hopefully, she will stay out of the muck and the wet grass will brush off the hoof so I can clean it properly this afternoon.

Thanks again! :D

btw: Galadriel, how is the house hunt going?

[galadriel]

Poor Homie baby. If she showed relief when the farrier cleaned it out and seems fine, then the farrier probably got all of it and she doesn't have any more infection. Just keep it nice and clean (and dry) so she doesn't get a new infection in there (it's easier for them to get into nooks and crannies). She should be fine to turn out if you can put something over the hoof to protect it.

House: We made an offer on a house! The one I posted about :) The one I haven't been inside of yet...;) Waiting to hear back.
http://newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20693