Punctured sole - can anyone help?

Phoebe

Phoebe

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Dec 31, 2003
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My ID mare punctured her sole on a nail on Saturday night. The vet came out and cleaned it out, took off the shoe and poulticed it. He then came back 12 hours later and poulticed it again - a small amount of infection was drawn out. She's just been re-poulticed again and it looks fairly clean.

She was very lame after it happened, so I brought her in overnight, but I have let her out with her fieldmates in the smaller field because she is happier and it keeps her moving. She has had no bute because a) she won't take it - under any disguise and b) I prefer to see the true picture of her lameness.

She has improved - but only slightly, and the vet is concerned the nail has hit something else and is looking to possibly get it investigated further with a nerve block at the end of this week.

I feel she is coming right slowly, she is moving - and she can trot now - but its clearly still tender for her.

What's the usual recovery period for this - when *should* I see a decent improvement - assuming it hasn't hit anything else? She can walk on it, and trot (when pushed), but its clearly painful. Saying that - I put her in the small field as she proved she was able to gallop on it the night before last with the others.

Can anyone advise?
 
Please don't be offended, but a Vet is the only party who is qualified to advise.

I suggest that your question is better answered by a qualified Vet; we here on the Internet are not in a position to render better advice than a Vet on the scene.

Best regards,
Harry
 
a mare at my friends yard punctured her sole and it was 8 weeks before her walk was 100% 'sound' but her trot was still a bit off for another 3 weeks and canter was totally out of the question for quite a few months.
 
I acutally know a horse that took 4 months to recover from a very similar problem. I think its down to the horse really and how bad it was, hers went unnoticed for a while so the infection had took hold which might explain the long recoup time.

:)
Please don't be offended, but a Vet is the only party who is qualified to advise.
Click to expand...

I think you could say that about alot of the questions in this forum, but people are not expecting veterniary advice harry, just support and hopefully someone that has gone through a similar experiance and got through it.:)
 
My boy was very sore for 3 weeks - there was no infection but the sole was very bruised and tender, and he couldn't be shod. He was sound and the farrier came to shoe him, but he went through the roof and nearly took the farrier's head off!
He has typical TB feet, if he is sore he simply cannot walk, so without a shoe I had to keep him in for 3 weeks as we have to walk up a lane and over stones to get to our field.
He had a bruised sole from a stone afew weeks ago, I poulticed and he was fine after 2-3 days.

Another horse on our yard had a bad infection which eventually burst through the coronet, but this was several months after the original puncture!

I think the point I'm trying to make is it could be a few days or a few months! Sorry, not much help!
 
my pony jan-gre got a puncture wound about 3 yrs ago after a very serious accident. it took her 6months to recover as the puncture wound got infected because she had to be stabled and she kept breaking out of the stable and running around the field - silly pony! lol.

so it seems that it takes different lengths of time for different severties of wounds to heal.

natalie
 
My Welsh cob Taffy has had an abcess (although we couldn't find a puncture) causing him problems for 3 months now.

I've had the vet our many times, the problem was that he showed very little lameness to start with (he is quite a 'tough' boy!) so the pus built up for ages before he found it.
The vet also found some pus that had started to go solid, and has disrupted the cartilidge in his hoof. He cut a large hole in the sole to let it 'dry out' which still has to 'grow back.'

Taffy is finally off drugs and out in the field without his foot bandaged up in plastic bags to keep it clean! Also, he was very naughty cantering around the other day so is obviuosly feeling much better!

Just hang in there - it sounds as if she's doing quite well already!
 
just to add some hope on the subject. My pony stood on a nail and she didnt even go lame the vet came after my mum had removed the nail and coulnt even find the puncture wound she was amazed because you could tell by the blood on the nail that it had gone in quite far. i was really worried it would flare up later but it never did. the vet reckons becuase she is a highland and it had been very dry she must have had extremely tuff feet!!:) i no your pony is bad and it wont make any difference but this post was making fairly grim reading! i know we were very lucky.
 
The problem of course is twofold - with the offending item removed there is no real way to tell what it hit on the way in and unless you absolutely have to you don't want to open up the wound any more in order to check out what's going on.

Puncture wounds through the sole can be very serious - often the best advice is actually to leave the nail or whatever in until the vet turns up with a portable x-ray to see where it is and what it hit. However, this usually means physically restraining the horse in some way - tieing a leg etc which may not be possible.

It sounds like the vet is concerned that the nail has hit one of the internal bones. Given that the average abcess can take 1-2 weeks to sort out, don't be too concerned yet, this actually sounds like a very fast recovery.

When you say she was allowed in the paddock - did she have a boot or bandage on? I'd be concerned about letting any dirt near this wound for at least a week as the sole is not particularly quick to heal over.
 
Thanks everyone :)

The hoof has been fully covered with bandages and a boot since it happened. She has also been out 24 x 7.

Update for you - the farrier came on Wednesday and cleaned it up further - then poulticed it again. The vet has been today and she is only 2/10's lame now and is clearly much better (no bute). The shoe will be going back on tomorrow with a leather pad, although she will still be rested for some time to enable to bruising to settle. She has had another antibiotic shot and its strapped up again until tomorrow - she had to be twitched and sedated for the vet although nothing was needed for the farrier - so I am keen he continues with her care from now on (which the vet agrees with).

Fingers crossed she continues to improve - its been very worrying, but luckily she hasn't really suffered in herself as she has been out with her friends and has kept it moving...which seems to have helped any infection clear up.
 
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Foot abscesses can cause the most alarming lamness, I was convinced my horse had a broken leg once....then found the abscess!:eek: :eek: Punctured sole too without infection causes them to go on three legs sometimes.

As Harry Hobbes says the vet is the one you really need to keep in touch with, but in my experience it heals up fine without lasting problems, somtimes they fix in a week, sometimes longer. So long as she is covered for tetanus and you are keeping it draining and clean you can do little more without x-rays and the like. The nail would have had to go in a very long way to get to the pedal bone, do you know how far it did go in?

Horses are far better out and about and keeping the blood circulation good, a poultice boot and bandages will keep the dirt out.

We do not have the luxury of moblie X-rays if we get a nail in a foot it's the old pliers and take it out! Fatty horsepig came in with a 3 inch screw in his frog, I had to unscrew it to get it out! I was gobsmacked at how long it was and how far it had gone in. I scrubbed his foot and opened it up a little and poulticed it for one night.....he didn't even go lame!:eek:
 
Hi - thanks for the message.

I didn't see the nail, just a puncture wound - but it was deep - as we saw by how far they dug down and it still went on further :( Not sure for definite whether it hit anything or not, but the vet doesn't think she would be able to do what she can now if it had hit anything. She has improved on a daily basis - with a marked improvement today.

She's up to date with tetanus, has had 3 penicillin shots, and the foot will stay covered until he shoes her tomorrow and puts the cover on - again, depending on whether the farrier is happy. My vet and farrier worked together on this and are very familiar with each others way of working - hence the vet is happy for James to continue her care now.

Its a relief though to see her much more comfortable - although I have to admit to really not liking her being sedated today - have never had a horse sedated before! :)
 
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my horse punctured her sole a few weeks ago. she went quite lame. I poulticed it for a few days and kept her in. when i turned her out shr was still slightly lame although was sound in the school on soft ground and on a hard flat surface. she is now better but still has a hole in her foot 3 weeks later.
 
I have to say I am so pleased with her progress - considering she was SO lame, she is now shod (with a leather pad) and has been signed off by the vet. James (farrier) has suggested we try her out for a light hack tomorrow as she is just about sound now - especially since the shoe has gone back on.

She was so good aswell...she was reshod - no kicking (we distracted her with polo's) and no need for a twitch or sedation - so hopefully there is no residual fear about having that hoof picked out etc.

She's been such a good girl considering she has really been through it over the last week - I am so pleased with her. hopefully her soles will now toughen up - she was kept in most of winter with her previous owner which is why I think they are softer than the others soles.

Thanks all.
 
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