Abscesses
Contact your vet about treating abscesses. Here are some thoughts…
If you haven’t ever seen an abscessing horse, it can be a real shock. When in pain, the horse can become 3-legged lame and often be unwilling to even hobble around the pasture. In other situations horses abscess and the owner isn’t aware until I point out the point of eruption growing down from the hairline. In worst case scenerios, entire soles fall off, frogs, heels or large openings on heel bulbs or coronary band present. Expect the abscess to resolve within 1 day to 6 weeks, in general.
In my very small practice (2004-), I have not seen one abscess result from my trim. I have inherited some abscessing clients however. My own horse arrived from the rescue with an abscess. He was three legged lame. Since this was my first abscess ever, I called the vet. He “relieved the pressure” by digging a hole into the sore area. The horse was still dead lame and continued like that for 6 weeks. Several days after the vet’s visit, the barn’s farrier arrived and told me, next time, to just leave abscesses alone. He felt opening the area with a knife leaves also leaves the area open to infection. I agree.
Additionally I felt the release of pressure could leave some secondary pockets of infection inside. And the horse has tissue to rebuild. I have seen this “release of pressure” technique prolong other abscesses. I do not support it.
I have heard one argument that it’s better for the horse if the abscess releases at the sole and not the coronary band. I see no medical reason for this. It erupts and immediately, that very second, the new hoof begins to grow out of the coronary band. I have watched large abscess sites grow right down the hoof wall with no problem. They present as a horizontal line on the hoof wall. Often I see them and the owner never had a problem.
Keep It Simple Sweetie! Trust the healing powers of Nature. For whatever reason, the foot needs to expel pus and gas. If the hoof is really in bad shape, severely flared with virtually no coffin bone connection, I would expect to see abscessing once the shoes are pulled; and would advise the owner. The feet are essentially in critical care. In this example, abscessing is one step in the right direction. I would recommend the preventative use of White Lightening, see below.
At the other end of the spectrum, I have seen abscessing with certain excessive trims. The already unhealthy and unstable foot, is further destabilized with the elimination of needed support. A lousy foot may appear sound in shoes because, for all the damage that shoes do, they give the hoof the rigidity it needs to function. Take away that crutch of being cast and the hoof has to function with the lousy or perhaps non existent internal structures it has left. Instead of moving right to healing and building good structure, the over trimmed and destabilized hoof suffers.
Since movement is the Holy Grail of healthy hooves, causing abscesses by an aggressive trim to achieve maximum hoof movement or “mechanism” is not a good idea in my opinion. Sore horses don’t walk. And I don’t recommend forced walking a sore horse. The rehab process is set back by weeks.
Plain old “pasture” trims can cause abscessing too. I have inherited abscessing horses with the some of the following: Super short or long heels, long toes, dubbed toes, unbalanced feet, over trimmed soles, over trimmed or removed bars. I just apply the best natural trim for the horse at that moment in time. I don’t try to trim the perfect hoof for him to grow into; I sure wouldn’t want anyone to do that to me! This seems to work pretty well.
Only once in my last 1.5 years has one horse, Prince, walked off worse than he walked in. I was neatening up the sole, trimming some “false” sole. Prince taught me a good lesson. What appears “false or excessive or ugly” to me, is the added stabilizing material he needed to allow his hooves to function. He remains the most pathological horse in my practice. Prince thanks. Lesson learned.
Don’t beautify the hoof. Do the trim and if the horse has seemingly excessive material on sole, leave it. That’s Nature’s way of adding more stability for the rehabbing foot. When in doubt, leave it. Less is better.
Treatment:
Never ever stall an abscessing horse. They will stand on their good legs and lift the bad one. Lack of movement can cause a whole new host of problems. Let them hobble around outside with their herd or at least a friend. Encourage movement by spreading hay or treats. Pull shoes from any abscessing horse.
When treating my Sunny, I used to diaper in warm Epsom salts, then in dilute apple cider vinegar. At least in my area with mud, soft ground, puddles and creeks and full turnout is the best treatment. Mud is a great drawing agent. Standing in a creek or pond feels great and softens the area, encouraging the abscess to release. And movement with the herd will build pressure to help the abscess either pop or be reabsorbed. If you must do something apply Ichthammol around a clean, coronary band and heels bulbs for 30 minutes per day. It’s very disgusting to handle and I expect you’ll loose interest quickly. I don’t bother with diapering anymore unless the abscess has lingered past a week.
If you horse runs a temperature, call the vet. Most likely the horse will be put on anti-biotics. Some vets recommend treatment regardless of temp. If you horse is debilitated, involve the vet. Chronic pain can progress to colic and death.
(October 2008 update) I have stumbled upon White Lightening. If you have a very pathological foot, lots of flaring, contracted heels, foundered, extreme thrush or a horse coming out of shoes, check out this product. I carry a few bottles for recalcitrant cases of thrush especially. You can’t expect the ever important heel-first-landing, without a good frog!
Even if the horse doesn’t have an abscess but is, for example, very sore with founder, I know there is necrotic tissue in the foot. For $15/ bottle or 4 applications and 40 minutes of soaking time, I think White Lightening is a good investment. You can use it as often as 3x per week. It doesn’t hurt healthy tissue. You must bag the foot as the gases are as important as the liquid. White Lightening is stable for 8 hours; you can easily use one application on all 4 feet, individually if you have the time. I find its a way to avoid abscesses.
If the horse won’t move, boot both front feet in padded Epics or Soaking boots. This is particularly helpful if the vet has already dug a pressure-release hole. At least the horse will be comfy while the tissue grows back. A comfy horse moves. Movement promotes healing and the rebuilding of the all important foot structures, internally and externally.
If your horse isn’t too sore, this is a great time to learn about clicker training and maybe even teach tricks! Check out The Clicker Center. You’ll bond to a whole new level.
Hope this helps! Dawn
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Posted in Hoof Articles, Pathology | Tagged abscess, barefeet, pathology 2 Comments
I LOVE your blog and YouTube videos. I bought a rasp recently. I would love to be able to take more responsibility with my own horses’ feet (and health and training) instead of waiting for my farrier who comes every six weeks. I keep the horses barefoot.
What is White Lightening? Is it the cleaner? Or is it something listed in tack catalogs?
My vet, of course, cut away sole from my 21-year old mare’s hind hoof after he found a nail hole that I didn’t. (Grrr.) She had been three-legged lame for a week, and I couldn’t stand not knowing what was wrong anymore. (His doing that made me feel helpless, after reading this article.)
He covered the opening in her sole with Ichthammol and gauze and sticky bandages and has her on antibiotics. The bandaged is still on, reenforced with duct tape, as this is day three. (He told me to keep it on three or four days until she is walking flat-footed.) I’m keeping her in her stall, keeping it immaculate, putting her pasture mates in their stalls at night as it is very wet and rainy right now. As soon as her sole starts to grow back, I’ll put her back out. I don’t know how long that will take. I worry about that hole in her sole getting rocks or poop in it … I don’t have a boot for her.
Again, I am very glad to find you and hope to continue learning a lot from you. I am a homeschooling mom of four, keep chickens and a dairy cow, have recently gotten a part-time job, which I love. My senior is getting ready to go to college, my freshman and 5th grader have decided to go to public school, so I will have only a third grader left at home. I am looking forward to being able to spend more time in the barn. I am not getting any younger!
Merry Christmas!
Jen
Hi Jen and sorry for the tardy reply. You know, the holidays. Well your vet is just like most I am afraid. White Lightening is a liquid I use for soaking if I am concerned about thrush or there being bacteria in a crack. If you want a disinfecting agent I listed some recipes in one of my articles on the Easy Care Horse Boot Blog: If only I had 4 frogs.
http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/notes-from-the-field Just page down until you find the correct article.
Best of Luck to you and your horses!
Dawn