Could it be???

So our little gelding Bob is off on his front right foot. There is no heat, no swelling, real pain if I touch his shoulder and leg, could it be a hoof abscess? I have never dealt with one before. If it was would there be heat? My husband thinks it could be thrush, and it might be, but his feet look pretty good... Not sure what it could be...He is landing toe first, which he normally does not do...I got a call into the vet, but she went home sick today, I will try her again tomorrow.

I probably don't know enough to say but I'd call the farrier first. A horse where I ride had a bad-looking limp all of a sudden and it did turn out to be a hoof abscess. Farrier came, cut a hole & he was better. They kept him in his stall 'til the farrier got there.
I think thrush really smells recognizably bad, even if you've never smelled it.
Good luck with him, bet he'll be fine soon!

How's he doing today? If its an abcess, keep him moving. Soaking in hot water with ACV/TTO or Epsom salts will help draw it out. Even just hot water works good. Beauty loved this when she had a bad abcess brewing.

How do you know when she has an abscess? Is she swollen? I was talking to our vet and she said it could be an abscess, or it could be a bruise. My hubby is just gone to check to see how he is doing today.

That's actually how we knew. There was no swelling, no obvious injuries, nothing seemed broken, etc. Didn't appear to be anything else. She was really lame for at least a week, them bam, giant abcess blew.

Cowboy is just getting over one as well. Took a week to finally pop and now he is back to himself!

He is still off today... ouchy in his frog area. When he walks he does not want to put it down much. I hope he does not have an abscess...

So I went and checked on Bob today and I think he had an abscess! He is no longer sore and moving around much better.

So this was Bob's foot yesterday.


And this is his foot today




Now the question is...what to do with it? Just leave it? Should I put something on it?

So looking at these pictures, it looks like he has something in the same area on the sole that the indent (maybe the abscess was working its way through???) I wish we had a better picture. It looks like he has alot of over laying bar. I think it should be trimmed away... What do you think?

I don't know it that's what it looks like when an abscess "blows", but it looks like something did blow up there! Is he walking better? I know that after the farrier "fixed up" a couple at the barn those horses walked better right away. Relieved the pressure and they felt better. I'd soak it twice a day in hot water/epsom salts and let him move around so it drains. I'd also want to put something on it (antibacterial) and put the hoof in a boot to keep out the dirt - but I bet that's wrong! I think it's important that it keeps draining if it was an abscess. Looking forward to hearing from the others...
Great pics of that hoof, it looks like it shows some draining - but maybe that's just me!

mypony wrote:

So looking at these pictures, it looks like he has something in the same area on the sole that the indent (maybe the abscess was working its way through???) I wish we had a better picture. It looks like he has alot of over laying bar. I think it should be trimmed away... What do you think?

Yes. Other then that I would just leave him alone and keep him moving. Snow is very cleansing (looks like you have lots in the pics).

Can I ask if this is usually what a blown abscess looks like? Or is it another horsey thing that has no "usually" about it?
Is it sometimes better to ask a hoof care practioner/farrier to relieve the pressure by making a hole? and how do you know when to leave it alone and when to call vet/HP/F? and how would they know where to make the hole? I think that they heal pretty quickly, don't they? I guess that depends on the horse, maybe.
Hope the questions are Ok.
Looking forward to hearing about the patient,
C

willowsfriend wrote:

Can I ask if this is usually what a blown abscess looks like? Or is it another horsey thing that has no "usually" about it?
Is it sometimes better to ask a hoof care practioner/farrier to relieve the pressure by making a hole? and how do you know when to leave it alone and when to call vet/HP/F? and how would they know where to make the hole? I think that they heal pretty quickly, don't they? I guess that depends on the horse, maybe.
Hope the questions are Ok.
Looking forward to hearing about the patient,
C

Yes, a blown abscess looks like this. They can also blow out the coronet band and look like this:


Just do a google search for blown abscess pics to see more.

The trouble with making holes and digging is that unless it has busted its hard to know exactly where its lurking. Generally once it blows, it should resolve itself pretty quickly. If this were my horse I would use my knife to clean up where the blow hole is but I wouldn't dig around, just trim it a little and apply some straight tea tree oil to the hole.

How's he doing today? You can really back up his toes.

Bob is doing better today. He is not sore walking around. I got some poultice and did his foot all up with vet wrap and a bit of duct tape.

The holes in his foot are not really holes. They are not deep or anything. You know when you cut away overlaying bar and how there is that black dirty in there? Well that what is there. His bar seems to be built up and kinda deep. I cut some of that away today and I will see what happens.

I agree that his toe could be brought back, but i no longer do the trimming. I have handed all over to my hubby and he follows Pete Ramey, which the toe is not brought back as much as Equinextion.

Can I see a pic of it, since you trimmed some of that excess bar away?