Billy

[Abby P]

How is Billy now, Marsha? Hay can definitely cause laminitis or push a horse over the edge if they are already teetering. I hope that you caught it nice and early and he's doing better!

I'm going to start another thread for it but I just switched Rowan onto the Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage due to my latest batch of hay causing an immediate cresty neck. It's early days still so we'll see.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Today I walked him a little and on the way back to the corral he actually trotted. So he must be feeling better. Equioxx daily.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think Billy has an abscess. There is a little crack about halfway down the hoof and there was blood on it tonight. I don't think it was there earlier this afternoon when I went out to spritz him--surely I would have noticed.
What should I do?
I also noticed some bruising on the hooves that is new. Should I put his books back on him?
This is new to me so I don't really know what to do. Should I soak the foot? Use some peroxide on it?
I didn't have my phone with me, and once I rinsed it off there was not much to see.

 

[candycar]

I would start with an Epsom salt soak. Try both feet if you can. Then if you have a good farrier, give him or your vet a call for advice. If it is an abscess, when they "blow" it is immediate relief .

 

[Abby P]

If the abscess already blew which it sounds like it did if there is already an exit hole, you may not need to do anything unless you think there could be more to come out (he'd be lame). The exits usually seal themselves up pretty quickly from the inside so treating it with anything probably isn't necessary unless it's a giant gaping hole or the integrity of the hoof capsule is compromised. Soaking won't hurt though, if there could be more to come out or you're concerned he may have one in the other foot as well.

For the bruising - nothing to be done for that, it's just a lagging indicator. Is it in the wall or the soles? If in the walls then it just has to grow out. If in the soles then boots may help with the root cause, if his soles are thin. I would just go based on his comfort level, if he's comfortable without the boots then open air and being dry is definitely better for his feet overall. Once the bruising is there in the hoof horn, whether wall or sole, it won't go away even if the cause goes away, it has to grow out and eventually get trimmed away.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Thanks for your replies. This morning the hoof looks fine. Just seems a little smooth there. He does not appear to be "resting" it. Would you say that a laminitis episode caused the abscess or can they occur from other conditions?
My worry is what I can do to prevent further problems. I got quite a lecture last night from my non-horsey husband on how to feed a horse when I compared Billy's problem to gout. Yow!!
I am not wired to discipline myself to feed a horse prone to laminitis. Maybe I should ask my husband to take over the feeding and I will do the grooming and corral cleaning.

 

[Abby P]

My bet is the laminitis for him. They can be caused by other things (stone bruises, punctures, coffin bone fractures, other injuries) but those seem less likely for him right now.

The main thing with feeding is to reduce the sugar in the diet, some horses need really low levels. It's much more about sugar than quantity of feed, you don't need to starve the horse by any means. That means no grass or grain ever, is the main and biggest thing it sounds like you need to ensure for Billy. Test your hay and if the sugar is too high, soak it or get different hay. If you can't test, then just soak all his hay to eliminate the guesswork. If you can't test or soak then something like the Safe Starch Forage or Timothy Balance cubes are good safe bets.

If you get him on low-sugar forage with a dry lot and he's sound for regular exercise you should be in very good shape. It WILL work!!

 

[HersheyMint]

Thanks for your replies. This morning the hoof looks fine. Just seems a little smooth there. He does not appear to be "resting" it. Would you say that a laminitis episode caused the abscess or can they occur from other conditions?
My worry is what I can do to prevent further problems. I got quite a lecture last night from my non-horsey husband on how to feed a horse when I compared Billy's problem to gout. Yow!!
I am not wired to discipline myself to feed a horse prone to laminitis. Maybe I should ask my husband to take over the feeding and I will do the grooming and corral cleaning.

You are the best for Billy. I have a non horsey hubby also who voices his opinion too. I take on the selected hearing that he often gives me. Didn't you say Billy had loss weight? Continue with your plan with that and exercise,(so glad he is walking better). If only horses could talk!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My bet is the laminitis for him. They can be caused by other things (stone bruises, punctures, coffin bone fractures, other injuries) but those seem less likely for him right now.

The main thing with feeding is to reduce the sugar in the diet, some horses need really low levels. It's much more about sugar than quantity of feed, you don't need to starve the horse by any means. That means no grass or grain ever, is the main and biggest thing it sounds like you need to ensure for Billy. Test your hay and if the sugar is too high, soak it or get different hay. If you can't test, then just soak all his hay to eliminate the guesswork. If you can't test or soak then something like the Safe Starch Forage or Timothy Balance cubes are good safe bets.

If you get him on low-sugar forage with a dry lot and he's sound for regular exercise you should be in very good shape. It WILL work!!

I will look for the timothy cubes/pellets. But if this is the way it's going to be for the rest of his life, then I will try to rehome him. I cannot do the dry lot for the rest of his life. If he were boarded it would be easy. But we live in the middle of 80 acres of gorgeous, natural prairie grass.
btw he loves his afternoon spritzing! I used to have to tie him and he thought the water was going to kill him. Now he enjoys it and also enjoys drinking out of the spray nozzle. He is quite an interesting little horse.

 

[Abby P]

Just to be clear I'm not talking about random hay cubes, but this:

https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/timothy-balance-cubes/

They are tested to be low in sugar and the minerals are balanced. They can be fed as the entire diet. Regular hay cubes are no more or less likely to be high sugar than any other hay.

Insulin resistant horses and pasture is a constant game of Russian roulette with weather conditions, time of year, time of day, etc. There may be times when the sugar is low enough to be safe but it is awfully hard to guess when those times might be for your individual horse.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Just to be clear I'm not talking about random hay cubes, but this:

https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/timothy-balance-cubes/

They are tested to be low in sugar and the minerals are balanced. They can be fed as the entire diet. Regular hay cubes are no more or less likely to be high sugar than any other hay.

Insulin resistant horses and pasture is a constant game of Russian roulette with weather conditions, time of year, time of day, etc. There may be times when the sugar is low enough to be safe but it is awfully hard to guess when those times might be for your individual horse.

There are some dealers not far from me. I will definitely check into this. Thank you for the exact name of it.

 

[Standards Equine]

We've just had 2 in the neighborhood come up with hoof abscesses in the last 2 days. One in the front, another in the rear. It comes on as sudden and rapidly progressing lameness. Usually abscesses will burst through the coronet band, the point of least resistance. As @Abby P said, pretty much instant relief after that's happened. Soaking with epsom salts and warm water is a great idea. if you find the exit point, then poulticing there with sugar and iodine/betadine to draw the infection is also a great idea. We fashion hoof boots from infant diapers for the wee ones, and duct tape over it so it holds in place with some resilience to the ground.
Abscesses can certainly be caused by bruising, or a small foreign object penetrating the sole. We see it most commonly when the footing changes - hard dry to soft wet, or activity on rocky ground after soft sand. That type of thing. Or they can just knock their hoof on a rock or fence and one will start. Fortunately usually they're quick to resolve with no lasting effects. They're just really uncomfortable until then.
I sure hope Billy is ok!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

He seems fine. My sister came to look and she was surprised there was no obvious exit area. Just kind of a smooth place. The other hind foot has a suspicious spot on it; just have to watch it.
I ordered some of that Triple Crown timothy cube. No tractor supply or atwoods near me has it on had. They carry Triple Crown but not that particular product. So I will just keep feeding him the same until I can get it--probably two weeks. They had four other products in stock, just not that one.

 

[chandab]

Both Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage and triple Crown Naturals Timothy Balance cubes are low carb forage products, the Safe Starch is usually available in more places, the lower fat in the Timothy Balance cubes might make it the preferred product for some horses. I wish I could readily get either, and I had to quit special ordering the cubes when the price went over $30/bag, that moved them out of my budget for a special order item. Like both products, my horses seems to like the cubes better, but will eat both (except for the picky old man, he is hard to please).

 

[Abby P]

Chandab, did you feed the cubes dry or wet them down? Just curious. I haven't seen them in a long time (since way back when they were still Ontario Dehy) but I understand they are small and pretty soft/crumbly and a lot of people do feed them dry.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes. They are $32 a bag. This is okay for me since I only have one horse. It is 50 lbs; not sure how long it will last. I called around today to see if any stores a little closer can get it quicker, but no luck.
I did not know it is a Purina product.

 

[Abby P]

Yeah, it looks like Purina manufactures some of the TC stuff now in some areas. Formulas are supposed to be the same. TC is still a separate company.

 

[chandab]

Triple Crown is still an independent company, but they do not have their own mills, so in some regions Purina mills their feed for them, all work is done to Triple Crown specs with Triple crown formulas. The Timothy Balance Cubes, as far as I know, are still manufactured by Ontario Dehy in Canada. I do not know who packages TC forage products.

 

[chandab]

Chandab, did you feed the cubes dry or wet them down? Just curious. I haven't seen them in a long time (since way back when they were still Ontario Dehy) but I understand they are small and pretty soft/crumbly and a lot of people do feed them dry.

When used as a meal, I soaked, just to be safe. I primarily had them as an addition to my stallion's treat ball, so those were fed dry. If I could readily break them by hand, they went into the ball for dry feeding; if they were hard to break, they went into a bucket to be soaked. May be just fine, regardless, dry; but for miniatures, I'd rather be safe.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Farrier out today. I showed him the area I thought was an abscess and he could see no sign of one. He checked all his feet to see if there were swellings or anything abnormal. He said all his feet looked good. So, I will just continue with his diet. I have two more bales of the low-sugar hay and by then the TC should be in. We are on a roll here!