hoof abcess

[hhpminis]

I am going to call my vet tomorrow but thought I would get experiences from the forum in the meantime.

I had the farrier out Friday and a 2 yr old colt turned up with an abcess. It was very deep and in the sole not in or near the white line. He cut down as far as he dare but did not draw blood only infection and in his opinion needed to quit where he was and try to draw it out.

We cleaned it out as best we could and put a betadine soaked cotton ball in the crevice and wrapped it with duct tape. Yesterday changed the bandage and all seemed well. Today changed the bandage and it stunk to high heaven, almost made me gag and I do not have a weak stomach. He is not nor has he been lame on it and was absolutely climbing the walls from stall rest so I turned him out for an hour, cleaned the stalls and brought him back in and thought I would undress and soak in epsom salts and hot water since it had been so nasty. Do my best thinking while shoveling you no what, and came up with this plan.

When I brought him in it had blown out and his frog was pretty much gone and the soft part of the heel was basically just hanging there so I trimmed it up a bit so it was smoother and wouldn't get ripped off. For the first time I saw blood and not infection so that is good. Wrapped it up again with the cotton, an antibiotic paste, duct tape and vet wrap.

I am wondering, since it is so deep in the sole, maybe he should be on preventative antibiotics to ward off and blood infection. Like I said I am going to call the vet tomorrow but what has been your experience in the past. Oh and he is current on tetanus, due for booster in April, might do that early as well.

 

[Ashley]

Nope. We never have. Soak it in Epsome salt for about 20 or so mins a day. Every day repack with the soaked cotten(like you have) after a few days it should be good and should be able to be left open.

The salt soak will draw out the infection.

 

[Marty]

I've had some nastys but never used antibiotics.

You might also squirt some icthamol sauve in the crevices too and then shove some gauze in there like packing it in. That draws out the infection real good. At drug stores in a tube about $3.00 (((( )))))

 

[victoria]

Hoof abcess are my thing... we seem to have something in the ground that makes my TB very prone to them in certain paddocks after a dry spell and then wet weather. Generally I will tub the foot in epsom salts and hot water, although I have had some good results using apple cider vinegar then use a commercial warm poultice (animalintex) pushing it right up into where the infection is if accessable, then vet wrap the foot and put a shoof on them and change daily, like you said the bandage is disgusting usually.... I havent really used antibiotics, im not sure if there would be any benefit to do so now that the abcess has blown out... I do continue to dress the foot and keep it as clean as possible for a week or so after the abcess has blown just for my own piece of mind....

 

[Fred]

When you have an abcess that deep most vets will prescribe a round of antibiotics just in case. Linda B

 

[SILVER]

When you have an abcess that deep most vets will prescribe a round of antibiotics just in case. Linda B

I agree, we had a gelding with a deep one and he was given a round of antibiotics. Besides, I don't think it will harm him at this time with the hoof the way it is.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I have never had a horse with a hoof abcess, so have no experience in that area. However, I have always been told by my vets that if it has been more that three months since the horse received its tetanus booster, and it has any sort of deep penetrating wound(digging out a hoof abcess, IMO,might qualify in this respect), that it would be prudent to redo the tetanus. (And of course, if the horse has been receiving tetanus TOXOID- the long-term protection-regularly, that is what they should be boostered with; only if the horse has never received the toxoid-or, you don't know for sure whether it has-then it might be prudent to use the ANTITOXIN for short term protection, and follow up with two doses, properly spaced in time, of the TOXOID.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Sadly i have been called the queen of absesses by my vet.. my T/B is VERY prone to them and has them all the time. I find (and we disagree on this one sometimes) that soaking and icthomal works much better then beatidine alone

Iwill soak then put in a tad of betadine. then pack with itchomal and then put a brown paper bag the shape of the hoof over that (not sure why it has be be brown paper to be honest) that is sort ofa throw back from my grooming days and was just done that way. Then i wrap with vet wrap if the horse is going outside he gets some duct tape over that.

IF i am thinking it is beyond the icthomal stage.. i use the liquid betaidine on a soaked cotten and then pack with the ointment.

All of that said, I do if it is a deep one put my horse on antibiodics for a few days the deep ones (in my experience) can easily sort of vein off and start a new one and for some reason the antibiodics seems to help with that.

I am not a vet of course but have had to deal with tons of them in fact this is the longest the horse has gone without one and it has been well he had a bad one while i was at Natioanls so i would say since late Oct.

Wanted to add that IMO which doesnt always even agree with my vet if the horse can stay in or while he is inside i would wrap with just the vet wrap i think that the duct tape (which of course is needed when they go outside) lets no air in there at all and it just sort of festers in there and helps itself to grow but that is just my opinion and I have found weather permitting I will leave my horse wtih vet wrap only for a few hours a day.

 

[ClickMini]

My vet has me soak daily in hot water w/betadine and epsom salts. No oral antibiotic at all, but possibly a gel type to squeeze into the abcess hole prior to wrapping.

Good luck! Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it already.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I had a arab that had a bad abcess, my farrier cleaned it out then we packed it with icthamol, wrapped it, put the hoof into a plastic bag, duct taped it, within a few days everything was fine..but WOW--they sure do stink :bgrin Corinne