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Post by Majors Minor on Jun 10, 2008 11:24:26 GMT -5
One of our racehorses has a foot abcess.
All x-rays are clean. At this point everything but his head has been x-rayed ;D
We have done everything we can think of to get it to surface and pop. We have gone through 2 vets, 3 farriers. He is going on several months with this.
Taking any and all advice. He is currently at the farm on turn out.
Thanks!
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Post by TeachU2Ride on Jun 10, 2008 13:07:56 GMT -5
The longest I've ever waited for an abcess was three frustrating months. The poor horse would be fine for a couple of days and head-bobbing lame the next. Eventually, it blew out at the front of the coronet band. For all the drama, you would have thought there would've been a gallon of goo, but it was barely a trickle. Undoubtedly, some of it was cleaned up by the body on it's journey.
A couple of thoughts/experiences re your horse:
Impar ligament injuries don't show up on radiographs and are damn hard to find with ultrasound (MRI is the easiest way to see them). It's a strong and very inelastic connection between the navicular and coffin bones, and inserts in the same place as the deep digital flexor tendon (which is why it can be tough to distinguish on ultrasound). Like other causes of navicular pain, it can come and go, mimicing an abcess. But of course it won't drain. Because so many race horses have long toe/low heel foot conformation through trimming, they are susceptible to impar trouble.
An organic foreign body is another reason for a long-term abcess problem. A piece of wood won't show up on radiographs, but it can certainly keep a horse lame until it's found and removed. I had one jam a piece of tanbark into his frog and it took months before it finally came to a critical pain point and was found.
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Post by Majors Minor on Jun 11, 2008 8:42:04 GMT -5
Yeah I guess we will just have to wait to see what finally comes out of there.
He is a fast little horse. I just want him to be alright. He has personality +++
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Post by Big Tee© on Jun 16, 2008 18:36:00 GMT -5
I know I have posted this before, but here is my step-by-step treatment.
1) Notice one morning that the horse is visibly off - was fine the day before
2) Begin poking around the offending limb and decide that said horse strained something because there is filling, and he is flinching at pressure anywhere on the offending leg.
3) Decide that, yes, it is something strained as there is heat on the fetlock and part way up the tendon, nothing evident on the foot.....and besides, Suzie aka Rambo is definitely upset and aprehensive when that leg is poked, prodded, touched, looked at.
4) Follow Standard Course of Treatment for strains: dig out one half of the whirlpool boots, the necessary hoses, the compressor and assemble. Look for ice in the freezer, go to town for ice. Fill boot with ice, water and the offending leg of the victim....er....patient and allow offended victim to stand in the swirling mess for 20 minutes. Dry , rub and wrap the offending leg
5) Repeat the last part of Step 4 twice a day.
6) Make mental note that victim is some improved after the whirlpool boot, so assume you are on the right track and continue abuse for several days (just ask the victim, it IS abuse)
7) One morning, grab the intended victim, and notice that he is three legged lame. Treat as usual because you are too thick to notice something else going on. After treatment, call vet, and ask if he can come and look. Vet says next morning and continue treatment as it can't hurt.
8) Assemble all goodies, including the now pathetic looking victime who is holding up the offending limb and trying his best to walk to the cross-ties.
9) Start whirlpool compressor so you can't hear the vet drive in or walk up
10) Insert the offending leg of the now very reluctant victim into the whirlpool boot, and put it back in a couple of times.
11) Notice that suddenly, the victim is standing full weight on the bad leg, and is sighing deeply. Also not in passing, some strange gasping sounds behind you, and whirl around only to see the vet leaning against the door, giggling helplessly.
12) Glare at horse and vet, yank the offending leg out of the boot (NOW he doesnt WANT the leg out of the boot, cause it must feel good) and note that there is a hole in the hairline complete with a small trickle of pus.
13) Let vet look at the problem and KNOW he has you at his mercy for the next several years.
14} Allow vet to inject victim with antibiotics, pay vet, turn the now miraculously sound horse out, and feel very VERY stupid
If I were to have another to treat, I would STILL use the whirlpool boots but with warm water and epsom salts......used that method for years and it worked well for me.
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Post by sariditty on Jun 16, 2008 21:53:51 GMT -5
I just love this step-by-step recount!!! Absolutely loving reading it!!! hee hee hee  |
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Post by niaru on Jun 17, 2008 6:55:53 GMT -5
LOL! Good one big Tee.
The joys of soaking...in the winter...in Maine...when there's no hot water in the barn...!!!
I do a minimum of soaking but I slather the sole with ichthammol, wrap the foot, and turn out. My farrier says turning them out actually encourages circulation in the foot and the abcess pops better.
That said, I've had "abcesses" than never popped but somehow resorbed on their own. Either that, or it was not an abcess at all but a stone bruise or the like. It can be VERY frustrating!
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Post by mes on Jun 17, 2008 9:23:17 GMT -5
My horse got an abscess early this spring. I called my farrier and asked her what I should do. She said to wrap with the ichthammol. I did it and was rewarded with a tiny little discharge. Horse is fine two days later.
Horse is fine, goes to trainers, gets a barefoot trim by her farrier, gets shoes 6 weeks later, comes home and was scheduled for reset last night with my farrier.
My farrier pulls that shoe and starts trimming. Says, "Did he have an abscess in this foot?"
"Yup, remember? You told me to put the ichthammol on it and I did."
"Ohhh, I remember now. Here's whats left of it. It's all grown to the surface. I'm going to trim it all clean and it will look funny for awhile. He has no heel and it blew out the bar, so he won't have a bar for a while either."
I looked at it and it was wild to see. Like someone had put a black ink stain on his sole. Not real large but it was there in the bar area. His heel didn't look that bad but I could see where it had crossed the bar and hit the frog. I wished I could have taken a picture of it. The farrier cleaned out the damaged areas really well.
This horse has strangely shaped rear hoofs. The soles are not nicely shaped with a dished appearance. They aren't even what I'd call flat footed. More like a hill here and a valley there and not in good places. The abscess was in a spot that always seemed more weird than the rest of the hoof and always looked to me like a spot that if there was going to be trouble, that was it.
We left him barefoot on his hinds so it will be easier to keep frequent trims.
He sure must have felt better this morning though because he was running around like crazy without his shoes. I think barefoot agrees with him.
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