Posted by Phil Armitage on November 14, 2003 at 16:01:08:
In Reply to: Re: horse lame on right front, many questions posted by Joanna on November 13, 2003 at 21:01:11:
: The vet came out to the barn the other day and I got him to look at the horse. He felt heat in the foot still and gave me 2 weeks worth of SMZs for the infection.
: The farrier came out the day after that, and I told him about the horses feet. He didn't see a problem with nailing a shoe on, so he put front shoes on. He put some kind of purple paste on the seedy spot and put the shoe on over it.
: Today I lunged him for a few minutes to see what he'd do, and he acts like there's nothing wrong. I'm going to give him another 2 weeks off, but is there anything else I should be doing for him? Apply iodine to the seedy spot daily?
: He't not overweight at all, big skinny thoroughbred that he is. He is active in the pasture though, so it could be he's hurt himself in turnout. He gets a biotin supplement and an allaround joint/metabolic/vitamin supplement.
: Thanks
It sounds like your Vet and Farrier are treating this as if he has an abcess (infection). This could take time to heal the best thing to do is keep his feet clean and dry and keep checking for heat and pulse. Sooner or later the abscess will drain and the tissue will heal. Sometimes it can take weeks for abcesses to clear up depending on how deep they are. Normaly they show signes of improvement within a few days. It all depends on how sever and deep it is as to how long it will take to completely heal. I would consider protecting his from concussion from the ground by shoeing with pads when you are training and working him.
Phil
Phil