abcess,thin sole,and pain

[quarter horse gal]

I have a 2 1/2 year old blue roan quarter mare. I got her in May from NorthEast Colorado. Very flat, no trees, and no rocks. Well, she now lives in Kentucky. So she is out of her element.
She was trimmed right before I picked her up. She became soar shortly after her arrival. My farrier has put shoes on her many times now. He would understandly put them on loose because she was in pain but needed the shoes for protection. By the way I have only been charged around $80 for all his visits. She has thin wall and sole. On Sept 3rd the right front shoe was replaced. She came up lame on the 4th. I believe she may have been partically quicked. The farrier pulled the shoe day no blood on the nail. Seven days later still lame. The farrier pokes a small hole in the sole(which is soft) to relieve abcess. We medicated it,wrapped it and tape it and she doing wonderful the next day. 12 days into this thing she is lame again same hoof. This time the abcess is in the coronary band. Same treatment. She is now (17days) showing little signs of lameness. She is wearing boots on both front hoofs my thinking is it will protect her. I have had her on biotin supplements for 2 months now and it has speed up her growth not sure it has helped her thin sole and wall. I have also given her Bute on and off. I have not been giving it to her everyday for one, did not want it to mask her symptoms and second, did not want it hurt her stomach linning. What I would like an opinion on is this; What can be done to protect her? What if anything can toughen up her foot? What can help the hoof to grow thicker? What about pain control? My main concerns is for her soundness and wellbeing. I feel nearly as bad as she does by having to watch her suffer as all my efforts to help seem to fail. Any thoughts? :(

[caballus]

Hi! I have a 28 yo QH who just blew a huge abscess through his coronary ... had been lame, off and on, for almost a month prior. Kind of "knew" what was happening cause this guy has almost textbook perfect hooves and never has issues. He's barefoot and happy on all sorts of stuff. But it's been w-e-t around here this year and everyone's soles are soft from the rain/mud/you name it. Anyway ... so I waiting to see where the abscess was going to blow and lo and behold -- yep, right through his coronary band and it was at least a 3" width opening with rank, putrid stuff! He was a hurtin' puppy. Treated him immediately with Hep s 30C - a homeopathic remedy; soaked his hoof in Calendula & Water then sprayed the wound with Calendula and water. Next day the oozing was lessened; 3rd day the oozing had stopped. Soaked his hoof several times a day and then sprayed. No more Hep s after the initial dose. Now, a week later and there is still an opening (we're still spraying about 3 - 4X daily with the Calendula/Water) but he is trotting and cantering about with no hint of lameness and the abscess is drying right out nicely. He was noticeably less sore on it the following day of treatment. Oh, we also use White Willow Bark as an analgesic/anti-inflammatory -- its safe to use without worry of gut upsets and is effective for most horses. 1 oz. daily -- can be increased for higher degrees of pain.

Another horse here blew a huge abscess almost the entire 1/2 of her toe to heel. This was about 3 years ago after she foundered majorly. (owner purchased her knowing she was chronic laminitic and hoping a different and new way of care would help her. It has, btw.) ... used the same treatment except that we packed the hole with Calendula Ointment then wrapped, booted with an Old Mac and made sure she walked alot! By the 3rd day the open wound had healed from the inside out and nothing more than a deep impression was left in the hoof and she was 100% sound. That Calendula is great stuff!

This all is along the more "natural and organic" ways of treatment but over the years I've personally found that the Homeopathics and natural treatments yield greater and faster results than allopathics simply because the Homeo address the entire system; not just the symptoms. So we tend to stick with those and the less invasive methods of treating wounds and such.

--caballus

[danverschild]

What I would like an opinion on is this; What can be done to protect her? What if anything can toughen up her foot? What can help the hoof to grow thicker? What about pain control?(

First!! There's no mention of veterinary involvement in your post (or in the other post in this thread). It's my opinion that anytime a horse has an abscess, the vet should be involved. It may be that you simply visit with him or her on the phone, but get the vet involved. Once an abscess is vented, whether through natural progression or intervention, there's an open pathway for all manner of ick to find its way into sensitive structures, and you need to see if the vet wants to vaccinate or boost the vaccination for tetanus. You only have to see one horse with tetanus to become a believer.

Likewise, depending upon the vet/farrier working relationship, the vet may wish to attend to the abscess. In most states, venting an abscess falls under veterinary practice laws. I, like many farriers, will vent an abscess and treat it, but I only do so when I have a working relationship with the veterinarian. If I don't know your vet and we don't have a contact protocol and a good working relationship, I don't touch it....

With that out of the way, the situation you describe is common. It's not uncommon to see abscesses pop up when a horse moves from dry climate to wet. The hoof's hydration levels get messed up, and it sometimes helps to use products such as Keratex Hoof Hardener or Crossapol. Also, it's not uncommon to see an abscess become reinfected--usually as a result of inadequate venting and drainage and/or continued exposure to environmental ick. Keeping a boot on or over-soaking the foot creates an anaerobic environment and moisture problems and can encourage such relapse.

For protection against this and for "thickening" the sole and wall, your best bet is regular maintenance from a professional farrier. Balancing the foot properly and keeping the foot under the boney column of the leg will promote good sole and wall and help keep the natural barriers (primarily the white line) tightly knit and properly functioning.

As for pain medication, again--this is a veterinary concern and another reason to involve him/her in the process.

[quarter horse gal]

Thank you so much for your response. I was begining to think nobody was there. I had wanted to go to the vet but my farrier said give it some time. He has been doing it for 50 yrs. So I but alot of faith in what he says. However, Sept 22nd I called the vet. He said she had 3 small abcesses. He used the hoof testers and found her very tender. The RX was soak in iodine and epsom twice a day. Drawing salve and dsmo around the coronary band. Furmaldahide and glyercin (may not be spelling right) on the bottom to help toughen it up. Along with the other supplements I have also added Knox gelatin which is primarily biotin. She has improved just like in the past. So I don't want to wait for her to get soar again. My next step is to call the farrier suggested by my vet. Now I am not holding any hard feelings toward my orginal farrier. Just this guy the vet uses has alot of experence with problem hoofs. 50 yrs or not my farrier just is not sure what to do. So I am hoping she is on the road to healthy hoofs. My vet also said this would take time. So we"ll see. Thanks for your suggestions. Can you tell me more about crossapol and keratex hoof hardener. Oh, she is up to date on all her shots. But that is a good point. Thanks again. QHG

[RSTACHEL]

Hi
if you can help me with were to find those homeopathic
meds. and if some one could tell me approx time a Coronary Band Abcess
takes to heal ??

thanks

[Gary Hill]

Healing time on any open wound or abcess is dependant on how clean one keeps the wound. Just flushing with clean water and then keeping in a clean envionment goes a long way to healing. If you stick them back into a dusty or muddy lot, reinfection occurs over and over again. Remember also that the white line is a highway for infection to travel. An abcess can blow out on one side of the hoof and a week later show up on the other side. Over doctoring with drying agents such as iodine will close the wound and trap the infection. As with any open wound you want it to heal from the inside out. Good Luck! Gary

[RSTACHEL]

Hi
she is in a pasture mostly grass
i have been cleaning her feet with epsom salts once a day for about a month now
both front and back left feet blew at the same time about 2 days appart
the vet had me putting iodine inside the 3 in holes.
but i have stoped that as he didnt prescribe anything els when i ran out
my daughter is wanting to ride but i dont want her riding her till she is healed
and not in any pain, that is why i have asked.she is generaly vary healthy.


thanks for the inpute
robin