Corns and abcesses

[dahinmass]

Hi – I recently purchased an 8 yo, Danish WB. Found grade 2 lameness in left hind during pre-purchase exam when lunging, flexion tests were clean. When I rode him four days prior he had been sound. Was newly shod three days before ride. Attending vet took extra xrays (which were clean) and did further testing on that hoof and diagnosed it as an abscess or bruise. Bought the horse, brought him home, he was sound for two weeks so I didn’t really give the problem another thought. Started him on light work. I had to have him reshod as the previous job was very poor, nails were coming loose, and shoes were clearly too small for the feet, heels were becoming under-run. This was two weeks after purchase and roughly three weeks after the previous shoeing. Two days later he showed the same grade 2 lameness again. Farrier said he had previously been trimmed to short, the shoes were too small and did not extend back far enough to support the heels. Consequently he was developing corns on the heels where he was landing on his heels before rolling onto the ends of the old shoes. He suggested trying bute and using iodine to toughen the bottom of the hoof. Horse was sound on bute, so kept working him like this for five days. He remained sound for an additional week afterwards off bute and then showed the same lameness again. This time I called the vet. No heat, no digital pulse, no swelling. Additional xrays showed nothing unusual. Nerve block below the pastern on outside of foot cleared up 95% of the lameness. Additional block on inside of foot took care of the rest. The vet dug in at the heel and found these black, mucky fissures that extended into the soft tissue, behind the location of one of the corns. We are treating him as you would treat a horse with an abscess – Epsom salt soaks, bute. The vet is not 100% convinced that this is the problem because the symptoms are not totally conducive to an abscess, sporadic lameness, not acute, no heat, no digital pulse. My questions are: when a corn becomes infected what are the stages and symptoms? What else could it be? How long does an infected corn take to heal/grow out? What complications can occur? Feet are healthy otherwise, according to the vet, besides the angles which we were working on.

Thank you!

[Rick Burten]

Hi – I recently purchased an 8 yo, Danish WB. Found grade 2 lameness in left hind during pre-purchase exam when lunging, flexion tests were clean. When I rode him four days prior he had been sound. Was newly shod three days before ride. Attending vet took extra xrays (which were clean) and did further testing on that hoof and diagnosed it as an abscess or bruise.

Were the hocks radiographed?

Bought the horse, brought him home, he was sound for two weeks so I didn’t really give the problem another thought. Started him on light work. I had to have him reshod as the previous job was very poor, nails were coming loose, and shoes were clearly too small for the feet, heels were becoming under-run. This was two weeks after purchase and roughly three weeks after the previous shoeing. Two days later he showed the same grade 2 lameness again. Farrier said he had previously been trimmed to short, the shoes were too small and did not extend back far enough to support the heels. Consequently he was developing corns on the heels where he was landing on his heels before rolling onto the ends of the old shoes. He suggested trying bute and using iodine to toughen the bottom of the hoof.

Did your farrier do any further trimming to the feet? Did he pare out the corns? What kind of shoes did he ammend to the feet? Do you have any pictures or can you take some and post them?

Horse was sound on bute, so kept working him like this for five days. He remained sound for an additional week afterwards off bute and then showed the same lameness again. This time I called the vet. No heat, no digital pulse, no swelling. Additional xrays showed nothing unusual. Nerve block below the pastern on outside of foot cleared up 95% of the lameness. Additional block on inside of foot took care of the rest. The vet dug in at the heel and found these black, mucky fissures that extended into the soft tissue, behind the location of one of the corns. We are treating him as you would treat a horse with an abscess – Epsom salt soaks, bute. The vet is not 100% convinced that this is the problem because the symptoms are not totally conducive to an abscess, sporadic lameness, not acute, no heat, no digital pulse.

Not all abscesses cause constant lameness, heat or digital pulse increase. The sporadic lameness may be the result of inflammation/infection building up to a clinical level, then perhaps venting just enough to reduce the inflammation and thus the lameness. That said, bute will not stop lameness due to an abscess, so in light of the information that the bute helped, there seems to me to be other factors at work. You state that you are working on his angles, and that may be a major factor. Bute would help palliate soft tissue pain and joint pain and the time frame for the return of the lameness is about right for the timeframe for the effects of the bute to have worn off.


My questions are: when a corn becomes infected what are the stages and symptoms? What else could it be? How long does an infected corn take to heal/grow out? What complications can occur? Feet are healthy otherwise, according to the vet, besides the angles which we were working on.

Corns can remain rather benign or progress to severely infected with purulence(pus). Those are generally referred to as 'supporating corns'
.
Even without purulence, heavy bruising(and in reality, that is what a corn is) can result in a lot of pain especially if the causes are not removed. Since this pain response can lead to abnormal loading of other structures, if these structures become inflammed then you again may see lameness or , at a minimum, gait alteration.

Supporating corns , once opened and allowed to drain will take as long as it takes to heal. There is no set time frame, but all things being equal()and the causes removed), improvement should be noted within 24 to 36 hours. Same holds true with non-supporating corns.

[dahinmass]

Hi - Thanks for the reply. All joints were xrayed and were clean. No OCD, no navicular, no change from earlier xrays when he was a baby (I was fortunate to have acess to those first xrays).

Hooves were only trimmed enough to try and balance, but he took very little off as he felt there wasn't enough foot to work with to begin with.

I don't know what type of shoes he put on but I don't think they are anything special - clips on the sides, hot shod, no pads, no studs, typical dressage shoes.

He did not par out the corns.

No pics yet...

So given that the corns were not pared out, but the offending cause (the old shoes)were removed, is it possible that they (corns) festered in the hoof still causing discomfort but never erupting into a true abcess? Will the soaking do anything if this is the case? What will?

If it's a problem resulting from working and inbalanced horse - longer toes/low heels, how can I tell? How should I treat it? What happens inside the hoof to make it sore when the horse is not balanced? His feet have grown out some and he has a farrier app. on the 19th, it'll be six weeks since my farrier did the reshod.

I appreciate your input. This is my dream horse, and besides the fack that I am sick over the $$ I spent on him and can't show him, I hate seeing him in pain and just want to get him well.

Thanks.

[Jaye Perry]

Hi – I recently purchased an 8 yo, Danish WB. Found grade 2 lameness in left hind during pre-purchase exam when lunging, flexion tests were clean. ......
...... The vet is not 100% convinced that this is the problem because the symptoms are not totally conducive to an abscess, sporadic lameness, not acute, no heat, no digital pulse. My questions are: when a corn becomes infected what are the stages and symptoms? What else could it be? How long does an infected corn take to heal/grow out? What complications can occur? Feet are healthy otherwise, according to the vet, besides the angles which we were working on.

Thank you!


Corns on hind feet are not common but can occur. Usually an imbalance to the foot and with what you have described, on and off lameness, they maybe high suspensory invovled. IMO.
clear up abcess and then watch for on and off lameness. with high suspensory behind the foot impact & load portions of the stride totally change.

[Forgewizard]

Just picked up a new client with a QH stallion, that had Med and Lat corns on all four hooves! SHe was so proud of her previous farrier and that the horse kept his shoes on for so long! UH HUH!

When I asked her if her horse had been lame she said, No. Well, I commented that could be because he didn't have one leg left to limp on! Her husband wathced me exfoliate the hoof and expose these supporated corns. They seemed to be "old" and C"Cold" as the horse did NOT flinch when I applied hoof testers. Or else the poor guy was used to that level of pain and just endured it.

[dahinmass]

Hi - this is now my fifth day of soaking...if something was going to pop (an abcsess) shouldn't it have happened by now?

[Forgewizard]

Depends,

On how deep the abscess is. Where the abscess is. Whether the bruising has actually turned into an abscess. By chance are you slathering his coronet and heels with "Icthammol"? (black drawing salve) Sometimes this helps. But often I feel it just makes the owner think they are helping. I have seen some abscesses take weeks to come out. Some never head up enough to erupt but certainly hang on long enough to aggravate the horse and owner for an extended time.

After soaking, are yu wrapping the hoof in a diaper and vetwrap, or putting it in a boot?

Can you feel any localized heat in the hoof? (Use the BACK of your hand to check this) or if you have the bucks get an infra-red thermometer from a local home builders store. If using an infra-red thermometer or indicator. The healthy hoof will be cooler along the perimeter and warmer near the center. A serious bruise or pending abscess will have significantly higher temp in a localized area.

Sometimes I've seen an abscess completely encompass the entire solar area, yet not break out. The horse is lame for a long time, then gets better. Then when trimming (usually two intervals will pass) the entire sole peels off!

regarding the out growth of a corn. that will all depend of course on whether the original aggravation has ceased and how fast your horse's hooves regenerate, as well as the extent of the damaged tissues. IOW it all depends on the individual hoof and problem. Sorry, I know you would probably like a more definitve, outlined answer.

Time and attentive care will get him through this. On a cautious side, I'd say you are most likely looking at 6 to 8 weeks before the horse is showing definitive improvement, if the corns were serious.

[Jim Sweeney]

I visited this thread the other day and returned today expecting to see 100 posts from farriers beating you over the head for buying a lame horse. They really let me down.
I am just kidding!!
I have encountered a bunch of large warmblood dressage horses with this type of condition. If the vet can't say it is definitely the corns, than it falls into one of those undiagnosed heel pain categories. The best way to deal with it is to remove all pressure, concussion and trauma to the afflicted heels. I usually do this with an egg bar shoe with the heels floated off the shoe, there should be now foot/shoe contact from the last nail to the back of the foot. You can follow this up with also using a firm equithane pad to help with the load bearing. The corns will almost never go away so long as they are constantly getting abused by the heel of the shoe. This set up will generally make him sound quickly, and if it is the corns they will resolve themselves when they get relief from the condition which caused them. On a final note, be patient with your vet and farrier remember your the one who brought this horse home. I have lost a couple of great clients over the years who bought a "lame" horse and the frustration of it led to them firing the vet and farrier in search of new cures. Your horse will probably be fine when his heels get the relief they need

[dahinmass]

Thanks everyone, I'm trying to remain hopeful and optimistic. Should I keep soaking? I know there can be side affects if prolonged...

Horseshoe1:
I deserve to be beat for buying a lame horse, I agree. I spent all this $$ on a pre-purchase and bought him anyway. Of course the attending vet assured me it was a minor hoof abscess or bruise and "long term unsoundness was unlikely". I am optimistic and trusting (gullible?) by nature...

Forgewizard:
I have icthommol but haven't use it for that...are you recommending or not? Your message was a little unclear...

Initially I would put him in an easy boot after soaking, but after a couple times, the strap on the easy boot that is pulled over the heels to hold it on seemed to be aggravating the region. I felt it might be applying more pressure to an already sensitive area so I stopped. I then would dry the hoof and fetlock and put him in a clean stall with plenty of new/clean shavings - 8 inches at least.

Neither myself or the vet or farrier have been able to find any localized heat. Occasionally I thought I found some but would check the other hind and it would feel the same. So, the clinical evidence to support an abscess is sketchy at best. Even the fact that bute seems to help...

[trusspt01]

Hi,
I am having a vet look at a harness racing horse of mine. Since his last clear win about a year ago he has performed below his best. He has been seen to bob slightly (even when he won) He wins and then finishes last.
Recently he went lame, however it was two or three days after a race so originally thought it was a pedal bone which I hope is not the case because he was sound after the race. He broke for no reason during his latest race (which was one race after he won when giving him treatment for bleeding)
however this horse has never broke during a race.
Vet says it is more than likely an abscess. The more I tell him he thinks this is what has been holding this horse back for about a year or more.
Horse is getting checked tomorrow, will post results (if I can find this forum again, it took a while, so if no reply those interested post to my email which is trusspt@hotmail.com)
Paul

[Tom Stovall, CJF]

trusspt01 in gray

Hi,
I am having a vet look at a harness racing horse of mine. Since his last clear win about a year ago he has performed below his best. He has been seen to bob slightly (even when he won) He wins and then finishes last.
Recently he went lame, however it was two or three days after a race so originally thought it was a pedal bone which I hope is not the case because he was sound after the race. He broke for no reason during his latest race (which was one race after he won when giving him treatment for bleeding)
however this horse has never broke during a race.
Vet says it is more than likely an abscess. The more I tell him he thinks this is what has been holding this horse back for about a year or more.
Horse is getting checked tomorrow, will post results (if I can find this forum again, it took a while, so if no reply those interested post to my email which is trusspt@hotmail.com)

Just a thought, but if your vet has the means, you might have him check for an encapsulated abscess in the medial (sometimes lateral) wall - especially if your horse has a history of whacking himself down low.

IME, they're damn near impossible to find, but plumb easy to treat when you find 'em. :)

[Dave Purves]

I'm wondering if the vet took oblique x-rays, or just the normal m/l, d/p? Sometimes obliques will find something the rest didn't. I would suggest oblique x-rays of the fetlock and hock to start with.

jmo
Dave

[trusspt01]

thanks for the tips.
By the time the vet got to look at him the only thing he could find was possibly a sore toe? that was two weeks after he was not putting any weight on it at all and just resting the toe on the ground. Vet said not an abscess but I am still not convinced seeing as he did not xray it.
Horse is jumping out of his skin but I am still worried if I jog him up again he will only go sore again and thus not put in.

[dahinmass]

Hi - I am the originator of this post and I wanted to give everyone an update. Not long after the original date of this transcript we had another vet check. She blocked the outside of the hoof and that cleared 95% of the lameness. Still no clear abcess signs. Vet was pretty certain that we were dealing with something along those lines though. She dug out a tiny hole up through the bottom of the hoof into the heel region following a discolored, oozy, line of tissue which started at the seat of a corn, hoping to allow a path for drainage. Prescribed antibiotics for 7 days and worked closely with my blacksmith to develope a special heartbar shoe with a bend around the hole the vet had made to allow access to it. Epson salt soaks for three days and iodine treatment in the drainage hole and finally both heels popped open on that hoof. Not much drainage but I'm sure some pressure release. After three weeks of stall rest I was allowed to lunge him lightly to check for soundness. Not 100%, but very close! Another three weeks and the special shoe was replaced. Winter shoes with pads all around. I lunged and rode this past weekend. He's back, 100%!! We have our first lesson tonight with my trainer. As you can imagine, I am thrilled! Patience and persistence pays off, not to mention a great support team! Thanks to all for your input.