abscess or something else? (long...

[jennifer.ciezak]

My 11yr old TB gelding came up lame on all 4 feet after being reshod on 8/3. It appears the farrier cut him really short and took off most of his toes. Horse appears to be getting better but is still lame in right front after one week. Vet is called in, removes shoe. Horse is sensitive all over hoof with testers, but so sensitive on INSIDE quarter that all vet has to do is push on it with fingers and gets reaction from horse. No abscesses are found although a lot of bruising is seen in toe area diagnosis is deep bruise. Horse stays in for a week, vet is called back on 8/16 to examine. Horse still sensitive, no abscesses are found. Vet says put shoe back on and see what happens. New farrier comes on 8/18 to put shoe on. New farrier was very careful not to nail too close to outside line, horse walks off sore but no heat is felt in hoof that night. Horse still sore on 2g bute a day. 8/20 horse is once again not putting any weight on right front, vet is called back, pulls shoe and find an abscess in OUTSIDE quarter. Vet said horse would be better once abscess drained. Went to barn on 8/21 am and horse putting weight on foot but still not walking good at all, hoof is still hot and other front is hot also. 8/21 pm there's still not much of a change.

At this point, I'm getting a little bit concerned. First, if the abscess is related to the initial injury way back in the beginning of august, do abscesses normally take this long to pop? Second, is it possible that these two events aren't even related and that the second farrier might have disturbed something when he put the shoe back on? Third, at what point are higher diagnostic tests indicated? I'm really getting worried about all the stress this is putting on his other hoof. What do I need to watch for in terms of his other hoof? I'm having the vet out to look at horse on Monday if he is not better and do some x-rays but I just wanted to get some other opinions about whether I'm jumping the gun. I've had this horse since January and he hasn't had any hoof problems until the previous farrier started shoeing him.

Thanks!

[Rick Burten]

Hi Jennifer

My approach tothis problem would be to pull the shoes and put the horse in styrofoam(www.hopeforsoundness, then go to the downloads section, and read, download and print the information) immediately and also begin to soak his feet in epsom salts and water.

The other thing I would do is to get a couple of radiographs of the feet so that you will have a baseline established that will tell you how much sole depth is present, the location and orientation of the coffin bone, any overt pathologies that might be present.

Thoroughbreds are notorious for having slow growing thin walled/soled feet so recovery from this problem may well take quite a bit of time. During his recovery, he will need to be allowed access to free choice exercise and his diet should be adjusted to contain a higher level of protein(need for growth, maintenence and repair) and a lower level of carbohydrates(as he will not need the sugar load/energy they produce.

As to your questions about whether or not the events are related, quien sabe?

However, at this point in time, the shoes , nailed on, are contra-indicated. It may be that as the horse begins to regain soundness, shoes could be glued on, but at this point I would avoid any trauma from nailing.

Rick

[jennifer.ciezak]

Thanks for the advice. Horse got a bit better over weekend but is still really sore (like 3 out of 5). I'm having my vet out this morning to do some x-rays. Hopefully all goes well. Is there any tips you have for making his feet grow faster? He's been on Farrier's Formula for about a month.

Thanks again