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Hoof slough off

20K views 40 replies 15 participants last post by  NewHorseGirl 
#1 ·
Hello
we just lost a stallion today. eventually he was lame on the hind leg. but we woke up in the morning to find the area above his hind hoof ruptured. this caused the hoof to totally come off the leg like it had been amputated. please what kind of disease is this and what are the possible causes?
 
#27 ·
hoof slough off

yeah
thanks to all you people for your support. Ive never even imagined anything like this. and the rate at which it occurred is just baffling. looking forward to starting a new discussion on lymphangitis and possible safe treatments.
 
#29 ·
How terrible! And so sudden, too. He was beautiful; it's a shame.
I'm glad you joined the forum though. Most folks here really know their stuff, and it's a great place to learn. So, welcome, and my condolences.
 
#30 ·
I'm so sorry for your loss. My vet's tech loss a horse the same way. Hers had obtained an injury when it was younger that they had thought healed just fine. Two years later the hoof fell off. It can even happen to the professionals.
 
#31 ·
Lymphangitis and Cellulitis are both life threatening conditions where an infection stays internal instead of letting a big, open draining wound heal like it should (although I have seen one cellulitis case that was very open and still developed it.) When the infection travels through the whole body it become Septicemia or blood poisoning -- again life threatening. When one leg swells (like in cellulitis and lymphgangitis), most of the infection stays more localized as is the damage it causes.

The most important thing I think anyone has to remember is that if a horse develops a lot of swelling in one leg after an injury, it is a medical emergency. If it is hot, inflamed and the horse 'usually' has a fever, get a Vet involved and treat it VERY AGGRESSIVELY. We have had cases in our own horses and always opted for very high-powered IV antibiotics like Chloramphenicol, Amakacin, etc and treated locally with same antibiotic mixed with DMSO. Our Vet of 25 years that recently retired (I'm still sad about losing him) used heavy duty antibiotics and gave them with DMSO IV. This reduces the inflammation fast (without compromising the immune system like steroids do). You want to reduce the inflammation because if you don't, the swelling itself cuts off the blood supply and causes hoof or other tissue death. This may well be what caused the death of this horse's hoof.

Obviously, I am not a Vet and I did not see your horse but have had very good Vets and have had anywhere from 50 to 300 horses I have managed for about 50 years. So, with this number of all kinds of horses, I have seen many very seriously injured or ill horses and have seen many things go from relatively minor to serious to life-threatening overnight. Lymphangitis and cellulitis are life-threatening.

I, personally, do not think you should call a Vet out for every little thing. If you do, he will not take you seriously if you really have an emergency (think -- 'cry wolf'). I just think everyone should know when things are not going the right direction and you get BIG warning signs like a high fever, scours (particularly in newborns), non-weight-bearing lameness, huge swellings in one limb (especially when it is hot), bi-lateral lameness (like in laminitis and founder) and a pretty long list that should not be ignored or expected to resolve on its own.
 
#32 ·
lymphangitis

hello
cherrie and others.
sorry for the late response went away on a little trip. the reason i joined is to gain more experience in terms of humane way of treating horses. believe it or not till today in the 20th century, burning lymphangiatis is still practiced down here in parts of africa. i am really opposed to it offcourse and would love to share issues persisting in our own side of the world. almost every year we experience an out break of lymphangitis. i dont really know if any immunization exists for this. bcos i realized that imported argentine horses rarely ever contact the disease. i am not a vet but from my little research i know that about four types exist. well i have treated a horse by mixing procaine penicillin and gentimycin. but would love to know stronger antibiotics that would treat it better.
 
#33 ·
I have gone back and read more about Lymphangitis. The Lymphangitis I have always dealt with was bacterial or started out with an injury like a puncture wound.

Evidently there are exotic diseases like Glanders and Farcy in places like Africa that I have never had to deal with (thank goodness). There are forms of Lymphangitis that are not only contagious but are caused by a fungus as well as bacteria. Surgical removable of lesions is one way to treat some of these manifestations.

Here is a paper about lymphangitis that you might find enlightening. http://www.equestrianarts.org/Articles-Horse Health/Hoof & Leg/Lymphangitis.pdf

You may have a lot more going on than a simple Cellulitis / Lymphangitis.
 
#35 ·
lyphangitis

Hello.
id like to know if lymphangitis is only associated with swelling of the legs.
because what happens to horses here is ; they develope a kind of sore which follow a track (lymphatic track) as a doctor once told me. the sores appear even on the body. sometimes beneath the belly, chest,neck, legs and even the cheeks. these sores cause swelling along the path at which they spread and sometimes even rupture. sometimes alot of sores appear all over the body even on the testicles of stallions and breast of mares.
 
#37 ·
After you read the article, you will find that you have Glanders and Farcy in Africa and it can be very contagious.

If you google 'Glanders and Farcy in horses', you will find a lot of pictures and a lot of descriptions and other than surgically removing the lesions in some of the kinds of cases and heavy duty antibiotics for some, most are fatal and then the horse becomes a carrier. Even people can get some forms of it. There is no vaccine, which looks to me to be the logical solution -- but then we're talking about Africa. If it were here in the US, it would already have a vaccine. It took less than a year to come up with the West Nile Virus Vaccine after the disease made it to our country.
 
#40 ·
So sad do you get frustrated about the Vets in your country ? Sounds scary to just think my horse had an abscess and he could have died sorry for your loss hopefully you will find a good vet !
 
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