[MistyRose]

Have been soaking twice daily,ithmol, wrapping and boot. Don't see a bruise, no sign of abscess yet. Severe frozen ground. He isn't prone to abscesses- yeah. My farrier feels it is a bad maybe deep bruise. He will be out Tue. or Wed. to poke around. Any thoughts? I have been soaking since last Thurs. the 28th of Jan. How long before I notice bruise feeling better or abscess signs. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. He is still ouchy, but walking better. However, with no wrap on it, he is more ouchy.

 

[tealamutt]

Have been soaking twice daily,ithmol, wrapping and boot. Don't see a bruise, no sign of abscess yet. Severe frozen ground. He isn't prone to abscesses- yeah. My farrier feels it is a bad maybe deep bruise. He will be out Tue. or Wed. to poke around. Any thoughts? I have been soaking since last Thurs. the 28th of Jan. How long before I notice bruise feeling better or abscess signs. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. He is still ouchy, but walking better. However, with no wrap on it, he is more ouchy.

Sorry if I am missing something here but how did you decide it was a foot issue and not lameness related to something else? I'm not sure if this is part II of another post or if I'm just slow tonight... :lol:

 

[Appyt]

I'd prolly stop actually soaking and just keep it padded if that is helping. You can use a mixture of sugar and iodine solution. Make a paste and apply it to the sole. Slap on a gauze pad to hold in place, pad and wrap it up with vetwrap. Then make a duct tape boot to keep it all together. Change whenever it falls off.

 

[MistyRose]

Update- I had found two bruises. However, when my farrier came today. He found an abscess that is deep. He dug and relieved some pressure. He feels there will be more to come out. So I will be continuing to soak for a couple more days, use diapers and my Davis boot for protection. Appt- I will use your sugar iodine solution as it sounds better than the ithmol that I have been using. My farrier will be out this weekend to check on him this weekend. I have a great farrier. Thank you for the suggestions.

 

[GoldRush]

MistyRose, My guy had a deep abscess a couple of months ago. After the vet came and drained it, I would soak it every two days, for 15 minutes, squirt betadine into the hole, then rewrap, using a sanitary pad, vet wrap over that, and duct tape over that, making a duct tape boot. That kept it dry, and added some padding to it. The vet said it was extremely important to keep it dry! After 10 days, it was healed enough that we could just let it be.

 

[loosie]

Hi Misty,

Without further info I wouldn't like to say anything much, other than I'd be extremely hesitant to allow anyone to 'dig' for abscesses. Where were the bruises & how did you 'find' them? Where is this abscess the farrier found? Did it drain? Is it packed?(Don't use iodine or such in the hole as it will retard healing) What's the state of the horse's feet generally? Eg. are they flat soled, flared walls, high heeled...? Shod, bare or booted for exercise? Hoof pics would also help a lot if you want advice.

 

[MistyRose]

Danny is a little more flat footed compared to my mare. He is bare hoofed in the back. My farrier got some out when he came. It did drain a little. I have been soaking it and wrapping it. It is clean and dry. I wrap it with diapers and put his davis boot on to help cover it. It is remaining dry. Would ithmol work for packing it? He is putting weight on it now, where as he wasn't a few days ago. The farrier found the abscess against the front wall. The bruises were towards the back. This is his white hoof. His hooves have a tendensy to split- but not seperate. I have had the vet out to do regular maintance and he said white hooves can be softer than his 3 black ones.

 

[loosie]

Hi,

Are the abscesses/bruises in his front or backs?

If he's flat footed, chances are this means he has thin, 'dropped' soles, so would benefit from some protection & support for his feet. Boots &/or pads would be a good idea, to prevent stone bruises/abscesses and provide *comfortable* support/stimulation for his soles. hoofrehab.com is a great site for more info on hoof function & soundness, including methods of protecting feet while they're not healthy.

I don't know about ithmol. Anything that doesn't kill healthy tissue is good. You can use saline or ACV to just flush out the hole & get rid of germs.

This is his white hoof. His hooves have a tendensy to split- but not seperate. I have had the vet out to do regular maintance and he said white hooves can be softer than his 3 black ones.

The white hoof thing is a myth. The only difference is pigment & that has no capacity for strength. However, his white hoof will tend to allow you to see any problems & bruises more clearly. There may be bruises in the other feet that you can't see. Splitting & chipping, especially in the absence of separation is generally because the walls have become too long & there is unhealthy leverage pressure on them. A split at the toe could have allowed infection in &/or torn into the corium a bit, which may have been the cause of an abscess.
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Hoof pics would be good if you would like further advice.

 

[MistyRose]

I am not picture-computer friendly. I will try. I have been cleaning out the hole. It is very clean. I clean it twice a day. I also put two diapers on it with coflex, then put his Davis boot on. He is resting on that foot now and limping much less. He even was trotting around today. I am hoping we are finally on the mend. He is trimmed every 6 weeks and it seems to be ok. He has only split on the side, never on the toe. I will definately try to get pictures on here. I am not that good on uploading directions. Thank you for taking the time to read about my problem. He has been such a good patient. I have been battling picking up his back hooves. He now lets me pull the hoof out and stretch the leg. I am practically underneath him with this and he stands PERFECTLY still. So we have gained some confidence in each other as well.