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  Discussion on Hand-walking for abscess after-care?
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Member:
frances

Posted on Saturday, Jan 27, 2007 - 8:09 am:

My horse had an abscess pared out of her LF 9 days ago. The hoof is wrapped, dressing changed every two days, and the vet is coming back to see her again at 14 days.

My question is: does it matter that I have discontinued hand-walking her as the vet asked? I did it for the first four days, but she became so excited on the 4th day that I felt it was a bit dangerous to continue and that the 3 1/2 hours turnout in a small paddock that she has daily (wearing a protective boot) should be enough.

Am I wrong in thinking this? (Mare seems sound at walk - foot looks dry and clean.)

Just to mention another point: is there a huge farrier/vet divide over abscess treatment? I ask because my vet immediately pared the abscess out as per your article DrO, but the farrier was quite angry when he saw the hoof, saying it should just have been poulticed and the integrity of the hoof had been ruined etc etc.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Saturday, Jan 27, 2007 - 9:19 am:

Same thing happened to me LL. When the farrier saw what the vet did to my horses hoof he literally had a fit! I'm very glad the vet pared his sole he got immediate relief. It didn't take real long before it grew back good enough to quit wrapping.
I have since replaced that farrier and the new one thinks the same as the vet.

With The 2 abscesses I had my horses remained on turnout 24/7 (with hoof wrapped) the vet said it was best as movement helps keep it draining. If the rap fell off I just cleaned and wrapped again.
Member:
rein

Posted on Saturday, Jan 27, 2007 - 10:51 am:

I do the same as Diane. We have about 50 head here, so I seem my share of abscesses. I've always kept them in pasture, just wrapped. I've had many wraps come off inbetween and never had them re-infected. Just cleaned them up and away they went. I have discovered a wonderful item called icthamol, it helps to draw out.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 27, 2007 - 8:01 pm:

LL your farriers comments show a lack of understanding of what a abscess is and what happens as a abscess "gravels". The abscess has already destroyed the integrity of the hoof capsule sensitive tissue connection. As the gravel forms and eventually pops out at the coronary band it progressively destroys more of the connection of the hoof wall to the sensitive laminae. This defect in the hoof capsule will take about 9 months to grow out. Sometimes this destruction is as little as a 1/2 inch wide and 4 inches long. At its worse where good drainage in not established I have seen a unpared abscess that resulted in sluffing of the whole hoof capsule.

Compare this to draining the abscess when it first occurs. As apposed to leaving a horse in intense pain for several weeks and leaving him with extensive defects in the horn of the hoof wall that take nearly a year to grow out, you relieve his pain in about 24 hours with a defect that will heal in about 14 days with a healthy, albeit thin, laminae - horn connection that will grow to normal thickness in a little over a month. Depending on the size of the defect you make and if extensive the cost and trouble you are willing to go through to support the exposed sensitive tissues, most horses can be returned to work in 3 days. Without a lot of work most in 12.
DrO
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 27, 2007 - 8:03 pm:

Oh yeah, the original question I allow as much exercise as is practical to keep the foot bandaged and the wound clean. If it gets dirty, just hose it and retreat it as Michelle and Diane say: it will be fine.
DrO
Member:
frances

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 8:11 am:

Hi DrO - Thanks for your reply. I'm right with you on this - I absolutely agree that paring out is the only way to go: instant pain relief, damage stopped in its tracks and the healing process can commence immediately. I'm just surprised that a farrier of all people would prefer the waiting/poulticing game. I've heard that this is quite common among them.

Re the original question (which I perhaps didn't phrase very clearly): I was just concerned mare might be getting too LITTLE stimulation to the foot without the hand-walking. Anyway she seems fine.

Thanks a lot!
Member:
frances

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 8:33 am:

Hi Diane & Michelle: thanks for your replies - yes, I wish we had continual turnout, but it's just the 3 1/2 hours a day, and I can't say she walks around much - just chomps on her hay. I know it's better for drainage if the horse moves, and that's why I feel slightly concerned that I stopped the handwalking (mare got the impression I was going to detach the lead rope and free school her, started to gallop off bucking, I hung on and a hind hoof caught me on the arm quite painfully. Felt a bit concerned it might be the head next time! Although actually I think if I walked her in a bridle she wouldn't make the same connection, and would also be more controllable, which is why I was toying with the idea of giving it another try if it's really important.)

Once I hopefully get the all-clear to ride her again, has anyone got any good ideas on how to protect what may continue to be a fairly tender spot for a while from stones? I was thinking of some sort of padding (cotton? folded gauze?) "glued" on with Stockholm tar? Any thoughts/experiences?
Member:
scooter

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 10:00 am:

Hi LL once the drainage was done and the hole starting to fill in I just stuck a cotton ball with betadine in it and put duct tape over it.

The farrier and vet both said after 2 weeks just to keep an eye on it and make sure nothing gets stuck in there. Nothing ever did, but I did try to keep it clean.

This last trimming my gelding had (Jan) finally got rid of the abscess hole. He abscessed in Sept.! He was rather tender on it for about a mo. but was very deep seated. Hope that helps. Oh and I rode him in old macs.
Member:
jockyrdg

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 6:23 pm:

LL, can you just mover her around in her paddock, off lead, just "shusshing" her along? It may get her moving and avoid the hysterics. I am assuming she is on individual turnout when I made that suggestion. You don't need a posse moving about.
Member:
rein

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 8:46 pm:

LL,
Bad habit your pony has. If I've had any injuries that I've needed to walk I just jump on bareback and walk them around (on soft ground for you). Would this maybe work better for you? Just a thought. I really don't think that the walking is going to make or break your progress though. Good luck.
Member:
frances

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 3:32 am:

Thanks a lot for your replies.

Diane: do you mean you had to ride him in old macs even after the two weeks healing period?

Beverly: yes I guess I could move her a bit in the paddock. She's turned out alone but roped off from two other horses. I put her hay in separate piles anyway, and probably she moves more than I said once she's eaten it all. (I enjoyed the vision of "a posse moving about"! \clipart
{happy}

Michelle: it's not actually a habit, i.e. she doesn't NORMALLY gallop off bucking when I unclip the lead rope to free school her. It's just that, as an ex-racehorse, when she has had several days of just handwalking and no work, she gets bit worked up and can't contain herself. Thought her chance for some action had finally come. And her feed has been cut as far as it can go (can't eliminate it altogether as she gets in such a state). Glad you don't think the walking is crucial - that was my feeling too. She gets totally relaxed when she's on holiday.

I really appreciate the responses from all of you. Thank you.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 6:03 am:

Yes LL He stayed tender on that hoof for quite sometime as far as riding. He was pasture sound after a few weeks, but when I rode him on hard ground I could feel he was still off a little.

The old macs took care of that. If you shoe your horse that would work also, I had just decided to try barefoot with him.
Member:
canter

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 8:05 am:

LL, when my mare was on 4 months of stall rest with handwalking, she became quite an unpredictable handful. I started handwalking her with a lunge line attached instead of a lead rope. So, on the days she decided to get stupid, I quickly slipped out lunge line and gave her space so that I wasn't at risk of getting clobbered. At the same time, I tried to get her calm again because she was supposed to be walking, not bucking, galloping, etc. But at least, when she decided to get silly over a barn cat sneezing, I had plenty of space between her and me.
Member:
rein

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 12:27 pm:

LL,
Sorry didn't mean it that way, just worried for yourself. I remember one mare that had an abcess and at the time her foal had strangles so we were keeping them in a stall that we could later disinfect. So this mare only had her foot in a epsom salt bath and wrap every other day or three. She didn' get out of that barn for a good while and healed fine without walkings.
Hopefully you're seeing improvement by now?
Member:
frances

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 2:56 pm:

Hi Diane: we don't get old macs here, so I'm relieved to hear you only needed them because he is barefoot. (We do have another brand, but I'm not too sure about it.) My mare should be shod on Friday if the vet okays it on Thursday. Still think some sort of padding in the hollowed out part would be good, as it's very stony around here.

Fran: yep, I had about six months of stall rest and handwalking with mine too when she had a suspensory desmitis - it's great fun isn't it? As you say, a lunge line keeps you safe, but doesn't keep the horse in walk. Absolutely ANYTHING will set them off when they get so hyped up - probably a mouse sneezing too!

Michelle: No problem at all. Thanks for the encouraging news of your mare! Mine appears fine but of course she's only walking around. The hoof looks clean, dry (and Betadine-coloured). The only thing is that it has never shown signs of continued drainage since the vet pared it out, even when we were handwalking. Maybe he got it all out in one go, or maybe you can't see anything on the gauze because of the Betadine. He had wanted the farrier, who was due to come the next day, to pare out some more, but of course the farrier said it wasn't his job. Phoned the vet back and he said ok no problem. She certainly seemed completely better the next day, and the swelling that had appeared in the leg had disappeared. Oh well, I'll see on Thursday I suppose ....
Member:
scooter

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 4:22 pm:

Hi LL when my OTHER gelding had an abscess it was dug out in his whiteline, he was in shoes so the farrier just put a wide web shoe on him and it covered the hole. If not they can apply some kind of packing before the shoe is fit.
Member:
rein

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 4:40 pm:

Me again,
Diane reminded me of one shoe we had on a mare. A regular shoe that had removable plate bolted on. Now that was the cats meow!
Member:
scooter

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 4:48 pm:

A hospital plate Michelle, they are wonderful if she has to continue medicating it, if the abscess is healing she shouldn't need to...I wouldn't think anyway.

Definately something to ask the vet or farrier tho.
Member:
rein

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 5:09 pm:

Ya, thanks. I think it's probably long enough now and there's no need for it now. Just incase anyone needs it they're great.
Member:
frances

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007 - 5:42 am:

Great ideas, Diane & Michelle! I've never heard of a wide web shoe, or a removable hospital plate. Having packing put in place before the shoe also sounds good as long as it doesn't allow nasties to breed underneath.

Thank you tons - I'll have plenty to suggest.

(Haven't mentioned it before, as this is an abscess thread, but it's the same leg which had the suspensory desmitis in the past, and which was swollen last week, hopefully and probably only because of the abscess and not a reinjury. So I'm keeping many different fingers crossed!)
Member:
sunny66

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007 - 12:58 pm:

My fingers are crossed too Lynn, good luck with your sweet girl :-)
Member:
frances

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007 - 1:35 pm:

Thank you Aileen!
Member:
frances

Posted on Sunday, Feb 4, 2007 - 11:49 am:

Just to let you know: the vet came on Thursday and gave the ok. Hoof is fine, and so is suspensory (phew!). He said the pared-out hoof is so hard from all the Betadine that I don't need to put any protection on it, and to gradually work back to our normal exercise programme over the course of a week.

The farrier came the following day and shod her without comment. I really can't imagine what his objection was - the foot doesn't look in the least impaired to me.

Thanks again for all the excellent advice.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Sunday, Feb 4, 2007 - 4:14 pm:

Good news LL, Sometimes those abscesses can get ugly, sounds like your horse healed fine
Member:
sunny66

Posted on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 - 11:02 am:

Yes, good news! Thank goodness it didn't affect the suspensory!
Member:
frances

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2007 - 10:55 am:

Thank you Diane and Aileen!
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