This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Hoof Abscesses, Bruises, and Gravels »
  Discussion on Treatment for nail puncture in foot
Author Message
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 10:33 am:

Hi, Dr. O. On Sunday, while my friend and I were riding in our outdoor ring, her horse stepped on a nail. The 3-inch fencing nail was between one-half to three-quarters inches into his foot in the groove next to his frog, (see attached diagram). It did not easily pull out, but we were able to pull it out with pliers. There was no blood. We poured betadine on it, and walked him to the wash rack where we soaked his foot in warm epsom salts, flushed the wound with Peroxide, packed with a betadine/epsom salt mixture, and wrapped in a diaper and duct tape. We spoke to the vet who said that because there was no blood, and as long as he didn't become lame, she felt there was no need to start him on an antibiotic. She said that antibiotics did not treat infections in the foot very easily or well. As of last night, he jogged sound. Would you offer any other suggestions as to what we should do to make sure he doesn't develop an abcess? Would you recommend an antibiotic for safe measure? We've seen other horses at our barn become seriously lame for months from nail punctures, and want to make sure we're doing everything possible to prevent this from becoming more serious. Thanks for your advice!
Member:
tuckern

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 12:32 pm:

Amy, I'm not Dr.O, he'll probably respond soon, but I would offer some advice. Be very, very careful with foot punture wounds. They can turn sour, fast. My vet always recommends never removing the nail, until an X-ray can be taken, and the nail removed in a sterile environment, because it's so easy for foreign bodies to get into the wound.

Sounds like you cleaned it up pretty good. I look forward to hearing what Dr. O. has to say about this.

Nicole
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 1:03 pm:

Thanks for your response, Nicole. Yes, I know it can turn bad -- hopefully Dr. O. can offer some reassurance that we're doing the right thing at this point. This is the type of situation where it's easy to panic, but overall, I think we did pretty well. I don't think we could have walked him with the nail in his foot without causing it to dig in deeper -- the only thing I would have done differently in retrospect was to wrap it prior to walking him to the wash rack. Dr. O, any suggestions on the best way to handle in the future?
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 2:54 pm:

Instead of using the betadine/epsom salt mix, I'd have used betadine and sugar mixed because I think the sugar is more drawing. I don't know if the epsom salt works the same way when used as a poltice. Has he had his tetanus shots? I'd want to be sure he was up on them. I hope he continues to be o.k.
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 3:09 pm:

Hi, Sara. Someone else made the betadine/sugar suggestion to us, however our vet thought epsom was a better drawing agent (that's why typically we soak feet in epsom salt water for abcesses, etc.). Icthamal is another drawing agent, but again, our vet liked the betadine/epsom mix best. Dr. O -- your thoughts? Yes, he was recent for tetanus (luckily). Thanks for your post, I'll let you know how it goes!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 9:13 pm:

Hello Amy,
We have an article that explains about how to handle nail puncture wounds in horses at Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » First Aid for Foot Disease in Horses.
DrO
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - 9:14 am:

Thank-you, Dr. O. I did read the article. I might have missed it, but my question is regarding antibiotics in this particular instance and in general for infections of the foot. In this instance, there was no blood and the nail was located a little less than mid-way down the groove outside the frog (as shown in diagram on my first post) and about 1/2" deep into the foot. Our vet said that no antibiotic or paring was necessary and that, in general, antibiotics are not very effective in reaching/treating infections of the foot. What are your thoughts? Thanks very much.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 10, 2007 - 1:13 pm:

Amy, these are really decisions that must be made on a case by case basis. If I have a nail driven deep into the sensitive tissues I use antibiotics after thoroughly creating drainage as described in the article. Punctures that are not so deep I don't initially. Your veterinarian is not exactly right at least as you quote him. Antibiotics are not very effective against established foot abscesses, but that is true of abscesses anywhere. But antibiotics don't all of a sudden loose their potency just because it is a hoof.
DrO
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Friday, Aug 10, 2007 - 1:47 pm:

Thanks for your response, Dr. O. You answered my main question. However, I'm wondering why, then, -- regardless of the location and depth of the nail -- it wouldn't be standard practice to prescribe antibiotics as a preventative measure against an abscess after a puncture. I understand that antibiotics can be and often are over used, but in the instance of a possible serious infection of the foot, wouldn't it be warranted?

Thanks, again.

Amy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Aug 11, 2007 - 6:55 pm:

Amy, the use of antibiotics is not without a small risk and a large expense (for more see Treatments and Medications for Horses » Antibiotics and Antimicrobials » Antibiotic Use in Horses: An Overview). So you look at the wound and decide if the risk is worth the benefit.
DrO
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - 9:36 am:

Dr. O, thanks. I will read the article.

As an update, it was a week yesterday since the nail puncture wound. For five days, the horse's foot was soaked, packed with an epsom salt/betadine mix, and wrapped with a diaper and duct tape. He was never lame. He was turned out on Friday, ridden on Saturday and seems to be perfectly fine. (He was not treated with antibiotics.) We dodged a bullet!

If anyone has any tips on keeping nails picked up around the barn area and fencing, please let me know. We're looking into different types of magnetic devices for helping with the problem, and I'd love to know what's worked well for others.

Thanks!
Member:
canter

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - 12:56 pm:

Hi Amy,
We're having work done on our house (first a roof 2 weeks ago and now windows replaced). I was concerned because I have a dog and 5 year old daughter - didn't want either one to pick up a nail. The roof contractors had this cool machine that looks like one of those old fashioned push / rotary lawn mowers. They ran it over grass and my driveways and it did a pretty good job of picking up the nails. It wasn't 100% perfect, but did pick up the majority of them. I have no idea what it's called but I bet if you went to a building supply store, someone there could help out.

Now, hopefully the window contractors are as neat about picking up stuff...
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - 1:49 pm:

Thanks, Fran. Sounds interesting -- I'll look into that. I suppose nothing is 100% foolproof, but we need to try something! Good luck with the windows!

Amy
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2007 - 7:19 pm:

I have a large, heavy duty magnet that's about six inches across, that is tied to baling twine. I walk along slowly swinging it about 2" off the ground and it picks up all kinds of stuff like old horse shoe nails, fence brads, etc. I think Lonnie bought the magnet at the hardware store.
Member:
jamie111

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 - 9:10 am:

What a simple solution. Awesome!
Member:
srobert

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 - 12:57 pm:

We use the magnet method as well. We actually have one that is mounted on a handle. It kinda looks like a metal detector, but it picks up everything. I think you can find them at home remodeling/repair places such as Menards or Lowes.
Member:
sbower

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 - 9:08 pm:

Anyone know a cow veterinarian? I got a magnet that they make cows swallow (it picks up the metal stuff in the cows stomach) ... anyway it really strong and on the end of a stick picks up anything metal. It's great also for my sewing pins...
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC