bicky
Grand Prix Poster
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got!
Posts: 1,905
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Post by bicky on Dec 21, 2011 18:50:12 GMT 1
Teddy and his wonderful abscess saga rumbles on and is currently recovering from his latest abscess. Two weeks ago we found the latest one, nerve blocked his foot, xrayed both front week (both were ok, toes a bit long) and he's been wet poulticed for a week and dry for a week with a boot on. Hole that the vet made has been clean and dry for ages with Teddy looking 'nearly' sound each day but never quite right. Last couple of days he's pulled both his boot and poultice off in the mud....so I decided last night to clean it thoroughly, dry it and pack it with Red Horse Hoof Stuff products and turn his out without anything else on. He cantered off up the field ok, but then I turned round had a look at him and in trot he's a bit lame still! It's such an emotional rollercoaster! He's been on his minerals for 3 weeks now and on a low sugar diet, plus his hay is away being analysed. He's in of a night too now, to dry his hooves off. Would you be worried about him being lame? Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated.
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Post by tikkatonks on Dec 21, 2011 20:00:01 GMT 1
I think its natural to be worried.
Not much experience with abcesses but it sounds to me like you are doing sensible things. I guess you could call the vet and just ask them if its normal for the recovery to take this long- might put your mind at ease.
My horse bruised his front feet a while ago and I didn't think he was 100% for over a month.
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Post by june on Dec 21, 2011 20:27:04 GMT 1
Sometimes abscesses take a while to fully resolve. I'd probably give the vet a call and quiz him though if it doesn't resolve in the next few days. Two weeks is about the longest any of mine have been lame with an abscess.
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Post by gordo on Dec 21, 2011 20:54:22 GMT 1
When Gordo was in a riverside low lying field, he had abs after abs and it was awful. Didnt change until we moved and never had one since so there was something in the soil that was a problem for him
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Post by barbararob on Dec 21, 2011 21:03:51 GMT 1
What about some magnetic wraps to help his circulation?
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Post by taklishim on Dec 21, 2011 21:32:41 GMT 1
Hi Bicky, I wouldn't be panicing yet. Can you lead Ted on the roads? (I know he is young) If you can I would maybe put a dry poultice (or even a wet one) on with a boot on top and road walk him. That may help.
Pat
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Post by donnalex on Dec 21, 2011 22:53:39 GMT 1
Dont use anything magnetic as it can help infection to move and get worse. Soak the foot in hot water with epsom salts as warm/hot as the horse will let you (withi reason!) then thoroughly dry it with a towel and apply an animalintex poultice. After that push in some magnesium sulphate from the chemists and keep wrapped and clean. Dont seal the hole. It can take quite a while. When mine had one it took about two weeks to get her sound soaking most days and keeping it gooed up with magnesium paste with a poultice and a boot over the top.
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Post by jen1 on Dec 22, 2011 11:04:02 GMT 1
i wouldnt be too worried, if you think that his body is ridding its self of toxins and it will grumble on for a while yet, there is no guarantee that the minerals will solve it, he could be allergic to something, finding it is a different matter, is he insured? what does Sarah say,
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2011 11:16:44 GMT 1
I agree with PN, I've read it written by a vet that you shouldn't use magnets where there's open wounds or infection.
I wonder if it's worth moving him to another yard for a few weeks and seeing how he gets on? I know my loaned tb was a completely different horse at the yard I had him at compared to his owners, where I moved him to just really wasn't good for him even though others seemed to do fine there.
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Tuppence
No Longer Posts on the DG
Posts: 727
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Post by Tuppence on Dec 22, 2011 12:28:30 GMT 1
I was told that my horse was sorer for longer than I expected because he is a big cobby sort and the simple fact that he had more weight on his feet than, say, a TB, made it take longer for the soreness to disappear. Be patient, you are obviously doing all the right things.
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Post by basilhorse on Dec 22, 2011 12:38:31 GMT 1
The first winter I had my thoroughbreds here at home they both got abscess after abscess. It didn't stop until I stopped walking them over the stones on my drive to the only dry place on the land to have their feet trimmed. It seemed just this 10 second walk over stones every 6 weeks or so was enough to bruise their feet enough to abscess repeatedly. The following winter I had got a field shelter on concrete with rubber mats in the field so I didn't have to lead over the stones for them to be trimmed and suddenly the abscesses were gone. I think my trimmer had thought the bruising was LGL.
Do you have any stones in your field?
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Post by specialsparkle3 on Dec 22, 2011 13:28:10 GMT 1
I must have missed the start of this, and I wonder why a horse as young as Teddy is having foot Abscessesin the first place? ------------Oh and yes I would be concerned that he is lame.
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maislow
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 1,815
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Post by maislow on Dec 22, 2011 22:29:15 GMT 1
I would be worried if he was lame
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Post by nich on Dec 23, 2011 12:44:05 GMT 1
I had this repeated abcessing all summer with my reired mare, but she IS 20, and has always had poor immunity, so I woulsd be worried if your horse is young. Autumn finally cleared up about 6 weeks ago, I think the frost killing bugs in the soil helped. You must ensure the best nutrition - I had halfed Autumn's Topspec dose in the Summer, which in retrospect was a mistake, she looks much better with the full dose. don't use bute unless your horse is crippled, my trimmer advised it can stop the infection bursting.
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Post by jill on Dec 23, 2011 13:17:03 GMT 1
Ask your trimmer to provide further information on that Nich, especially why - bute is anti inflammatory as well as analgesic, IMO it is cruel to withold it. In any case, abcesses shouldn't be allowed to burst, thay an do a huge amount of damage with all that infection tracking around the foot and left to themselves you have n control over where that infection goes. Get a decent farrier to find the track and excavate to release the pus by the shortest possible route rather than risk damage to the pedal bone, which has been known. Excavationg the track of an abcess isn't as dodgy as some people seem to think if it is done by a good practitioner - it minimises any possible further damage and IME experience heals and closes to prevent further infection very very quickly. I have never had to poultice for more than a couple of days after, nor had a horse still lame after around 5 days when it has been dealt with like that. If Teddy is still lame you need to check whether the infection has all been released or dealt with by antibiotic, and maybe whether there is still heat in the foot. I would be double checking everything that has been done to ensure it was done as well as it could be, and whether there is possibly something other than the foot perhaps caused by uneven stresses while he was very lame.
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