Do hoof abcesses always rupture, or are they ever reabsorbed? flat footed ottb.?

Question

My new OTTB (off the track for one month),was shod 14 days ago, by a gyp backsmith. Within 4 days he threw a front shoe the other was on by a thread. So the regular barn blacksmith reshod both fron feet, 10 days ago. Within 2 days it became apparent that he had accidentaly driven one of the heel nails too high. I had the vet come out and pull the shoe. No mention was made of an abcess. The horse was in extreme pain. I have been soaking that foot every day in hot water and epsom salt and putting a icthomol poultice boot on for turn out in the pony field. He does not seem visbaly lame to me, but when the blacksmith came 2 days ago, he would not put the shoe back on becasue the horse reacted to the hood testers. He dug around a bit on the sole and no puss came out. there is no heat in the foot. other than the first day the vet puilled the shoe i have NOT been giving bute. We have talked about putting a glue on shoe. is this safe? what should i do?

Answer 1

This doesn't sound like an abscess, though it could easily develop into one.  It's a nail prick, and a bad one from the sound of it.

I'd stop soacking and poulticing now.  It's possible you've softened his sole to where he's more effected by outside forces, such as hoof testers, rocks, etc.  I'd leave him in the stall on shavings a day or two to let it reharden on its own.

The farrier's right to not want to shoe him while he's reacting.  

Why is the horse so hard to shoe properly?  Is he acting up, does he have strange feet, do you need a better farrier?  Since two farriers have had these difficulties, I would look into the reasons for them and work on that.

On hoof abscesses:  no, they don't always rupture, but you're probably better off if they do.  They can be reabsorbed, but that often results in a chronic lowlevel infection that can do a lot of damage invisibly.  

Abscesses are usually treated with SMZ's, which work well on a lot of bacteria, but if they haven't ruptured you may need something like metronadizole(sp?) which is better against anaerobic bacteria (the ones that grow in the absense of oxygen/air).

I don't think your horse has an abscess; he'd  be in a lot more pain than he is now.  I would, as I said, give him a couple days to harden up his hoof, then try again with the hoof testers.  If there's still a problem, get the vet.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

i know this will sound silly but, my friends horse got abcesses alot and he would be on stall rest untill he was better...here is what she did while he was on stall...

15 min. of soaking the foot

  put the icthomol poultice on

  put a diper on that foot

  and wrap around vet wrap around diper

the diper adds padding to his foot. and he did not have a shoe on that foot while this goes on.

Answer 3

The glue on shoe should be fine.It sounds like the nail is what has caused the problem and it will take a few days for this to heal up. In the meantime, not putting on another nailed shoe is okay as you don't want to cause any more problems in that area until it's clear if the pain's from the misplaced nail or something else. Abcesses will resolve by breaking through the surface or by cutting. Cutting is quicker and helps immensely as the pus causes extreme pain from pressure [like a pimple] and then the abcess can be treated. If no pus came out and no treatment plan was implemented by your vet, an abcess is likely not present. You can also use an easy boot or similar for turnout, but he should heal from the nail soon. We have similar experiences with farriers here.