Pain killers for a rescue TB mare, Sore hoof??

Question

I picked up a giveaway mare today, poor condition mangy coat and very overgrown, flat hooves, the farrier cant come for three more days and the poor girl is favouring her nearside fore very badly, can I give her bute powder to help with the pain untill the farrier can look at her or can someone recommend something else? Anyone know any good old fashion stuff, like maybe soaking her foot in something??

I think it might be an abcess in her hoof but i guess the farrier will know.

Answer 1

Yes go wit the Bute! I love that stuff! lol. i dont drug my horse or anything but there is nothing worse than seeing a horse in pain and nothing they can do about it! So if we can help in any way, we need to! Well done on saving the TB! We need more people in the world like this!

Answer 2

Clean it really well, soak in really warm water with epsom salts, dry the hoof well, and put some pine tar packing in the bottom.  Repeat twice a day until you can get her cut open to drain it.  Bute will help for sure, BUT if she's thin and in poor condition that might give her stomach ulcers, make sure you don't give her too much and there's food with it!

Answer 3

soak her foot in Epsom salts...

you can get it at like walmart or something like that.

get a bucket with nearly hot water put a 2 cups of Epsom salts in it, get a washcloth and massage her while it is soaking for about 20 Min's.

giving her a little bute would help, but be careful she wont be able to feel the pain which makes it much easier for her to hurt herself even more, then when the bute wears off- she will be hurting.

Answer 4

If it is a abcess or seems to be, soaking her foot in warm water with espom salts will help and it won't hurt even if it isn't. Is there any swelling on the leg? I wouldn't give her bute til she is seen by a vet so that they can see her at her worst to determine the problem, but if the pain is unbearable by all means give her some bute! I hope this helps, good job at rescuing this mare!

Good Luck

Answer 5

I just answered a question like this.  It is very ill advised to give a horse pain killers unless absolutely necessary.  There are two reasons.  

First the horse thinks that because it is not hurting it can go ahead and do what ever.

Second, the pain killer can mask the symptom of something worse that really needs attention immediately.  I have seen horses that wound up lame all because they were unnecessarily given pain killer.

As cruel as it sounds leave the bute alone.

Now as for the old fashion remedy.  The old timers used to soak a horses hoof in turpentine.  Believe it or not.  Turpentine has all kinds of anti fungal and anti bacterial properties.  It also softens the hoof.

Answer 6

Paste bute works quicker and soak her foot in Epsom salt water!!!!!

Answer 7

First, I'd get the vet out to do a complete health check.  This way you know where you stand and what things you shouldn't do til this horse is back up to snuff.

THEN:

I'd get a pan of Epsom Salts to soak that hoof in.

3 x daily for 20 minutes.  

Bute: 2 g (depending on weight) first day then after;

1/2 g in the AM then 1/2 g in the PM for 2 more days

Stall:  deep bedded

Make sure you pick it and check to see if anything is impaled in it first.  Check for 'scratches'/'greasy heel' too.  You may  have to treat for that instead.

Foot warm? Swollen at all? Thrush?

Answer 8

Poor mare.  I'm glad someone who cares has taken her in.

Don't leave her in pain for 3 days.  Bute powder is great, either sprinkled in the food or mixed with water and given by syringe.  I usually give 1 gm twice a day for stuff like this.

Abscesses normally rupture on their own; giving antibiotics will also help.  If you have any SMZs, use that.  Some people like to soak the foot, but I've never had much luck with that.  Ichthammol is another thing people sometimes put on to draw out an abscess - again, not much luck for me.

Sounds to me like a job for the vet, not the farrier.  He can see what else she needs at the same time, and give good advice.

Answer 9

Make sure nothing is stuck in them. Flat will make them sore. Soak in warm epsom salt, if absessed it will help draw. Bute is safe to give. Just no more than untill the farrier comes, then he may tell you whats going on. You might also need a vet. Good Luck

Answer 10

i would not give her any medication without a vets approval-especially in such poor condition-i would call the vet and call the farrier again and beg he come sooner-keep her confinded as much as you can with the softest footing you can provide until a pro can diagnose.

Answer 11

If it is an abscess, you would want a farrier (or vet, preferably) to come out to look at her, as they will be able to properly diagnose it. However, like you said, you cannot for three days.

You need to keep the hoof very clean. If it ends up being an abscess, the vet may have to drill a little hole in the hoof to help it drain. You will need to keep this very clean. Try taking her for a walk, as this can help it drain better. (If she is in too much pain, don't bother with this). Then, try soaking it in water with a little vinegar (apple cider vinegar is pretty good) mixed in once daily. Then clean area thoroughly, cover with a cotton pad, and bandage it. I would then seal it with a layer of duct tape to insure manure, urine, etc. cannot get in and cause an infection.

If it is a deep abscess, it will be more painful and take longer to heal and may not be able to be drained.  They have stuff you can buy to ease the pain from your local equine store. If no such luck, try a poultice made by boiling linseeds into a mash, spread across the hoof, and wrap it.

Answer 12

Although you obviously don't want her in pain, giving her bute will cover up some of the problem and both farrier and the vet need to see her at her worst. Give her a deep bed in a stable, make sure her feet are picked out, and bandage her legs for support (all 4 of them, use stable bandages over gamgee). Then just give her a brush and try and make her comfy until the vet comes. The effects of bute last for several days and as I said the farrier and vet need to see her at her worst. If you think it is an abcess, tubbing her foot will help, and even if it isn't an abcess it won't hurt. Fill a bucket with an inch or so of water (you want to draw the infection out through the sole, too deep water and you will encourage it to come out of the coronet band and this leads to bigger problems). Put some liquid peroxide in, or salt if you haven't any peroxide. Tub her foot for 15 mins. You can poultice it if you want, again it won't hurt either way. Get some Animalintex (available from tack shops, pretty cheap) and cut it to size. Put it in hot water until has cooled to warm/hot (as hot as she can bear) then place it on the hoof, and apply a pad of gamgee over it. Then use VetWrap (or any other cohesive bandage) over the pad and the hoof. Change every 12 hours. Tub her foot each time you change the poultice. Keep her bed clean and wait til the vet and farrier comes. She will also need her teeth checking by a dentist. Introduce food gradually - you probably don't know when she was last fed properly. Feed a little bit every few hours and make sure she has hay, not haylage, available ad lib. Remember that when tubbing her foot or poulticing, or using water to clean wounds, to boil water in the kettle then let it cool to the required temperature, this will ensure that the water is sterile. Good luck.

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Answer 13

dont worry about covering up the problem with bute right now.  she needs relief.  the mornig ur bsmith or vet can finally come, do not give her bute, until then give her 2 gms. a day.  several thing u can do.  if she was on the track she is used to far more than the average backyard horse.  

if she is shod, the bsmaith will pull the shoe, of not...it will be easier to draw out the abcess.  it can come out the bottom, or the cornet band.  since u dont know where it is...u r treating the entire foot...not just the bottom.

1 gm. bute am and 1 gm bute pm.

soak foot , water all the way up to where the hair starts growing on her cornet band.  hot but not so hot u cant comfortabley put your own hand in it, 2 cups epsom salt.  the more salt u use the better the draw, no need to be conservative here.  soak once a day.  dry the foot really , really well.  get either a baby diaper (like huggies or somethig similar, or a good 1 inch thick layer of cotton batting.  take a glob of icthomol (this stuff really works to draw and keeps the hoof soft so the abcess can come out easier) and smear the entire bottom portion of the foot.  you do not want to apply it to the cornet band as it can really burn the skin. get all of ur products together before u start wrapping the foot.  u will need scissors, vet wrap, duct tape, cotton batting, and a clean peice of garbage bag or something clean on which to set all ur stuff next to u when u start to wrap.  take 5 inch long strips of duct tape and cut them,  lay them side by side so they overlap a little and stick together so u form a 5 inch sqaure of duct tape...sticky side up...move it to the side so no gunk gets on it. after u pu the ichtomol on, take ur square of cotton and place it sqaurely on the bottom of the foot.  take a roll of vet wrap and and roll it over the cotton batting, taking those square corners and folding them like u do when you wrap a present.  cover the entire foot, good and snug, but not too tight. u should use about 1/2 the roll.  do not use tape as it is too restrictive.  vet wrap has give. once the vet wrap is on , take ur sqaure of duct tape and place it firmly over the bottom of the hoof...the edges will come around the sides of the hoof.  it is now a duct tape patch that covers the entire bottom of the foot.  take one final peice of duct tape and roll it once all the way around the bottom/sides of the foot.  this should be secure enough to allow u to turn her out (by herself) in a grass paddock, if she is not too lame.  putting her on grass for a few hours will give her something to think about other than the pain.  best of luck to you, and try not to worry too much.  i just went through this with the horse i took off the track 6 weeks ago.  it took 9 days of daily soaking and poultice to draw out the abcess after the shoe was pulled.  he is right as rain now, and i am riding him, since he has been reshod.

ps.  make sure you keep her wiped down with fly repellent really well.  she probably wont tolerate a sprayer and this is not the time to introdcue it.  fly spray appyed to a cloth will work....that way she isnt stomping on that bad foot.