ABSCESS HELP!!!!

MY horse over the last few months has had soo many abcesses in the same spot know one knows anything about it or what to do. He is always goings ssssssssssooooooooooo lamme. It is starting to look like either $1000's + operations or putting him down.

HELP!!!

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Permalink Reply by Nora Robinson on May 20, 2009 at 4:50pm

wow....that sounds like a very stressful situation to be in. I just went through the first abcess ever with my horse, and I have never had to deal with it before. Fortunately, she was really only lame for about 3 days before it started draining.

There are a few things to look at, I think, if your horse keeps having abcesses, especially in the same spot.

First of all,,,,are you sure that it is an abcess, each and every time? If not, then you would need to look at other possibilities....trimming, shoeing, skeletal/joint problems that might be causing her to stress that particular hoof. Is she shod?

You could also look at diet. This is a bad time of year if your horse is on pasture. Also, if he is grain fed, is he on sweet feed, or just a simple pellet supplement? You may have to restrict the sugar/carb intakle. It's hell on hooves.

How have you been treating the abcess? Once it is draining, do you keep soaking and also keep it extremely clean while it is healing and the hole is closing. Where does the abcess blow? Is it in the same spot each time? Has he been on antibiotics with any of the abcesses?

If you are truly just dealing with an abcess....the thought of putting your horse down shouldn't even enter your mind. They are treatable and often, horses get abcesses that don't get infected, and you don't even know they have occurred.

If your horse is not healing properly, or the infection is travelling into the leg, then you need some really good support from your ferrier and vet. And you absolutely have to keep it clean while it is draining and while it is healing.

Try and provide some more details about your horse, his paddock/turnout, diet, age, history....etc. and hopefully others will have some more suggestions for you.

I know that occasionally.....things can go wrong when a horse has an abcess....but more often than not, they get them, they drain and heal and the horse is fine afterwards. I really hope you get some info to get you started on a course of action that will help your horse stay sound and healthy.

Good luck.....

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Permalink Reply by Amy Allan on May 21, 2009 at 6:16pm

Thankyou for your help, we have a special farrier coming out today to see if it is anything to do with the hoof and his wife is a nutritionisst so that should help. I would never put him down, that was the vets thoughts, before we got him he had some seedy-toe, but once this farrier comes we should know more