Abscess wait times?

[c0608524]

On the bright side, my guy went lame the day before the vet came. I think he’s a typical chestnut thoroughbred - look at him the wrong way and he begins to limp.

So, he was lame at the trot yesterday. Head bobbing, ouchy steps on the front right, but could barely notice at the walk he was off. Vet was coming today to do teeth anyways, and she wasn’t 100% sure it was in the foot so we blocked him. It is definitely in the foot. I was told to poultice and keep him relatively quiet, thinking that it is just an abscess.

What have you guys experienced in wait times for abscesses to clear up?

[RJC]

My vet says 7-10 days is ok. Worry after 10. I usually experience some sort of resolution in 3-4 days of wrapping the foot in a diaper full of epsom salt gel. If you go this road a heavy application of vet wrap and gorilla tape over the diaper is recommended.

We’ve had 7 abscesses so far this spring (in just my one mare). The last one was so big it blew through both heel bulbs over the weekend :no: It might take a while to fully resolve if it makes a big hole upon rupturing.

[piedmontfields]

When in doubt, see your vet (which you have :-))

I find that something usually blows or leaks from a hoof abcess within 2-5 days. Why does it always take longer in winter?? LOL Often you can get something to come out overnight with a good soak/poultice. If your fellow can stand it, encourage him to continue with turn-out. I try to avoid bute as it can slow down the process, but some horses need it or they are miserable. Even walking ridden exercise can help if he will tolerate it. I sometimes hand walk for extra movement, too.

[c0608524]

He’s currently standing in the cross ties, one foot in a bucket, quiet as a lamb. What a sweetheart! I lucked out here, I think he likes his Epson salt bath. It’ll be my first time Poulticing, wish me luck!

[starsandsun]

Fingers crossed for a quick resolution. Just a thought - did you get your farrier out yet? Or, ask your vet to put hoof testers on? I only ask because one of my horses abscessed badly a few weeks ago, and since there was no heat/pulse we didn’t think that’s what it was. If I had considered the possibility, we might have tried to provide some relief on the sole. As it was, it took almost 10 days to come out through the coronary band and then 2 weeks to stop draining. If I had been able to relieve pressure in the sole, it might not have migrated up the white line and we wouldn’t have this massive separation at the top of his hoof now. UGH.

[c0608524]

Vet did indeed put hoof testers on, and he was ouchy with it. I’m super un-informed about abscesses, but I had noticed during poulticing he had a small chunk of hoof missing which is uncharacteristic of his feet - normally they are perfect. Vet had mentioned today that bruises can sometimes result in an abscess so I wonder if that’s what had sparked it.

[starsandsun]

Yes, I think for sure. One of mine have had a big sole bruise that then abscessed. Hope he bounces back soon!

[AKB]

If your farrier is good with abscesses, have him out. Several times, my farrier has been able to pull the shoe, locate the abscess with hoof testers, and trim a minimal amount of hoof to open the abscess. Next is a hospital plate shoe that he packs with povidone iodine ointment and gauze. Immediately, my horse has been sound. After a week or two of daily repacking of the ointment and gauze under the plate, everything has been back to normal

[RealityCheck]

Have the farrier out to see if he can locate an abscess. If he doesn’t find any indication, it may just be a stone bruise in which case all the soaking won’t help and may actually be detrimental to the foot. My TB got a stone bruise over the summer and was off for almost 6 weeks, no abscess. Gotta love those TB feet.

[Trails]

Abscess and previcox

Just wanted to mention, not just for you, but for any others out there that think their horse has an abscess, to take them off previcox if they are on it. The previcox, being an anti-inflammatory, may delay the blowing of the abscess.

[Buddy0227]

My gelding abscessed twice and both times it burst at the coronet band. I never saw any discharge, just a relieved horse and a horizontal slit where it exited. First time I soaked wrapped etc, took 10 days. Second time no soaking and it took about the same amount of time to resolve.

[Scribbler]

I’ve dealt with an abcess three times in six years. Soaking in saturated solution of epsom salts (hot water with maximum amount of salts that will dissolve in it) twice a day, then wrapping with animalintex poultice up over the heel, vet wrap, duct tape. A diaper with wet epsom salts would do the same job. I’ve always found it will burst in a day or so, you can see the black yucky stuff on the poultice if it drains through the frog clefts or heel. After that, fast recovery, definitely back to perfectly fine within a week.

I’ve never had the vet or farrier drain an abscess, which could make the recovery a bit slower.

[sassy45]

I do nothing for abscesses just let it pop on it’s own happens in 10 days or less. I’v done the soaking and wrapping thing…doesn’t make it happen any faster. So now just let them be and do nothing.

My horse popped 2 abscesses yesterday and going riding today…sound and fine now. Turned him out in pasture with the bossy old mare, who kept him moving abscess popped in 3 days.

[L00kAtMeN0w]

I would be concerned if it was more than a few days. My horse was sore in her toe for a few days, and we treated it like an abscess. She was transitioning from shoes to barefoot, so a bruise -> abscess would have made sense. After it didn’t resolve itself in a week, we took x-rays. Turns out, she had a small piece of gravel up in her white line. So long story short, if it doesn’t resolve in a short amount of time, I would do further diagnostic work to at least confirm it is an abscess.

[c0608524]

[QUOTE=L00kAtMeN0w;8618979]
I would be concerned if it was more than a few days. My horse was sore in her toe for a few days, and we treated it like an abscess. She was transitioning from shoes to barefoot, so a bruise -> abscess would have made sense. After it didn’t resolve itself in a week, we took x-rays. Turns out, she had a small piece of gravel up in her white line. So long story short, if it doesn’t resolve in a short amount of time, I would do further diagnostic work to at least confirm it is an abscess.[/QUOTE]

That is the plan - if we don’t see any improvement within a week, we’re calling the vet to get some pictures taken of the foot. I’m actually going on vacation somewhere warm next week so fingers are crossed he sounds up soon.

[PNWjumper]

I think the short answer is that abscesses can take any old amount of time they WANT to take.

I’ve had them go anywhere from 24 hours to 6 weeks. On both of my 6-week encounters I did x-rays. The first one revealed a massive abscess in my mare’s foot that wasn’t going anywhere, so we carved it out and went the hospital plate route for a month. The x-rays on my gelding showed nothing. We didn’t know for sure his was an abscess until we pulled his pads to reshoe him 6 weeks after the lameness started and found an abscess that had started in his lateral heel and tracked through his frog, exiting through the medial side of his frog.

So while yes, most abscesses probably come out in the week to 10 day range, a longer period does not mean that it’s not an abscess.

[starsandsun]

I forgot to mention the x-rays for my guy! The abscess was so large you could actually see the gas bubbles along the white line. My vet said she’d never seen one so large. Ummmm…great?

[Scribbler]

[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8619337]
I think the short answer is that abscesses can take any old amount of time they WANT to take.

I’ve had them go anywhere from 24 hours to 6 weeks. On both of my 6-week encounters I did x-rays. The first one revealed a massive abscess in my mare’s foot that wasn’t going anywhere, so we carved it out and went the hospital plate route for a month. The x-rays on my gelding showed nothing. We didn’t know for sure his was an abscess until we pulled his pads to reshoe him 6 weeks after the lameness started and found an abscess that had started in his lateral heel and tracked through his frog, exiting through the medial side of his frog.

So while yes, most abscesses probably come out in the week to 10 day range, a longer period does not mean that it’s not an abscess.[/QUOTE]

This is also true. When I said our abscesses drained after a day or two, that was counting from when the horse turned up lame enough that I had to do something. In every case, though, once a full abscess presents itself, I realize in hindsight that there was a slight ouch or hitch present in the week or two leading up. Not enough to say “abscess” rather than “stone bruise” or just “fussy about walking on gravel.”

I also think some abscesses resolve themselves without ever showing symptoms, until your farrier is trimming and says, hey, there’s a bit of an old abscess track here, interesting.

Also it is true that horses on pasture can get abscesses, limp around for a few days, and then blow them out and recover, sometimes before anyone has had a chance to notice; you see the slit on the heel bulb or the coronet much later.

That said, if I have a horse in a stall, I do find that soaking and wrapping gives the abscess a better chance of seeping out through the frog commissures or at least the heel. If the hoof is hard and the weather dry, the easier route out might be up the hoof wall and out the coronary band, which causes more damage to the hoof wall and is more painful, and takes longer to build up to bursting.

[jennycash]

Magic Cushion is my go to when abscesses occur!
Two days max with a packed foot of Magic Cushion and it will drain and he immediately stops limping.

[c0608524]

[QUOTE=jennycash;8619978]
Magic Cushion is my go to when abscesses occur!
Two days max with a packed foot of Magic Cushion and it will drain and he immediately stops limping.[/QUOTE]

This is actually what my vet recommended! However, you can’t get it in Canada anymore. Or maybe it’s just Ontario? We live close to the boarder and I tried zipping over to the states but I couldn’t find anyone who carries it.