My horse is getting over an abscess under the bar in his right hind. The vet was able to dig a hole through the bar and drain it. Today is the third day of soaking, packing (tape boot), and stall confinement. It doesn’t seem to be draining anymore. He HATES being stalled and is jogging sound. I want to get him back out on pasture but we are in mud season and there is not a dry option. The mud is up to and sometimes over the coronet band in all of the pastures right now. He has generally excellent feet. He is barefoot year round, has super thick walls and sole, is trimmed by an excellent barefoot specialist, and has no hoof problems to speak of. This is the first abscess he’s ever had as far as I know. Can I use something like the Pure Sole hoof mud or wax to seal up the hole and let him go out? Or would I have to keep wrapping it up and if so, for how long? We are going to be in mud season here for at least several more weeks.
Pack it like you have been, 2 layers of diapers, vet wrap and then duct tape on top to keep it on the dry side. I’ve never had this fail me and I live in the Mudwest… umm I mean the Midwest. 
This is why IMHO an abscess should be encouraged to drain with soaking and poultice, but it’s counterproductive to cut a hole in rge foot.
With soaking and wrapping, all my abscesses have resolved in a week. With a surgical hole, I’ve seen horses off work for three months and wearing a surgical plate.
Invest in a good boot. Wrap the foot, boot up and off you go! I don’t believe in missing t/o for an abscess because the movement of turnout will help keep the foot structure doing its job which will help push the crap out.
If you want to ride during an abscess hole healing, buy two boots and boot both feet so your horse is level and even. Once the pain is gone, you should be good to go. I’ve done a clinic in a pair of boots - no issues at all.
If muddy or working in sand, I will also extend the vetrap up the pastern a bit and then tape the top edge of the boot to the vetrap to keep crap out. Knock on wood, this has not failed me.
Yeah, I was cringing when the vet was digging in his foot but he was hopping lame. It seemed inhumane to leave him in that state when digging could relieve the pain immediately. I know not everyone agrees with that, but it was the choice I made. If he was in less pain I would have tried just soaking and poultice first.
Draining is good. Holes are manageable and heal fine if you’re a present owner and take care of them daily. The only caveat I have is that the farrier is the one who gets to dig, not the vet. Holes dug by farriers tend to be smaller and more precise so they take less time to heal.
I was sort of dreading that discussion with my new vet this past summer, but he didn’t even offer to dig. And, fwiw, normally I skip the vet and go right to the farrier for abscess suspicions, but that particular abscess presented as a very high (stifle) injury that would not have been out of line given my horse’s history.
I’ve done the soak and wrap with horses that are 3 legged lame. Typically once the poultice is on they feel some cushioning relief and can hang out on soft footing. And have always drained for me through frog or heel within 24 hours. Knowing the relief will come so fast, I’ve never wanted to cut open the sole. I also want to get them moving in hand as soon as they can tolerate it.
I once left my stall door open thinking maresy was too lame to want to step off her double thick stall mats onto the concrete aisle. As soon as my back was turned she went striding down the aisle to the great outdoors lurching 3 legged lame in her poultice.
My horse arts and crafts project is done. Dry Animalintex poultice, diaper, vet wrap, feed sack, duct tape. We will see how it holds up in the mud.
I commend you on your duct tape boot making skills. Very nice job. Mine look like c__p
Consider yourself lucky then.
I agree that the most minimal hole possible to make it drain successfully is the best and that usually can be accomplished without digging.
Some abscesses are more stubborn than others and they require extra attention (aka digging).
My vet makes very small, neat holes.
I agree with the others who say wrap it and toss him out. Gorilla glue duct tape is excellent for this purpose.
Looks great! I went through a lot of diapers and duct tape this way a couple of years ago, but it worked in spite of the mud.
This.
Soft Ride Boots or Easy Boot RX style boots work well for this purpose. They are meant for light turnout, fit loosely enough to fit them over a bandage, plus the thick sole offers a fair amount of protection against dirt and mud.
There is a place in h-e- 
for vets and farriers who go digging for abscesses when it isn’t absolutely necessary. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but in most instances there are better techniques for drainage. Large holes in the sole are a big deal.
I agree: boots are a must.
My horse with Cushing’s suffered horrific abscesses in both fronts, and his soles were swiss cheese for months afterwards. We kept him in Cavallos with diapers, Betadine and duct tape, and he went out in all weathers. I did re-wrap when brining him in on a muddy day, but otherwise it wasn’t particularly grueling.
Good luck to you!
We have had good luck with this wrapping method. Everything has stayed on and kept the mud out despite him cantering around and showing off for the mares in the neighboring pasture. Ah, Springtime. I ordered some Hoof Stuff and Artimud to pack in the hole when the time comes. In your opinion, is this neat and conservative digging by the vet?
