Horse freaks when trying to soak hoof

[eclipse]

we have an extremely nervous horse that’s just come to our barn, and wouldn’t you know it he’s got an abscess. Vet and farrier came and opened the access easily and it’s huge. So we tried today to follow the usual protocol of Epsom salt soak , animal lintex and wrap… but, as soon as we tried to soak he freaked out big time! We are going to be working on getting him to cooperate but as he’s currently so bad, are there any ideas as to how to soak this access?

Do do I just continue putting the lintex on (wet) and wrapping seeing as it’s impossible right now to get a good soak? Of course the timing couldn’t be worse as trainer is at a week long show and this showed up yesterday!

[dotneko]

put Epsom salts in a diaper, wrap diaper around hoof and slowly add water to diaper through a small opening at top.
don’t make it sloshy. do it slowly

[eclipse]

@dotneko

put Epsom salts in a diaper, wrap diaper around hoof and slowly add water to diaper through a small opening at top.
don’t make it sloshy. do it slowly

how long does this stay on ?

[Xanthoria]

Get a Davis soaking boot and put it on dry. Then pour warm epsom salt solution in. Horse can dance around but the boot will stay on and foot get soaked well.

I have wrapped a hoof and had the wrap stay on 2 days in turnout. Put diaper on hoof, vetrap it on, then put 2 thicknesses of poly feed sack cut to slightly bigger than hoof size on bottom, duct tape on securely, then add several layers of gorilla tape to the toe especially. As prev poster says you can pour epsom salt solution into this wrap too.

[egrubbs]

I second the Davis boot. I had two that hated soaking and would launch. We would put the boot on dry then slowly add the stuff! We also did it in a stall and limited the risk of slipping or bolting away. Eventually they both became better and would stand and eat hay while soaking!

[trubandloki]

The bag from IV fluids works well for soaking too.

Disclaimer - I am not a vet, below is just my opinion.

I would think that if it is opened up that you are fine with packing and wrapping if the horse finds the whole soaking thing to be too traumatic.

[fordtraktor]

My vet doesn’t even advise soaking any more. I would let that go – just clean with a chlorhexadine solution daily and wrap.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

My understanding is that the whole point of soaking is to a) soften the foot to allow a drainage plane and b) make the abscess burst. Since you already have both, you can likely skip the soaking quite safely.

[chicamux]

I quit soaking years ago. I found pre-made Kaeco Epsom Salt Poultice. I do have a couple of types of EasyCare boots that are “Therapy” boots, Like the RX boot and the Cloud boot. So I glop the poultice (thick and sticky) onto a sheet of cotton or a diaper and put this on the sole of the hoof. Use a little tape as a temporary hold and put the foot into the boot. There boots are designed for 24/7 use. Just put the horse in a stall or small pen. 24 hours later I remove boot and poultice and check the horse for open abcess and/or lameness. If needed I poultice again for 24 hours. Typically takes 1-3 days to resolve the abcess. It works soooooo well, soooooo easy. I realized that 20-30 minutes of warmish water with the salts just wasn’t enough, not long enough, not frequent enough. Putting a poultice on and keeping it there makes sense.

[Scribbler]

I don’t know about the Davis boot. My mare who is quite good with her feet and with being handled, launched that boot twice when it was still dry and empty, when I put it on her hind foot: clearly it was swallowing her leg. I ended up easing her into a hind-leg soak in a rubber tub, with treats, and she was fine.

The heat/osmosis/softening effect you try to get with soaking will be accomplished just as well with a wet poultice left on.

[JB]

Assuming the alleged abscess is closer to the sole, I’d make up some sugardine, pack that on, cover with gauze, add a good layer of vetwrap, make the “plus sign” layer of duct tape (lay strips vertically overlapping, then lay strips horizontally overlapping so you have a “plus sign” big enough to fully cover the foot) and lay that on and smooth the ends up onto the hoof. Then you can set the foot down, cut off any end that are too long, make some more wraps as necessary (especially around the perimeter of the foot), and you’re good for 12-24 hours.

An Animalintex pad can be used instead of the sugardine, though that does get more costly.

I just don’t soak anymore, since the same effect can be done with the above, so you just cut out a step.

[Ghazzu]

If the abscess has been opened for drainage, you don’t need to soak it at this point.
(IMHO, all you’re doing is bathing an open wound in contaminated water.)
Just clean it up, make sure the drainage hole is still patent, and wrap it to protect it.
You can smear the hole with your favorite goo.
I like either mastitis ointment or Epsom salt poultice.

[csaper58]

I second JB and sugardine.

Sugardine is plain table sugar plus enough betadine solution (do not use the scrub/soap) to make a poultice consistency.

If you are soaking on a flat surface like concrete make a hoola hoop size loop of the hose for the horse to stand in, it will hold about 1 inch of water, all you really need to soften the sole. Start off tepid then add warm. A sudden change in temp can be very painful.

If you need deeper water to soften the coronet band,I like to use one of the black soft rubber feed pans. Horses stand in those more readily, and it won’t break into razor sharp pieces if the horse stomps it.

http://www.jefferspet.com/products/f…bber-feed-pans most feed stores have these types of pans.

[JB]

Since this is an open abscess, as said it doesn’t need to be soaked. The sugardine mix can serve to pack it and keep it from getting infected, as well as start to harden things back up.

[Larbear]

I don’t soak any more either. One particularly bitter cold January night when my horse kicked off his soak boot and sent the contents spattering over the place and me was the last straw :lol:

[eclipse]

Thanks everyone, today I managed to get the soaked lintex on, and a wrap so we are just going to keep it at that as he just to say tolerates this! Once trainer gets back they’ll work with him (she doesn’t want us to get hurt)

[In1]

I’ve had luck with the wide, black rubber tubs intended for feeding. About 18-24 inches in diameter, five to six inches tall. Obviously wouldn’t work for a coronary abscess for for most others it is deep enough. I think it works because the horse can shift a few inches to the side without hitting the plastic of a bucket.

[PeteyPie]

My vet also advises against soaking for an abscess which is open. He recommends a damp poultice of epsom salts in a diaper, duct-taped onto the foot.

[eclipse]

@In_

I’ve had luck with the wide, black rubber tubs intended for feeding. About 18-24 inches in diameter, five to six inches tall. Obviously wouldn’t work for a coronary abscess for for most others it is deep enough. I think it works because the horse can shift a few inches to the side without hitting the plastic of a bucket.

.

This is what we were using and no go! It’s draining nicely with just the wet lintex, some vet wrap to keep in place and then an easy boot and he’s tolerating us now picking up the hoof and applying the wrap!