Styrofoam need ideas asap

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

Sorry for the desperate title but I guess it it kind of is. Dexter is dead lame on his foundered foot. No heat or pulses (yet) so vet is thinking abcess. Vet is on his way and the bar shoe will likely be pulled on the foundered foot if it is an abcess leaving me in need of emergency frog support. Farrier supply here carries NOTHING that will accomplish this without nails and a farrier. It has been six weeks since he foundered and most of you have seen his last X-rays.

Right now we have to block and sedate Dexter for shoeing so shoeing is dependent on the vet and the farrier being able to be here at the same time which is not the case today.

My options ons seem to be going to buy a 1" sheet of foam insulation at the depot. How many layers do I need to stack together?

Or, styrofoam from an old cooler which is about 2 inches thick and could be stacked.

Or is there an option I am missing? I have tons of closed foam saddle pads and a thick wither pad also closed foam. And a silicon gel pad.

Cover the whole foot or just frog blocks?

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Soft Rides really helped my friends gelding a lot. They are a god send… really.

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I can’t get boots locally and have to have them shipped. So I need something that will work for today. Also has a poultice pad now. So boots would be best but in the meantime???

or does he need support after six weeks?

[BoyleHeightsKid]

Magic Cushion and a duct tape boot might be a good option. Can you get to a tractor supply?

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

@BoyleHeightsKid

Magic Cushion and a duct tape boot might be a good option. Can you get to a tractor supply?

He has a poultice pad the vet put on. Does Magic cushion actually support the frog? Mine never dries here. Too humid I guess. I can get to TSC. They just don’t carry boots in my area. I have magic cushion. Packed it yesterday. Didn’t help.

Vet pulled his shoe. No obvious signs of draining from nail holes. No obvious hot spots with testers. Pretty much reacted to the whole foot which is typical of Dex right now. He panics when his fee get squeezed. Initially seems better with shoe off. Maybe was the anesthetic because now he seems worse.

No digital pulses. Local anesthesia didn’t do much. At this point idk wth is going on. Either really large deep abcess or laminitis sans digital pulse???

Im just gonna go in the corner and beat my head against things now.

[luvmyhackney]

If he was mine, I would put him in a deeply bedded stall, start on bute/Banamine/ulcer meds combo with hand walking on soft footing. I would wrap and poultice. Lots of different things used for soaking, epsom salts/betadine are my go-to.

If your vet is planning on xraying the foot, they can possibly see the abscess of the xrays.

You can use the insulation from the cooler or from the hardware store. I wouldn’t go over 2" tops and make sure you wrap both feet so they are equal and limit movement. Its not the strongest material for a horse to be running around on.

No idea if support is needed after 6 weeks without xrays and how the horse is acting on feet.

[luvmyhackney]

Tractor Supply has soaking boots that might help until you get actual boots in. They have padding in the bottom.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hoof-wraps-brand-equine-hoof-soaker

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

@luvmyhackney

If he was mine, I would put him in a deeply bedded stall, start on bute/Banamine/ulcer meds combo with hand walking on soft footing. I would wrap and poultice. Lots of different things used for soaking, epsom salts/betadine are my go-to.

If your vet is planning on xraying the foot, they can possibly see the abscess of the xrays.

You can use the insulation from the cooler or from the hardware store. I wouldn’t go over 2" tops and make sure you wrap both feet so they are equal and limit movement. Its not the strongest material for a horse to be running around on.

No idea if support is needed after 6 weeks without xrays and how the horse is acting on feet.

Had xrays saturday. Foot looked much improved. About 2 degrees rotation. No signs of anything on X-ray. Soreness started on Monday. He was sore in his left stifle area so we blamed that. By Tuesday wasn’t wanting to walk and left fore was the obvious culprit. He was soaked and packed with magic cushion. Now has poultice. Had a Morrison roller on his right fore with equipak so there is no way to match his feet with styrofoam. Was in an egg heart on the left.

[betsyk]

I’m probably not the right person to give advice on this because I haven’t lived it, but have watched others. Start with a chunk of the 1" sheet insulation (I’d opt for that over the styrofoam cooler if you can). Wrap it on with vetrap or duct tape, check it in a day or so, if it’s really mashed down, start with another sheet. That’s what I’ve seen with the foundered guy in the stall next to mine. She keeps chunks of styrofoam handy for exactly this reason (bless her heart, she offers them to anyone who might need them, too)

The main reason I replied to your request is to add that I’ve also seen the softride boots in action, both on a foundered horse and on my own last week (not foundered) and I am a believer. The look on my horse’s face was priceless when the boot went on and he could stand comfortably.

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

@luvmyhackney

Tractor Supply has soaking boots that might help until you get actual boots in. They have padding in the bottom.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hoof-wraps-brand-equine-hoof-soaker

Thank you so much for taking time to look. I have that boot. We tried using that pad when he first foundered. Unfortunately, It did not compress enough to support the frog. Dex is only about 750 lbs so maybe that is why. I’m sure it relives some concussion but my concern is rotation also.

And we cant get X-rays on a days notice here. I don’t want trailer him if I can’t help it with two bad front feet.

[ChocoMare]

You can also use neoprene garden kneeling pads… cut to fit and slap them on with Gorilla Tape.

[Simkie]

I have READ (note, no experience here!) that you can tape a full roll of vetwrap to the bottom of the foot for frog support. I have no idea if that would be appropriate given the circumstances, but tossing it out there because I bet you have one at hand, without having to shop.

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

@ChocoMare

You can also use neoprene garden kneeling pads… cut to fit and slap them on with Gorilla Tape.

Those I can find! And it’s okay to apply over the poultice? Neoprene saddle pad work?

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

Oh, and side note, because of Dexter’s silly little narrow feet (gets it from his mom. Tiny feet) I will have to have a custom narrow easyride boot made. Recommended waiting until his trim since he has put 1/2 inch of foot on in six weeks. His feet are growing like weeds.

[Jungle_Monkey]

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/mainstays-interlocking-foam-mat/6000196514162?cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_6000196514162_100062007331055_1613&cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_868545256_45415463938_None_%2010002_None&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrMPrv_aB1gIVA5JpCh18dw_CEAQYASABEgKCbPD_BwE

the foam floor mats might work if you want something soft but you’ll likely need the styrofoam as well…

[ChocoMare]

[QUOTE=Second Star To The Right;n9856852]

Those I can find! And it’s okay to apply over the poultice? Neoprene saddle pad work?[/

Yup. It’ll be a bit bulky but it will work.

[Sueby]

Would breast pads be sturdy enough? We use those sometimes when we poultice hooves.

[csaper58]

@Second Star To The Right

Oh, and side note, because of Dexter’s silly little narrow feet (gets it from his mom. Tiny feet) I will have to have a custom narrow easyride boot made. Recommended waiting until his trim since he has put 1/2 inch of foot on in six weeks. His feet are growing like weeds.

@ChocoMare linked to these boots in another thread, www.comforthoofs.com/our-shoes/ they have an amazing range of sizes mini to draft. and they come in narrow for oval feet. Might be easier/quicker than a custom boot.

I would deep bed his stall to protect the foot from further rotation as a large abscess can damage many lamina.

Putting him in a pad to make him more comfy will let him walk, and stress the tendon/coffin bone attachment.

I would want him standing toes pointing down in deep shavings. Laying down is ok too.

Abscesses are common after laminitis, and horses always seem most painful just before they pop.

Have you looked at any of the Thermal Imaging camera apps or attachments for smart phones? If the thermal imaging is sensitive enough you might pin point a hot spot on his foot, or any body soreness.

Good luck

[Second_Star_To_The_R]

@ChocoMare @Simkie @Jungle Monkey @betsyk @luvmyhackney, @BoyleHeightsKid And anyone I missed or who chimes in later, Thank you guys all so much. It’s nice to have support from a great group of people.

If It was just an abscess for sure it would be one thing. I honestly feel despair creeping in. I know vets don’t like to go digging around in a foundered foot Willy nilly hunting a problem. But This horse needs relief and needs it fast.

It’s the rare horse that will become laminitic without a digital pulse but I’ve heard of it happening and since Dex can’t do anything “normal” I have to prepare for that as well. He was giving to testers all over his foot so it was impossible to tell what hurt or if everything hurt. He did not give to testers at all during his first laminitic episode. Bottom of his foot looked great no thrush or anything that could account for pain was visible. This started Monday and IME it’s a long time for abscess pain. Maybe I’ve just been fortunate to have horses blow them out sooner or to have farriers that would open a hoof at the first sign of one.

Two other possibilities, we didn’t pair the frog way down when he was shod and I’m wondering if maybe he bruised it on the bar of the shoe. He has grown really fast in 5 weeks ( shoes were done a week after the acute phase of lami was over) and I was off on dates. An egg heart is a very confining shoe (and I hate them) and I’m wondering if that may have caused an issue?

Or neuritis from the laminitis. Which I’m not sure I can handle that diagnosis.

With his GI history, I have to be so careful with pain meds and now with his loss of mobility I’m just waiting for the next colic episode.

The air air pocket on the X-ray…his hoof looks like its beginning a crack there. Is it likely for a gas/air pocket to be the site of abscess?

It has really helped my stress level to know that I can come here and ask questions and get sensible answers and support.

[BoyleHeightsKid]

@Second Star To The Right

Here is the X-ray from Saturday. The air pocket has been there since the beginning.

Could he possibly have a severe case of white line?