Abscess Treatment

Abscess is an infection in horse's hoof. It is an accumulation of dead white cells and a puss that builds up inside a life tissue and because the puss can not escape (get out) easily, it builds up an excess pressure and becomes very painful. Abscesses are quite common and probably the number one cause of acute lameness in horses. Sometimes abscesses can be hard to diagnose to untrained eye until they rupture. They can be either in the hoof wall or in the sole of the hoof. 

Usual symptoms are build up of heat in the hoof. Soreness in the hoof. Limping or not wanting to walk. 

In most cases a good farrier would be able to find the location of the abscess and open it up and relieve the pressure and help to clean the infection. It is always a good idea to trim the hoof at the same time. 

Here is how we deal with them in most cases:

If possible, keep your horse either in a clean stall or a smaller dry and clean pen during the treatment. 

After your farrier trims and cleans the hoof we recommend soaking the entire foot in warm water with Epsom salts for 15-20 minutes. Rubber pail or special soaking boots work very well.

If your farrier wasn't able to open the infected area up before soaking, there is better chance he will be able to now, after soaking.  Now we make a poultice paste from mixture of Sugar and Iodine or Betadinie. Be generous and make enough, 2 cups should be more then you will need. The paste should be fairly thick. 

Best is to use a baby diaper or gauze wound pads and fill them up with you freshly made poultice. Wrap it around the hoof and esp. around the infected area. The diaper or the pad will help to keep the moisture in for a long time.   

Make a sheet from duck tape. Large enough to go under and over the entire hoof of your horse as it will act as a boot, you can use scissors to make it fit nicer. We usually use 2 layers of tape to make your boot stronger. Apply poultice on the hoof and on the pad or diaper, put it on the hoof and wrap it with "Vet Wrap". Glue on your newly made duck tape boot. If you like you might use and extra piece of tape to fasten the boot below the fetlock of your horses leg. Make sure to not do it too tight tho, duck tape has no give to it!  

We recommend replacing the pad and boot twice a day and soaking and cleaning the hoof between each new application. After couple of days you should be able to take your contraption off and let your horse free. We recommend turning them out on clean grass if possible. Muddy pens and infections don't like each other.

Good Luck
J.K.
www.czechmatetraining.com