[faroutfax]

I brought Misty in a couple days ago, and of course she was lame Off in just one of her fronts. Not really severely lame, she could walk on the cement, just couldn't jog well in our hard packed arena. She actually was trotting around the field when I came to get her. No heat or swelling, except for a tiny bit of heat near her cornary band on her left front. I was fairly sure it was an abscess. And of course I picked out all her hooves well and didn't find anything. None of her joints seemed to be causing any trouble.

Next day it looked like an abscess had blown out, she was turned out on wet grass that day. And she is still lame today (3 days later) like she was on the first day.

And as far as history, no history of lameness (except the time she got mud fever). Though she does appear to get frequent abscesses that we don't know she got until you can see them grow out on her hoof wall. It is always a suprise to see a new one grow out because she didn't take a lame step.

Is this likely just an abscess or is it probably something else? I guess I'm still hoping we can show on Sunday, but that is looking unlikely now Aren't lame horses fun?

Here is a picture of her left front, where I think she has the abscess.

It is just wet because I sprayed it down so you can see

[gluey33]

I would put a poultice on that. It looks like she may have given it a thump on something and its hard to say but could there be something in it?

[faroutfax]

The "cut" on her cornary band only appeared after she had been turned out for the night. On the first day she was lame you could see the bruising(?) on her hoof wall and she was lame. She was turned out that night and when I brought her in she had the "cut" on her cornary band. Making me think it is an abcess, but I'm not sure...

What type of poltice would be best for something like this? And should I also try soaking this?

I looked at it for awhile, I didn't see anything in it, but I'm also not saying its impossible :]

[Ashtony]

Poor baby, hope everything goes well with that.

[Spinnaker]

I would think if it was an abscess and you believe it blew she would be showing at least some sign of relief. Have you talked to your farrier about it or had him/her take a look?

If the horse is frequenting abscesses, that is not a normal thing for a horse. I would discuss it with your farrier and vet and the possibilities of other issues going on.

Also, the bruising wouldn't suggest abscess to me, but I could be wrong.

[faroutfax]

Originally Posted by Ashtony

Poor baby, hope everything goes well with that.

Thanks She's acting like a complete baby about it. She seems pretty pround of the fact that she can't be ridden right now...

Originally Posted by Spinnaker

I would think if it was an abscess and you believe it blew she would be showing at least some sign of relief. Have you talked to your farrier about it or had him/her take a look?

If the horse is frequenting abscesses, that is not a normal thing for a horse. I would discuss it with your farrier and vet and the possibilities of other issues going on.

Also, the bruising wouldn't suggest abscess to me, but I could be wrong.

That's whats bothering me the most is that she hasn't improved (though I haven't checked on her today yet). I would think she would be dramatically better after it supposedly blew out...

No one has come out to look at it yet. But I think I might call my farrier to see what she thinks.

I've had her for about 5 years now, and haven't had any problems with her feet so far. Several farriers have noticed the frequent abscesses, but none seemed really concerned about them...

Oh and I just remembered, we need to get another farrier out to trim two of our girls, so I'll get them to take a look at Misty's feet for a second opinion too. We need another farrier out asap, so it would be as soon as we could get one over to the farm

[faroutfax]

friendly bump

[4horsem0m]

It's a hard photo to judge by, but it looks as if those heels are way to high. Improper hoof care can lead to more frequent abscesses. She may have blown one and is working on another.

[faroutfax]

Originally Posted by 4horsem0m

It's a hard photo to judge by, but it looks as if those heels are way to high. Improper hoof care can lead to more frequent abscesses. She may have blown one and is working on another.

Yep, I noticed that too when I first noticed she was lame... She was trimmed *about* 4 weeks ago, we keep her on a 6 week schedule. She does have a tendancy to grow alot of heel, but I don't think they should look like that either. I'll be asking my farrier about that one for sure.

ETA: here is the only pic of her hooves that I took. Not a good angle at all.. but it might help. Is is just me or does it look like she is missing a chunk of heel?


Please excuse the disgusting barn floor Sweeping is next on the chore list

[Dawn]

Holey Moley, those feet are in need of a trim. That's probably a lot of what's contributing to your abcess issues. But, I'd be interested in seeing more photos of her feet. Is laminitis/founder a possibility? Or is it just really bad trimming?