Don't Stress Over A Hoof
Abscess
By Jeffrey Rolo [Back to
Article List]A hoof abscess can be one of the scariest things a
horse owner may witness. One day the owner walks into the stable
to visit his beloved horse and behold… the horse appears lame,
refusing to place any weight on a specific leg. The owner tries
to walk him a bit and meets with minimal or zero success; often
the horse responds as if you asked him to walk on a broken leg!
If this ever happens to you the first thing to remember is
don't panic. Chances are your horse's leg is fine and the
problem exists within his hoof… a problem that is painful as
heck for the horse, but almost always clears itself out without
health risks or long-term damage. Let's first take a look at
what an abscess is.
An abscess can occur when the hoof develops an infection due
to:
- The sole being pierced by a sharp object such as a nail.
- The hoof wall cracks (generally due to improper
trimming or hoof neglect), thereby allowing a piece
of gravel to enter and become ingrained within the
sensitive tissue above the sole (the laminae).
- Damage is done to the corium due to factors such
as decreased blood circulation from shoes, poor
horse shoeing and/or trimming, etc. Such damage has
often existed internally for a while and only starts
being released when a horse is allowed barefoot and
thereby sees increased circulation.
Other less common factors can cause a hoof abscess, and
sometimes due to the location of the abscess the cause or point
of origin won't even be able to be detected.
When your horse develops an abscess what happens is purulent
fluid (pus) collects as the body fights off the source of the
infection. Since the hoof cannot expand to accommodate the
increasing collection of pus, the increased pressure within the
hoof causes a great degree of pain – so who can blame your horse
for not wanting to walk on such a foot?
The pus will attempt to escape via the easiest path within
the hoof, which most often is the coronary band. If a hoof wall
is weakened or contains a crack it's possible for the abscess to
develop there instead. Once the abscess drains the pus from the
horse's hoof, the infection generally ends and your horse
becomes just fine.
While an abscess can heal on its own, I do not recommend allowing it to do so as an abscess can be incredibly
painful for your horse and without human intervention the
healing process will take significantly longer.
Once you have determined your horse likely has a hoof abscess
place a call to an expert (a veterinarian or blacksmith – just
make sure they are familiar with how to handle abscesses). In
most cases the expert will test the hoof to detect the point of
origin, then cut a small hole to allow the fluid to drain
quicker. Sometimes if the infection cannot be isolated, or is
caught too deeply in the hoof, the expert will not cut the hoof
since cutting away too much can do far more harm than good.
Luckily most abscesses can successfully be expedited.
After your hired expert has diagnosed the problem and
provided whatever remedy he could, you will need to keep the
sensitive hoof as clean and protected as possible. It's
recommended you soak the hoof (many use water with a touch of
apple cider vinegar) and clean the infected area thoroughly
before covering the small drill hole with cotton or bandages.
You want to ensure dirt and manure cannot find their way into
the hole and sensitive tissues.
If a drain hole was unable to be added then chances are the
abscess will need to escape via the coronary band. This will be
a slower and more painful process for the horse, but
unfortunately there's no way around it. A poultice created from
linseed mash has been said to soften the hoof/band as well as
increase blood circulation, so if your horse's abscess must heal
on its own give this poultice a try. It may help speed up the
process and alleviate some of the pain. (A linseed poultice is
created by boiling linseeds into a mash, which is then spread
across the abscessed hoof and wrapped.)
Remember to soak the hoof with the water and cider vinegar
solution once daily until the abscess appears to have drained
completely. Since exercise increases blood circulation, taking
your horse for a walk daily can also speed up the draining
process… not that your horse will be thrilled with the prospect
at first!
If your horse is generally shod and then is allowed to go
barefoot he will have an increased chance of developing an
abscess since the hoof has likely been weakened depending on how
long the horse has been shoed. In addition shod horses are more
likely to develop an abscess due to the nail holes, etc.
As a side note, I rarely shod my horses since I believe
natural hooves are far healthier in the long run. Not once has
any of my horses become afflicted with an abscess. If your horse
develops multiple abscesses you may want to reevaluate whether
shoes are best for your horse or whether your farrier is skilled
enough to keep your horse's hooves healthy. An improperly
trimmed hoof can cause significant damage beyond "simple"
abscesses.
While an abscess can be painful for a horse (and thus
painful for us as we empathize with him), as long as you
act promptly then chances are the healing process can be
expedited and resolved relatively quickly.
The above article originally appeared on
AlphaHorse, a website dedicated to
horses and the owners who love them. You will find many other informational articles dealing with
horse training,
horse care and more on their site.
