Spent half a day on a hoof with a weird, hidden abscess

Last week I had a horse come in that was just off on its front left, but the owner said it had been fine the day before. I pulled the shoe and couldn't see anything obvious, so I started digging around the sole. Turns out there was a tiny tract that went way up into the heel bulb, but it was totally hidden under a normal-looking callus. What I thought would be a quick trim and re-shoe turned into a three-hour job of carefully opening it up and packing it. Has anyone else had an abscess play hide-and-seek like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_martin225d ago

Remember my friend's horse that had a weird lump on its pastern? Turned out to be a deep abscess that had tunneled almost to the coronet band.

elliot_thomas8213d ago

Honestly, sometimes you dig for no reason and make a small problem worse. That callus might have been protecting the area and it could have healed on its own with just a poultice. Opening it up wide risks letting more dirt in and can really slow down the whole healing process.

wadem8913d ago

Yeah, I've definitely been that guy with a pocket knife making a small scratch into a real project. My last "fix" needed actual stitches, so maybe don't listen to me.