What does it look like when a horse has a foot abscess? Typically the horse will be super lame, walking on his toe with a bounding digital pulse. If nothing is done, the infection will follow the path of least resistance and pop out at the coronary band (a gravel).
This takes time and in a worst-case scenario can set the horse up for a more serious infection. (Ok, since you asked, a more serious infection like osteomyelitis, infection of the insertion of the deep digital flexor tendon, infection of the navicular bursa or coffin joint and more that I just can’t think of at the moment. 99 times out of 100 it will pop out at the coronary band).
Prevention hinges on good hoof care… or owning a mustang. It is common sense things like keeping the feet trimmed, using hoof conditioners to prevent horn dry out, giving the horses a place to go in the winter where their feet have a chance to dry out, picking the feet out once in a while, supplementing with biotin/methionine if your pony has thin walls. Are you listening thoroughbred owners? And if Fluffy has foundered in the past, guess what, he’s at increased risk due to the damage laminitis does to the white line.
If, despite your best efforts, your horse is unfortunate enough to develop one of these, your best course of action is to call your vet or farrier to establish drainage. This usually requires pulling the shoe so… no whining. Hoof testers are used to locate the source and then a small hole is bored into the abscess to facilitate drainage. I like to put a poultice on the foot for three to four days to aid in pulling the junk out but you can soak it in epsom salts as well. But I think soaking is a lot more work to accomplish the same thing.
I will also boost your horse’s tetanus if it’s been longer than six months since his last stabbing. I typically don’t use antibiotics as they usually just slow the whole process down. It’s difficult for drugs to penetrate an abscess anyway because the body is doing it’s darnedest to wall it off. If your horse stepped on a nail I will put him on antibiotics but that’s a whole different topic.
After poulticing a few days the horse should be sound at which point I’ll have you pickle the sole of the foot with copper tox, dilute bleach, strong iodine or hoof tough. Don’t put them all on at once, I wouldn’t want an explosion or something of that nature to occur. The shoe can be put back on at this point and you should be good to go.
