Hi Suzanne,

Once the abscess bursts, the horse is usually much sounder. If Monty is comfortable then you can do your blood work now. Would suggest you continue using the animalintex pads/boots until there is no more exudate coming from the hoof.

An abscess inside the hoof capsule is extremely difficult to get any antibiotics into as generally, it is found within the non-vascularized tissues. It is the body's way of expelling necrotic tissue/foreign bodies. If all the material causing the abscess has been expelled then there won't be a recurrence of the abscess. Giving NSAIDs and/or antibiotics can actually backfire as it can slow down the maturation and expulsion processes, leading to longer abscess times and/or future bouts of abscessing. Unless there is an active infection, antibiotics aren't needed. If there IS an infection, then Lower Limb Perfusion would be the preferred route to make sure the antibiotics get to the site of the infection in amounts that are concentrated enough to do the job properly.

With rotation/founder, esp if it has been a long-term process, it is likely that abscessing will be a part of the healing process as the trim is adjusted to realign the hoof capsule with the coffin bone to allow and encourage solid attachment. As the hoof capsule changes shape and the horse's movement changes, this puts pressure onto different structures and squeezes any materials hiding within the foot to the surface so they can be eliminated. as painful as this is to the horse (and the owner to watch) it is a good thing.

Lavinia, Dante, George Too and Peanut

Jan05, RI

EC Support Team