Abby, Tina's continuing problems are recurring abscesses in both front feet. The worst one is on the right front and comes right up to the coffin bone. Her vet was concerned that the coffin bone might be involved. Wasn't quite clear on the x-ray. Tina has been on antibiotics. Vet was impressed at how well the farrier has her trimmed in line with the coffin bone. Tina also has a fair amount of sole under the P-3.

Tina is not on bute. I have been giving her Navilam, a product produced by Herbs for Horses in Canada. It has many of the same ingredients as Phyto-quench. My question would hoof casts help limit the frequency of abscesses? Phyllis

--- In EquineCushings@..., "Phyllis Begg" <pbegg@...> wrote:

Abby, Tina's continuing problems are recurring abscesses in both

front feet. The worst one is on the right front and comes right up to
the coffin bone. Her vet was concerned that the coffin bone might be
involved. Wasn't quite clear on the x-ray.

Phyllis

Phyllis,

Is there an opening (like of dead laminae) to access the abscessing
area in the RF? I'm thinking sterile maggots, which clear up the
infection awesomely. Gross, but effective.

Vicki

--- In EquineCushings@..., "Phyllis Begg" <pbegg@...> wrote:

Abby, Tina's continuing problems are recurring abscesses in both

front feet. The worst one is on the right front and comes right up to
the coffin bone.

What does her diet look like? We see problems with recurrent abscessing
that is often still diet related.

Ute

Just curious - who's the "we" you are referring to in that sentence?

Carol and Blue in Maine

--- In EquineCushings@..., "Phyllis Begg" <pbegg@...> wrote:

Abby, Tina's continuing problems are recurring abscesses in both

front feet.

To the extent the casts would make her more comfortable so she moves
around more, they might help by getting these collections to mobilize
but it sounds like your problem is a common one with subsolar
abscesses - it's just hard for them to find a place to break throughy,
especially with a heavy sole build up. They also tend to be walled off
in multiple areas that don't necessarily connect with each other and
therefore do not drain at the same time. If her IR is controlled,
that's probably why she continues to have abscessation. She's just
hasn't eliminated all of that material yet.

The antibiotics are a judgement call that only your own veterinarian
can make and if there is concern about the coffin bone that certainly
takes precendence. However, antibiotics do slow the resolution of
abscesses. Abscesses "mature" and make their way to the outside by
creating an inflammatory response when they leak small amounts of
bacteria into the tissues around them. If antibiotics are on board and
ready to kill the organisms, the inflammatory response is lessened or
prevented. Navilam is a mixture of Devil's Claw and Hawthorn. Neither
one of those is in Phyto-Quench. The Hawthorn can help support
circulation, important to mobilizing abscesses, but is much weaker than
Jiaogulan or even Phyto-Quench. The Devil's Claw is anti-inflammatory
and this again will slow abscesses from draining.

If her feet are mechanically sound, and it sounds like they are from
your description, walking her as often as possible will help. If
there's question about her laminar integrity, the casts will allow you
to walk her with greater safety. The time-honored hot soaks and hot
poultices also help.

Eleanor

Maybe my experience with the abscess monster my horse went thru is worth passing along. When my boy abscessed my vet used a dremmel tool to drain them and we kept them wrapped in gauze soaked in betadine and duck tape wrapped a tight seal. Duck tape works great. Draining the abscess brought relief right away and lessened the time he was on bute. Soaked it daily in iodine or betadine careful not to get the iodine on the front of the hoof. Three hoves abscessed one after another. By two days after draining the abscess he was walking and stalled of course and able to walk without pain.It took 8 months for his feet to grow back and 5 of those stalled with light exercise and he's now sound on all fours. He got out of his pasture and ate a ton of apples in the neighbors field. That was the beginning of our nightmare..
I guess it just depends on the vet for a treatment plan. He took x-rays and no rotations. It was a constant pain to soak for a couple of weeks but he was off bute in a day or two and the farrier did the rest. I hope to never go thru that again.
I'm sorry for your poor horse and your dealing with the abscess over and over. Maybe the vet can drain them rather than wait for them to come thru by themselves. Less pain for the horse to relieve the pressure from the abscess. We had very good results with that treatment. Just thought I'd pass our experience along to you. Good Luck!
Bobbye


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