A tale of two abscesses

I have two very similar horses, half-brother and sister out of the same stallion, both five years old this past summer. They have lived all their lives together, and pine for one-another when separated. Noah and Whitney, they are called. They are medium draught horses, most probably including Huzul, Lipizzaner and Belgian blood, and good, useful horses.

A week ago Noah went lame, all of a sudden, with no warning. It turned out to be a hoof abscess. Once the abscess was drained, he rapidly returned to soundness, even going out on a ride a couple of days later.

Whitney started out on the same ride, a five-day moving-on trail. On the second morning, she seemed a bit sore on a front foot, and I suspected a stone bruise. My truck was away on a trip, leaving me without the means to haul my horse trailer. We went ahead, as the ride traversed mainly soft ground. In the evening, I gave her a shot of Fluximin in case there was any inflamation, as a precaution, probably irrelevant since I couldn't detect any heat or swelling.

Next morning she was appreciably more lame, and I put the client who had been riding her onto my assistant guide's horse. My assistant waited with Whitney until the evening, when I managed to return with my truck (newly returned from a different trip) and trailer.

Luckily, Whitney loaded easily and travelled with complete calm. She had never previously travelled in a trailer. I had reasoned that, if she hadn't travelled, then she had nothing to be afraid of. Wishful thinking, perhaps, however she is a calm, trusting horse. I drove very carefully indeed so that nothing changed her mind about travelling by trailer.

Next day we attempted to drain the abscess, cutting a small hole in the sole, packing Epsom Salt around, and sealing the whole lot in using Vet-wrap. She stood in a box with a soft, deep sawdust floor. The abscess promptly burst out at the coronary band, and a very lame Whitney almost instantaneously became sound. Now she is on grass rest, and is quite comfortable again after a few unpleasant days of lameness.

The veterinary textbook on my shelf comments that "abscesses are the most common form of lameness". Actually, out here, that isn't my experience. Sprains and strains are the most common problem, followed by stone bruises. Perhaps the stone bruises rarely form abscesses because the native breeds in use out here have tough hooves?

It was curious that both half-brother and sister developed foot abscesses within a few days of one-another, after a season of soundness? I imagine that there might be theories about this based on the bond between them, however I would venture to guess that the two are a slightly different breed to the other horses, are similar to one-another, do much the same work on the same stony tracks, and were just both a little unlucky.

On the other hand, I had the good fortune that both abscesses resolved themselves quickly and with minimal intervention, that Noah went lame here at the centre, and that I had a trailer (bought this year after seven years without) to bring Whitney back. Her calmness travelling was greatly appreciated too. I was fortunate that the client understood what was happening and why she needed to swap horses. I was even more fortunate that I had brought an assistant riding a larger horse that any client could transfer to. (I try to have a spare available on moving-on rides.) Generally, I am fortunate to have good, sound horses.

Comments

[Anne]

I'm glad things went the way they did for you. And that both resolved quickly. I'm very envious and impressed that you could "do it yourself." My horse would be lame for life. I'm also envious of your good native hooves. Thoroughbreds have no feet, thin hoof walls and very sensitive attitudes. At least in my experience. Do you take a group out every week?

[transylvanianhorseman]

Hi Anne, I send out a group weekly. Some groups I lead, others Diane (my other guide) takes out. We've been busy this year. We need to be, though, so as to make it through the long winter months when the horses eat so much.

I think that most people can be pretty self reliant too. Sometimes one needs to know whether or not to worry. A hoof abscess isn't going to cripple a horse (though he can look really lame, hardly able to walk on a hard surface, before the abscess ruptures.) The slight but chronic lameness is a greater threat. I guess that, with 30 horses around here, one gets to see more "problems" than with 1 or 2. That can mean a lot of homework finding out about horses, and why things go wrong with horses.

The native breeds are very reliable, generally. The most reliable thing is their sound minds. They are tough, too. The difficult terrain can cause the occasional lameness. One tries to deal with those, for instance if there is a tendon strain, bandage the lower leg and get the horse to stand half an hour in a stream, immediately if possible.