Lady’s Hoof Abscess

Seeing Lady everyday makes a big difference. I can see her every little movement and see if anything is wrong or has changed.

One day when I was out feeding her and the pony I noticed she was doing what is called “pointing,” which is when she takes her front foot and points it forward so that there isn’t any pressure on it. I was a little concerned because in the past she has done this before and it ended up being a hoof abscess. So I just kept an eye on her to make sure that she was ok and to see if there were any physical changes, I was hoping that she just bruised her hoof and that it wasn’t anything serious.

The days go by and nothing has changed. Lady was hobbling around and it was very clear to me that there was something wrong. I was getting really nervous because I needed to move her to a new place due to some landlord issues. When the pony was scheduled to move to my mom’s house I had my old trainer look at her foot to see what she thought. I knew that it was either an abscess or a bruise. I didn’t want to mess with it if it was a bruise because it would just make things worse for poor Lady.

Malin my trainer said that it was an abscess which I was a little relieved about because I had an idea of how to treat it due to her having one in the past. I remember what the vet did but I still called to make sure that I remembered it completely and that I wasn’t leaving anything out. He told me to pare it out with a paring knife, which I had when I was in school for my farrier class, and get all the nasty goo out and to make sure it is fully drained. Once that is done, then soak her hoof in warm water and Epson salts. This will help any more draining that needs to be done and will bring the abscess closer to the hoof sole. If the abscess does not get treated in time it can form at the top of the hoof where the hair meets the hoof and this causes much more pain and is harder to treat. After soaking her foot for about ten minutes, then wrap it up tight and make sure that there is pressure on the wound to help it close up.

My horse is the best horse to have when a situation like this occurs. She is amazing! I got the paring knife and pared out the abscess, she just stood there. I got the warm water and Epson salts and soaked her foot, and she just stood there. I then got a diaper, some duct tape, and made a “potion” out of Epson salt and bag balm. I put the “potion” on the diaper, put the diaper on her foot and duct taped it on, and she just stood there. She didn’t move and inch! I did this twice a day for a week and she was awesome every time.

The day came to move her to her new place. Her hoof was still ouchy but I had to move her and she did fine. I knew she would. It has been about two weeks now, the diaper booty has been off for a couple of days and she is walking fine. She still has a small limp once in a while but I think it’s just because she is a big baby, but I love her any way!