The Old Folks Home

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
for abscesses we use Ichthamol for hoof abscesses..... Its an analgesic as well. Black tarlike stuff gets on everything but if you put it on then gauze then vetwrap its awesome for drawing salve.

deb

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I see that... But still do not see how else the original infection can be gotten rid of.

With abscesses in general you have to make sure you arent going to introduce that puss into the blood system. In horses they do not recommend antibiotics. Because the abscess is surrounded by hardened tissue kind of like a callus. the bodys way to protect itself form either organisms or foriegn bodys like slivers.

What happens in side say a horses foot is the natural growth and sloughing off of dead outside cells eventually brings the abscess to the surface Where it ruptures and drains.... Thats when to flush it out with antibiotic wash to keep other organisms out. sometimes having to pack the opening deeply with gause soaked in more drawing salve.

I had my horse suddenly go lame once. We called in the vet and he couldnt find anything till he looked at the sole of his foot. What looked like a piece of frog tissue that had partially shed then folded under was actually a chunk of wood. From the wear it had been there a while. I have never seen so much foot cut out of a sole as the vet excised it. My horse never complained he was already panting form the pain but it seemed he knew he was being helped. No anesthzising of the area. What the vet got out was a three inch chunk had wedged in the frog and eventually made its way to soft tissue.

When he removed the wood My horse heaved a huge sigh of relief. Afterwards the vet packed it with Ichthamol Dressed it with a baby diaper then vet wrap to hold the whole thing on then duct tape to protect the vet wrap. I dont even think my horse got a shot of antibiotic in the process. It took a month of bandaging before I could ride him with a slip on shoe. Even then through the tough plastic shoe I still had to pack the hole and duct tape it.

He was perfect in about three months. But after that I was very dilligent about cleaning his feet.

 

[Latestarter]

I've seen them cleaning out horses hooves on TV vet shows and it's amazing that the horses just stand there while all that nastiness is carved out and the hoof opened up. I can just imagine how much better it must feel when the pus, dead tissue and pressure from all that is removed. I'm sure it's still tender to walk on for a while until it heals up, but has to feel better than when it was nasty. At the same time, I have to wonder at (some of) the owners who let the situation get that bad in the first place. Some of the hooves are so overgrown and out of shape it looks like they haven seen a farrier in years.

 

[perchie.girl]

I've seen them cleaning out horses hooves on TV vet shows and it's amazing that the horses just stand there while all that nastiness is carved out and the hoof opened up. I can just imagine how much better it must feel when the pus, dead tissue and pressure from all that is removed. I'm sure it's still tender to walk on for a while until it heals up, but has to feel better than when it was nasty. At the same time, I have to wonder at (some of) the owners who let the situation get that bad in the first place. Some of the hooves are so overgrown and out of shape it looks like they haven seen a farrier in years.

In my case it was a quick inspection. Very dry weather here and my horse never had built up stuff in there. So what I was seeing was a bit of dried frog which sloughs off every six weeks on its own.

WRT hoof condition they can look pretty gnarly especially if they are on rough pasture. And yes they can go for years without seeing a farrier especially with good hooves and enough room to wear them down.

IN the case of abscesses. they could be the cause of poor husbandry. Or they could be the case of gravelly soil and bits of material making gaps in the hoof wall then fungus can follow those gaps up causing a condition called seedy toe. Other infections can follow up without the owner ever understanding or noticing the condition developing.

Then there are cases of horses that get Pidgeon feaver. Or Dryland Distemper. some cases are mild just a runny nose and cough and feaver. Some cases are horrific and can cause whole boarding facilities to be Quarantined because its so contagious. Abscesses the size of baseballs can develop under arms around the jaw and internally.... those internal ones are the kicker.

But years after an outbreak a horse can develop chronic abcesses within their feet. By then they have changed owners a time or two. Sometimes they will just be off for a week or two while the abscess blows. Or it can be a debilitating condition that some owners give up on.

The horses foot is a very intriquite thing that is only in the past twenty years science has begun to understand. Oh there were experts and they were treating the hoof with good judgment and tried and true methods. But they were treating the condition not understanding the cause. Probably the only good thing to come out of the horse racing industry.

There has been a push to do natural trims and 90 percent of horses to day would not need to be shod. Plus the advent of boots to replace horse shoes when needed.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

chicken commute

 

[superchemicalgirl]

She took her evening dose of metronidazole like a champ. Minimal fighting/complaining/clawing my eyes out.

 

[Alaskan]

I've seen them cleaning out horses hooves on TV vet shows and it's amazing that the horses just stand there while all that nastiness is carved out and the hoof opened up. I can just imagine how much better it must feel when the pus, dead tissue and pressure from all that is removed. I'm sure it's still tender to walk on for a while until it heals up, but has to feel better than when it was nasty.  At the same time, I have to wonder at (some of) the owners who let the situation get that bad in the first place. Some of the hooves are so overgrown and out of shape it looks like they haven seen a farrier in years.

When we had horses, one of them, Buzz, had hated having his feet done. Because of that, his last owners had not had his feet properly taken care of. He was also a great big guy, so the first couple of farriers we tried were intimidated by him. The farrier would do such a super fast job, so NOT good, because the farrier was scared.

Because of that Buzz's feet were not improving. I twice, totally frustrated, called in the vet at the same time as the farrier, so the vet could sedate the horse, and then the farrier could work. But, the poor horse, couldn't stand on three feet while sedated, so went over, and the farrier AGAIN did a poor job.... Too hard to see the feet right when the horse is on its side.

And yes, this entire time I was doing ground work out the wazzoo with the horse, but since the farrier was scared of him... It wasn't helping much.

I finally found an excellent farrier that lived a few hours away, that was willing to drive down for the horse, and HE was excellent. It still took maybe two years to get Buzz's feet perfect, since they only grow so fast.

One of the other horses I bought... A giant mistake, I bought him on training and personality, which were excellent, byt dang! He was half thouroghbred, and it showed in spades. That horse could look at a nail a mile away and get all cut up. If you left his bridle on for more than six hours he got sores on his face, I couldn't keep weight on him unless I fed him special feed, and his feet!!!! At least twice a year he would have a puss pocket pop out through the side of his hoof!!

Dang that horse! And yes, I had the vet cgeck him all over, there was nothing wring with him, or the care that I gave him, he was just "special"

Blah.... That book was to say... Horrid feet on a horse doesn't always mean a bad owner.

 

[Alaskan]

She took her evening dose of metronidazole like a champ. Minimal fighting/complaining/clawing my eyes out. 

Can you tell any difference yet? Maybe less redness?



Deb, yep, and totally. One year it was so horrid perpetual rainy, that the horses started to get thrush in all of their feet, and they were out on a good full grass sloped and so well drained pasture. There was no way to keep their feet dry...unless we had let them move into the house with us.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
I have only ever had a case of thrush once.... we got 28 inches of rain that year. Back then the only treatment was bleach. and turpentine.
deb

 

[drumstick diva]

Alaskan do you ever miss living in a real house, instead of an igloo? I mean where you had a regular furnace and air conditioner and stuff like that. You know where you weren't freezing because your mate and kids thrive on cold temps- inside the house.

I just mention it because here the upstairs and downstairs are about 10 degrees different. I know that is not much at all. But throughout the day I am upstairs then down and up and repeat many times. Downstairs I honestly wear a winter hat and neck gaiter and sometimes even a fleece jacket. When I come back up, I am too hot , and take them off. Weird.
When I am outside, I dress right and am not the least bothered by the cold. When I walk in the house I start shivering - even though the house is much warmer than outside in winter.

Maybe it's just because older folks can't regulate their temps. I have had my thyroid tested many times and tsh - all okay. When I went through menopause (nothing icky I promise) instead of hot flashes I would get cold ones and shiver. I told my ob-gyn and he said some women do get cold instead of hot. I think he was just humoring me.