UGH, need to vent...

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Well some of you know about my new Belgian gelding. He's been here for a little over a week now. I have lunged him 3 times, once too soon after he got here and he didn't do so hot and then once day before yestertday and he didn't put a hoof wrong, and again today.
He's great now. Has settled in alot more and trusts me, you can tell. He looks for me and lets me do all sorts of things to him like groom him for hours (lol) and things...
I do think his problem lunging the first time was simply that he was stressed from the move.

The next time and today he was lovely, responds GREAT to voice commands, Whoas on a dime, etc. We've only done short sessions of walk and trot, first one way then the other. He's really nice.

Anyway, so today he walking to the right on the lunge line slowly and he stumbled slightly in the front. It was at this time that I suddenly noticed a crack in his left front hoof, on the inside up near the coronet. I say it's a crack, but it's more like a hole and it's NOT new

I immeadiately stopped him and walked him on lead for a few minutes (he hadn't even trotted yet, we had really just started) and then took him up near the barn determined to get that foot up and check it out. Some of you might remember that I having a HARD time getting him to lift his feet and hadn't suceeded yet.
His prior owner had said that she didn't pick her horses feet and that her blacksmith had always said that her horses had great feet. She then told me that because her personal horse has rubber pads in his shoes that she cannot pick his and therefor forgets to do the others...
So, I try nicely to pick up his feet, nothing. I lean on him, nothing. Now I need to look at his foot. I get a spare leadrope and tie it around his leg LOW, right above the hoof. I have my husband at his head and I'm at his side with the rope in hand, I pull straight back on the leadrope while my husband applies pressure to his shoulder, hoof pops right up without a problem. I grabbed it and held it and picked it all out while hubbs patted him and talked praise to him. I removed enough JUNK to fill a large dinner plate.

It was seriously nasty and took me several minutes to get it all out but he was a PEACH. Once I got it all out and discovered that he indeed has some thrush

I checked the crack, it looks like an OLD absess, it's a crater, large enough to put the tip of my finger into. I'm thinking that it was an absess that drained, and then today when he stumbled slightly he knocked off a piece that was covering the hole. The area is not tender to the touch to him at all thankfully and there is no heat in the hoof or lower leg.
I was not able to get him to pick up the other feet. I tried the other front and got it up, started to pick it and then he got it away from me and wouldn't give it back. I'll get it tomorrow.

I immeadiately came in and called my farrier. Who was supposed to come out in two weeks when Dan was due for his trim and to pull his front shoes but now I'm hoping I can get her out sooner.
I'm really worried about him. And ANGRY with this prior owner, who has obviously lied. I was suspicious. I mean her paddocks were MUD and I told her "You're REALLY lucky you haven't had to deal with thrush!" to which she replied that her horses had perfect hooves.
SURE

GRRRR

 

[patandchickens]

I'm sorry you're upset but honestly I do not see that there is any big deal here at all... an old abscess blowout is pretty much nothing (occasionally the abscess isn't totally gone and requires further soaking/poulticing or even draining, but again, really that is nothing at all, it virtually always heals up absolutely 100% with little effort on your part). Either it's reltively new, in which case the woman quite possibly did not know about it, or it is old, in which case you had a chance to see it for yourself

It may cause a little extra chipping of the hoof in 8 months or so as it grows out, but really, no big deal, no lasting effects, can happen to ANY horse.

Likewise thrush is nothing either. It is quite possible the woman did not "lie" - if she had trouble picking up the hooves, how would she KNOW whether there was thrush, and it is also possible the thrush has mostly developed since the horse moved to your place, because of different footing. Thrush is TOTALLY not a problem (unless it has invaded very, very, very deeply into the hoof, which is pretty rare and no longer really just thrush) and pretty easy to keep under control.

Truly I think the horse is JUST FINE and these things are not problems at all

You *have* been picking his feet out daily, yes? Or at least working daily on teaching him TO shift his weight to have his feet picked up? It will be fine. Honest

Hang in there,

Pat

 

[greyhorsewoman]

You bought him without a vet check? or your farrier checking?

 

[lorieMN]

doesnt sound like anything to worry about to me..and you havent actually paid money for said horse yet have you?..I mean wasnt it a free lease for a year then pay if you like him deal?..I wouldnt stress about it.Theres no such thing as a free horse,puppy,chicken,dog...on and on..

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Okay, but I'm under the impression from reading that an absess is only going to show up when being kept in not so clean conditions, yes?


I certainly have been trying to get those feet up everyday, today was the first day I actually suceeded and boy did he get praise. I had been very reluctant to try a rope on his leg until I knew more about his temperment and today when I noticed the hole I knew I had to look and clean it out. He just happened to agree lol

Hopefully he'll be better about letting me pick them up soon, I will certainly keep working on it.

I'm assuming I should pick up some Thrushbuster stuff?

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Quote:
I haven't bought him yet. He's on free lease right now.
And yeah I took him without a vet check (I saw paperwork from recent vet work and checkup), or a farrier check, and I didn't ride him or anything either, really dumb huh?

At least I can admit it. It was a choice from the heart and not with the head.

 

[andehens]

An abcess can be caused by a stone bruise, doesn't have to be dirty conditions, if it was an active abcess, you couldn't have missed it, they're pretty obvious!
I second patandchickens, it will be fine!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No, not at all.

Heck, I've seen more abscesses ("gravel") in basically-stalled fancy "pampered" show horses than in pasture horses, over the years

A horse gets an abscess from either something puncturing the foot, or a crack (of the wall, or a defect of the white line) admitting Stuff, or even just a hard bruise. The germs are pretty much always resident on the foot, it's just a matter of some sort of injury or inflammation giving them an opportunity to go to town.

Really, abscesses are not a big deal at all. You treat them, they go away, end of subject

It is exceptionally rare for any lasting problem to result from hoof abscesses.

I had been very reluctant to try a rope on his leg until I knew more about his temperment and today when I noticed the hole I knew I had to look and clean it out. He just happened to agree lol

I can understand that

If you focus on teaching him, first, to shift his weight off a foot on command -- you know, so that the weight is all on the other-side foot, and that one is just cocked lightly on the ground? -- that will get around the whole rope thing and be probably more educational for him in the long run too (lessons learned will transfer to other useful purposes as well).

I'm assuming I should pick up some Thrushbuster stuff?

It doesn't particularly hurt (used intelligently, not overused). I prefer Thrushbuster over Coppertox or other stuff, but pretty much any of 'em work well (it's just a matter of what color yuou want the stains on your breeches/jeans to be, lol). Unless you've let things get way out of hand I don't honestly think anything is NECESSARY, though, just keep the hooves cleaned out daily. As long as the frog is not getting eaten away etc, a minor whiff of thrush is not a huge deal (though obviously you want to do what you can to control/eliminate it).

(e.t.a. - I love your 'hiding under chair' smiley, ROTFL)

Have fun,

Pat, currently soaking and poulticing my older TB who is having his essentially-annual "ground freezing into hard points" bruise-origin hoof abscess

 

[lorieMN]

Quote:
not really..many times they come up after they have bruised or punctured the sole,just being in the mud shouldnt cause an absess..instead of thrush treatment,try some jock itch or yeast infection medicine mixed with antibiotic ointment,mix to a paste and put on with a small paint brush,many of those over the counter thrush medications will kill the thrush but will also kill the healthy layer of sole,and you dont want that if you can avoid it,treat daily as needed,

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Quote:
Good to know!

I guess I was more miffed about the state of all that packed in junk. I wish she would have simply said to me "Hey, I have no idea how his feet are under there, I've never been able to clean them!" Instead of getting all defensive with me when I asked and being all "His feet are perfect!" you know?