Hoof Abscesses
- By Jenny Austin
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- 12 Oct, 2023
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Diagnosis, Cause and Treatment
The horse in this photograph was suddenly non weight bearing on his off hind and I suspected an abscess. He is very lame, unable to bear weight, only the toe is touching the ground.
Unlike skin and other soft tissues, the hoof wall cannot expand to accommodate a buildup of fluid beneath the surface. So the accumulation of fluid causes pain. It also causes an area of separation between the sole or hoof wall and the pedal bone.
The increased pressure of pus collecting within the hoof capsule causes significant pain. The pus will take the path of least resistance to relieve the pressure and if left untreated, will usually work its way up the hoof wall, breaking out at the coronary band or the bulbs of the heel.
Diagnosis
An abscess close to bursting will present as quite sudden, severe lameness. The horse will barely be able to put any weight on the affected hoof. If you haven’t seen this before, it’s common to panic and think the horse has a broken leg! There may be some swelling and heat in the lower leg with the bigger abscesses. There is usually a warm area somewhere on the hoof. My advice is always to call the vet if you are really worried but once you’ve seen a few abscesses people will often treat it as one for a few days to a week and "see what happens". Some smaller infections inside the hoof can cause low grade lameness for many weeks without developing further. Any lameness that’s been going on for a couple of weeks or more should be investigated by a veterinarian.
Cause
Most commonly, an abscess is caused by bacteria entering the hoof via cracks, defects and holes in the white line (lamina layer) of the hoof.
They can also be caused by something sharp penetrating the sole and also by bruising. Often, if bruising is the cause, the tissue in the area dies off because of lack of blood flow and pressure. Once blood flow is restored, the dead tissue is carried by pus via the weakest exit point to the outside.
Abscessing can occur anywhere in the hoof. In my experience, they are most often seen as starting in a bar crack and exiting out the heel bulb.
Treatment
Occasionally I will find an abscess very close to the solar (ground) surface which can easily be helped along by opening it with my knife and relieving the pressure. Then we need to keep it draining for a few days, also keeping it clean and dry and treated with an antiseptic.
Usually however, there is nothing obvious from the outside. There is often a warm spot somewhere on the hoof. At this point I will use a poultice. I use a ready made poultice.They are dipped in water and then wrapped around the whole hoof making sure to include the heels and coronary band. The poultice encourages the abscess to exit the path of least resistance by softening the easiest areas usually the heel bulbs or coronary band. The poultice is then wrapped in cohesive bandage with a bit of duct tape around the toe area for durability.
After Bursting
You will know when the abscess has burst and the pressure relieved because the horse will be immediately less lame. There will be an area where there is a smelly discharge. At the heel bulbs this sometimes looks like a weepy graze. On the coronary band it looks like a horizontal split at the hairline. In the sole it will be a circular area and bloody. There is no mistaking that abscess smell! Usually the horse will be fully sound within a few days.
While waiting for an abscess to burst we follow these steps as well. We do not give "bute" for pain relief, we do not lock him up with food and water at his feet. We do leave him out with his companions as normal. The anti-inflammatory bute will slightly shrink the abscess and reduce the pressure in there. That doesn’t remove the infection but only serves to delay the rupturing of it. We want that pressure to build up to maximum so that it has nowhere to go but out. Movement also helps to burst the abscess. Standing around not using the limb will also delay the bursting.
When to call the VeterinarianIf you are concerned about your horses’ health please do not hesitate to call your Veterinarian.If the lameness hasn’t resolved in a week or two please refer to your Veterinarian. Anything more sinister will need to be ruled out (for example pedal bone infections). In my experience, abscesses can take anywhere from 24 hours to 3 months to burst but most will within a week.
Prevention
The main aim of abscess prevention is to prevent inflammation and separation of the lamina, therefore maintaining a tight white line connection which will keep the bugs out in the first place.A healthy, functional hoof will rarely abscess. The following measures will all help achieve that goal.
- Feed a diet low in starch (sugars)
- Feed a suitable mineral supplement
- Frequent correct trimming
- Thrust prevention
- Plenty of movement
These are big topics in themselves, but I am happy to discuss these with you personally until I write the respective articles!
Disclaimer
This article is based on my own training and experiences as a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner. Please follow my advice at your own risk! Always refer to a Veterinarian or do your own research if you have any doubts.
Are you aware of the Five Freedoms in the Animal Welfare Act? This Blog explains how we interpret these and put them into practice in our daily dealings with our own and clients’ horses. They are:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst: by providing enough fresh water and the right type and amount of food to keep them fit.
- Freedom from discomfort: by making sure that animals have the right type of environment, including shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease: by preventing them from getting ill or injured and by making sure animals are diagnosed and treated rapidly if they do. Animals should have access to veterinary care when needed.
- Freedom from fear and distress: by making sure their conditions and treatment avoid mental suffering.
- Freedom to behave normally: by making sure animals have enough space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.
Number 1 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from Hunger and Thirst : by providing enough fresh water and the right type and amount of food to keep them fit”. Now this can sound very straightforward but it’s easy to get it wrong and is a massive topic. Here at TTT :
· We ensure that horses in our care have 24/7 low ESC+starch grass hay, plus grazing. If they are losing weight we might add in some higher calorie hay such as lucerne or a cereal hay.
· The most important part is that it’s 24/7 low starch, high fibre “trickle feeding” as suits horses digestive systems.
· We have in our training contract that if owners wish their horse to have a bucket feed, that they must supply that as an extra, and we are happy to give them whatever is instructed.
· We will contact the owner and suggest a more energy dense bucket feed if the horse is losing weight on hay/grass.
· Our own horses have a small feed of rinsed and soaked beet pulp, lucerne chaff, salt, a custom mineral mix and some have other supplements as needed for joint and gut health.
· Our horses, if in work, will have soaked, cracked lupins added and we give whole oats after hard work.
· Of course, we always have fresh water available.
· We have heard recently of a trainer using feed/water restriction as a training tool – that is cruel and unnecessary and would never, ever happen here.
Number 2 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from Discomfort by making sure that animals have the right type of environment, including shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.”
This one is fairly simple- here at TTT:
· Horses are paddocked with a suitable companion, not yarded or stabled, with room to browse and move around. There’s soft sand to sleep on, trees for shelter and a lovely outlook.
Number 3 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from pain, injury and disease: by preventing them from getting ill or injured and by making sure animals are diagnosed and treated rapidly if they do. Animals should have access to veterinary care when needed.”
This one is not as straightforward as it seems and is closely linked to Number 1 and 4. Here at TTT:
· Equipment is tailored for the comfort of each horse, not for the trainers’ comfort, to eliminate pain from ill-fitting equipment.
· We never hit or beat a horse with anything.
· We never tie up their legs or similar acts which cause pain and injury.
· We don’t work horses to exhaustion or expect paces that they are not physically ready for.
· The environment is free from hazards and as safe as we can make it to minimise risk of injuries.
· We ask owners to have their horses in good condition upon arrival, with their teeth and worming recently attended to and with full disclosure of previous injuries, illness and disease.
· We only provide companions which are suitable for settling new horses, not those which will harass or are aggressive.
· We feed as per Freedom Number 1 to keep the horses healthy
· Owners are notified immediately of any health concerns and our contract states that we will call a Veterinarian anyway if we deem it necessary but we can’t reach the owner first.
Number 4 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from fear and distress: by making sure their conditions and treatment avoid mental suffering”.
This one is also complicated and very much open to interpretation. Here at TTT:
· Our training method keeps the horses stress levels under their fear threshold. The physical signs of stress have been identified and well documented by the equestrian science community and because of our extensive experience we are able to immediately identify the symptoms of stress. Anything that escalates stress and adrenaline is counter-productive to good learning.
· We don’t implement some common and popular training methods that can cause fear and distress. For example, excessive use of the round pen; excessive circling/lunging; use of restraints e.g. hobbles, side reins and the like; excessive use of lateral movements, etc.
· We aim for calm at all times and achieve this by breaking down training outcomes into individual elements, then establishing one outcome at a time until it is thoroughly understood. Richard’s Passive Focus Exercise is one way to attain calm.
· We do not progress to faster gaits until we have established good responses to our aids in the slower paces and until the horse has developed good strength and balance. This ensures smooth transitions, communication and minimum stress at all paces.
Some points are copied from Freedom Number 3 as they overlap, i.e. physical and mental suffering can be caused by the same thing -
· Equipment is tailored for the comfort of each horse, not for the trainers’ comfort, to eliminate pain (and distress) from ill-fitting equipment.
· We never hit or beat a horse with anything (causes pain and distress)
· We never tie up their legs or similar acts which cause pain and injury (and distress)
· We don’t work horses to exhaustion or expect paces that they are not physically ready for.
· We only provide companions which are suitable for settling new horses, not those which will harass or are aggressive.
Number 5 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom to behave normally: by making sure animals have enough space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.”
This one overlaps and encompasses the first 4 Freedoms. So, as a summary, here at TTT:
· Horses have 24/7 spacious paddock living with grazing or ad-lib mixed species grass hay
· They have carefully matched companions
· They have trees and valleys for shelter
· They are very closely observed throughout the day (and we can hear them at night)
· We are extremely experienced and notice the tiniest issues before they escalate
· We are educated in nutrition, hoof care, conformation and riding disciplines
· Emotional, mental and physical health of the horses is our number 1 priority
Richard van Dijk & Jenny Austin
