Then we went down there. She was standing in the pasture next to Poco. First I thought she looked okay but as she started walking towards us I could definitely see the limp. You could tell that she was trying hard as she walked towards us, it was sweet. When she stood in front of us I also noticed she wouldn't put her hoof flat on the ground, her pastern would shake if she tried. So then caught her and slowly lead her into the barn. My BO took a look but we both couldn't find anything that made it seem like an abscess. We were kind of stumped and still are, there didn't seem to be any noticeable pressure points or very unusual looking areas. I did notice though that around her fetlock area seemed swollen, thinking maybe she twisted something. So at the moment I am soaking her foot twice a day for 15-20 minutes in warm water with epsom salts; she also gets a nice pan of grain mixed with a variety of treats. If she is not better or improving by Monday I will have the vet come out and check her over.
But besides her little footy, she seems to be in pretty good spirits.
 |
| Cocked right hind foot. This is her temporary holding pen as a stall was too stressful for her |
 |
| Coming out of her shelter with a limp |
 |
| Tack store haul |
Oh no!
ReplyDeleteI bet it is an access, sometimes they can be in the coronary band area and hard to see until they blow. Could you do a poultice? That and cover it with a baby diaper and duct tape to keep it on usually works well.
Also, I am sure you've heard this before (but I constantly see people at the barn do this so I thought I'd point it out) if you add bute fo her grain, add enough water to make it not dry and mix it up, I've seen loads of horses eat around the bute and then dump their dishes. If it is an abcess, I'm sure the soaking will draw it out quickly!
I bet it's an abscess too. My boy just had an awful one on his heel that made his whole pattern swell up and made him run a fever.
ReplyDeleteAbscesses are the worst! It's crazy how much pain they can cause, but at least if it is an abscess, it's a pretty easy fix and they're good as new in no time. Hopefully she's feeling better soon!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does sound like an abscess. Given all of the possible causes of lameness, abscesses are the best, in the sense that once they start to drain, the horse gets better in no time! Last time Lily had an abscess, it took about 4 days of soaking for it to start draining. They can erupt out the coronary band, out the heel, through the sole, or right next to the frog. Keep an eye on all of those areas. Once it erupts (she will be feel MUCH better when that happens!), apply a drawing agent like ichthammol to the site, and wrap the hoof with a diaper and duct tape to protect it and keep the draining abscess clean.
ReplyDeleteI hope she feels better real soon!
Blah sorry its lame. If she is super lame its probably an abscess as others said!
ReplyDeleteHope that she is feeling better and that it resolves quickly! In the mean time she is going to def get spoiled lol!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karley! She is definitely getting spoiled :P
DeleteThanks for commenting on my blog, sorry to read that Ava is lame - hope she gets well soon.
ReplyDeleteAm looking forward to taking a nosy around your blog and reading more about your YA forray - I hold my hand up and admit to enjoying YA books. :)