Preventing an Abscess

[Coppers mom]

About a year ago, we got mare off the track with the worst feet. They were uneven, shelley, cracking, the works. She almost immediately developed a massive abscess after a week of heavy rain, and when it blew out, it made a huge hole in her coronet band. It's grown out as a horizontal crack that is about an inch and a half long, and is almost 1/2 an inch wide (from top, closest to coronet band, to bottom, closest to ground).

I was worried about her re-abscessing as the crack reached the ground, so I made sure to keep it clean and keep an eye on her. Then, we had days and days of heavy rain and she started getting gimpy again. I soaked and packed my little heart out, and now she seems to be back to normal, but I'm worried that she's going to have a lot of trouble with abscesses as this crack grows out. She lives outside, and it's rained pretty hard the last two nights. Is there anything I can do to prevent another abscess from forming? If she gets another one now, is she going to be more likely to get a really big one because the hoof wall is already pretty damaged? Her feet have grown out beautifully, will that help a little in keeping the size of the abscess down? Thanks!

[Stacie]

Are you sure it's an abscess? One of my vets says that the "abscesses" that blow through the hoof wall are often sequestrums (infections caused by bone necrosis) from the coffin bone.
Don't know what the treatment would be.
If you wanted to know though, you'd have to find a vet who was really good at reading digtital x-rays and had really good equipment.

[BornToRide]

The old scar from the abscess growing out should not be an issue. Ascesses often blow out at the coronet band. It is usually a sign the sole is thicker - the abscess usually seeks the path of least resistance to come out.

Frequent abscessing is not a problem of rain or water or more horses would frequently have this problem in wet weather. It is a problem of unhealthy hooves that is typically created by a diet too high in sugars & starches. It makes the horn weaker and more susceptible to wetness and bruising & abscessing.

[deltawave]

I think the best you can do is keep her feet as healthy as possible, and keep her in conditions that she seems to tolerate best. My old mare has had 2 abscesses in the 6 years I've had her--once from very hard, rutted ground after a sudden freeze just after her shoes were pulled for the winter and once from stomping on hard ground. I keep mine barefoot when they aren't needing shoes for training/competing. Never had a shod one abscess, but certainly that can happen, too. Not all abscesses have a singular, universal cause.

There are so many potential causes for an abscess, and sometimes they just happen, even in "ideal" conditions. If you're not sure the mare's gimpy behavior this time was an abscess (did she react to hoof testers?) then I wouldn't worry too much that she's going to have chronic problems with them. Her feet sound like they're in a lot better shape than they were--maybe the wet weather caused a little thrush or sensitivity elsewhere?

If you're convinced the wet ground is causing problems, can you get a pile of sand or something to create a high, dry spot for her to hang out?