What if you don't treat it?

[FindersKeepers]

What can happen if you don't treat an abcess?

I don't have any in this state, thankfully, just curious what can happen if you let nature work itself out. Purely educational.

[Ghazzu]

Some possibilities:
a) the horse is in severe pain for a prolonged period of time
b) osteomyelitis
c) abscess blows out, horse is good to go

[FlashGordon]

What can happen if you don't treat an abcess?

I don't have any in this state, thankfully, just curious what can happen if you let nature work itself out. Purely educational.

My understanding is that the coffin bone can end up damaged or infected. You could end up with laminitis as well. (Although, those things can happen even if you DO treat the abscess.)

I now have a horse who had abscessed last summer and was thrown out in a field by his owner to deal with it on his own. That initiated a chain of events that nearly led to his demise. The abscess didn't blow, he was lame for 6 weeks at least, running around that field. He bruised his LF very badly and made his hind end very sore from compensating. He stopped walking to the water source. He stopped eating. He was 2-legged lame and about 3 days from death when he was given to me in October.

That said, I have also seen abscesses "let go" and the horse somehow ends up ok.... it is just not worth the risk to me.