alternatives to soaking a bruise/absess?

[betsyk]

Our temps are around zero at night, hoping for 20 during the day for the next few days. My 3-y-o came in tonight feeling very sorry for himself, and my best guess is he's got a bruise or an absess that's going to come out his heel in the next few days (lumpy frozen ground, etc. etc.) If it were one of my older horses, or if it were better weather, I'd soak it. This guy is a young 3, meaning he hasn't had an absess before, has never had his foot soaked, and is still green about strange things happening with his hind feet. I'm imagining lots of ice and icicles if I were to attempt to soak it tomorrow... Any other ways to get around it? Can I saturate a diaper with epsom salts and water and tape that to his foot for an hour or so? I have a feeling he might tolerate that if I could park him in a nice stall with a pile of alfalfa! but would it work to draw an absess - will it stay warm long enough to do any good? or will it just freeze into a big hard lump that will make things worse? Any ideas?

[lintesia]

Try using an Animalintex poultice. Cut it to fit the hoof, soak it in hot water and tape it onto his hoof (I use a baby diaper plus duct tape). You can leave it on overnight and see if it's drawn out anything in the morning.

[betsyk]

Why didn't I think of that? thanks - I had a feeling there'd be an "obvious" answer I'd missed! I REALLY didn't want to attempt soaking it in this weather.

[MistyBlue]

I never soak...you can;t do it long enough to have much benefit in this weather anyways.
This is what I use:
A draw such as icthymol or a thick paste of epsom and hot water, packed into a clean dry hoof.
Stick one therma-care or generic version heating pad to a washcloth and wrap hoof over drawing agent with washcloth.
Cover with baby diaper, velcro on.
Wrap diaper in duct tape or vet wrap...or both.
Leave on for 8 hours.
Remove whole thing, clean hoof and allow to air dry for a couple hours.
Repeat if necessary.
9 out of 10 times it works/bursts on the first or second 8 hour wrapping.
This keeps the hoof semi-damp...enough dampness to soften hoof slightly but not enough wetness to make hoof mushy.
And provides 8 steady hours of heat...the damp hoof softens and the heat and draw brings the abcess to the surface where it pops right through the softer wrapped hoof. It's like soaking for 8 hours without the work of actually soaking, plus it's less wet and more effective.
You can leave this on in a stall overnight, or turn out in a small flat turnout during the day. Movement is better for moving an abcess along.
Stay away from bute, that only slows the whole process down.
Good luck, hope this helps.

[buck22]

A draw such as icthymol or a thick paste of epsom and hot water, packed into a clean dry hoof.
my BO's hubby suggested to me a paste made from epsom salts and ichthammol :cool:

my horse vented at the coronet anyhow, but, I really liked the suggestion.

[onelanerode]

Try using an Animalintex poultice. Cut it to fit the hoof, soak it in hot water and tape it onto his hoof (I use a baby diaper plus duct tape). You can leave it on overnight and see if it's drawn out anything in the morning.

Yep. Did this with my mare last week. We soaked her foot, soaked the Animalintex poultice pad, applied it so that it covered her frog and heel bulbs, and covered it with a diaper and vetwrap. A Gorilla tape "sole" (made from two layers of tape overlapping each other) went on the bottom, and the edges of that were then taped to the sides of her hoof. It made a neat little bootie that stayed put and worked wonderfully.

As an aside, my mare is coming 6 and had never had her foot soaked before. She handled it marvelously with some treats and a chain shank (which is used subtly to remind her to stand quietly and keep her head down ... thanks, EqT, for teaching us that). She dozed for her soaking and was great about her boot. The first few steps were amusing, but she quickly got used to it.

Animalintex is ~$8 for a pad, and you can get several hoof-sized pads out of one big pad.

I would recommend not getting the toddler-sized diapers. Not having kids myself, I didn't realize that toddler-sized diapers would cover the equivalent of a draft horse hoof. We had to cut a good bit off my 15-hand TB cross mare's foot once the bootie was secure. :lol:

[Bogie]

I also use the Therma-care pads. They work!

I never soak...you can;t do it long enough to have much benefit in this weather anyways.
This is what I use:
A draw such as icthymol or a thick paste of epsom and hot water, packed into a clean dry hoof.
Stick one therma-care or generic version heating pad to a washcloth and wrap hoof over drawing agent with washcloth.
Cover with baby diaper, velcro on.
Wrap diaper in duct tape or vet wrap...or both.
Leave on for 8 hours.
Remove whole thing, clean hoof and allow to air dry for a couple hours.
Repeat if necessary.
9 out of 10 times it works/bursts on the first or second 8 hour wrapping.
This keeps the hoof semi-damp...enough dampness to soften hoof slightly but not enough wetness to make hoof mushy.
And provides 8 steady hours of heat...the damp hoof softens and the heat and draw brings the abcess to the surface where it pops right through the softer wrapped hoof. It's like soaking for 8 hours without the work of actually soaking, plus it's less wet and more effective.
You can leave this on in a stall overnight, or turn out in a small flat turnout during the day. Movement is better for moving an abcess along.
Stay away from bute, that only slows the whole process down.
Good luck, hope this helps.

[horsepoor]

Another vote for animalintex. My one vet always suggests ichthammol but I hate the stuff, and I know in the cold it can be really hard to work with -- kind of balls up and doesn't spread. Of course, when it does spread, it spreads all over me, my clothes, etc. so again, I rarely use it!

Last time I asked my SO to pick up diapers (to wrap a foot, of course, as we are a childfree household), he bought some huge box with like 50 of them in it! I'm hoping that insures that I won't have another abscess in the next year, as I've got so much stock, but I suspect that won't be the case!

Good luck.

[kellidahorsegirl]

I got this 'set' from my brother in law (drug rep)...and it had an epsom salt mixture, cotton pads and a velcro'd hoof cover thing.

My gelding had an abcess earlier this winter and I couldn't soak his foot, so I slathered a VERY CLEAN very dried-off hoof with the epsom stuff, the put the cotton, then vet wrapped,,,,then taped the hell out of it. (I didn't use the cover...seemed useless haha)

It'd stay on a couple days, then rewrap...he got better pretty fast.


I wouldn't worry 'too' much about the mixture (whatever you use) freezing, because if its packed in there inside a diaper or whatever you choose, the heat from his hoof will keep it warm (or should).

[sixpoundfarm]

What Mistyblue said. I have also used the animalintex pads with the heat pack and they work much better than trying to soak in cold weather.

[Androcles]

IA draw such as icthymol or a thick paste of epsom and hot water, packed into a clean dry hoof.
Stick one therma-care or generic version heating pad to a washcloth and wrap hoof over drawing agent with washcloth.
Cover with baby diaper, velcro on.
Wrap diaper in duct tape or vet wrap...or both.
Leave on for 8 hours.


Wow, that sounds like a great idea! Always something new to learn.

[mrd]

Find some magna paste which is an epsom salt goo, slap in on with a plastic glove, turn the glove inside out on the bottom of the hoof, wrap some vet wrap to keep it on and then duct tape the bottom. Usually don't have to do it more than once.

[CoolMeadows]

I third animalintex. I use cotton batting instead of diapers but sounds like the same overall MO. Soak the pad in warm water, apply to very clean, disinfected foot, cover well with sheet cotton, then the vetwrap and duct tape bootie. I change it either daily or every other day depending. Once your abscess pops, switch to dry animalintex pads.

Jake the Jeep Destroyer has been in Animalintex since the 28th. He popped two abscesses yesterday in his RF, the LF is still waiting to pop. It's much easier and more effective than soaking.

[allpurpose]

All he got was 3 abcesses for his Jeep jumping hijinx? Lucky Boy!;)

[imagekeeper]

For those using this product, it does say on the package to not use longer than l2 hours. I wonder why?

[CoolMeadows]

All he got was 3 abcesses for his Jeep jumping hijinx? Lucky Boy!;)

No kidding! His stifle turned out just fine (well normal for him, anyway) and then he started looking off in front. I was hoping for abscess but was sure with my luck lately that it'd be a huge shoulder injury or blown suspensories or something so out came the vet again. Just too much night galloping on gravel and asphalt. Phew!

[horsepoor]

For those using this product, it does say on the package to not use longer than l2 hours. I wonder why?

I wonder about this too -- I have had it on horses for longer than that (depending when I can get out to the barn to change the wrap) and not had a problem. Package also says to handle with gloves, doesn't it? I never do -- can't wrap with gloves on or the duct tape sticks to them!