Hoof abscess or laminitis?

[NoahG]

Hey everyone,
Since I am doomed to never catch a break with Aggie, yesterday evening she had a sudden onset of lameness in her back left leg. She had been fine that morning, but looking back the past couple days she had seemed to favor resting on her right leg but not to a worrying degree.

There's no tenderness in the leg, she'll let me palpate it with no issues but when I touch her hoof she raises it. The hoof just became slightly warmer than the others this morning. She's still bright, eating, interested in treats and drinking water. She just hobbies around her stall and keeps her back left leg cocked kind of funny.

We've had a ton of rain here and the inset was rather quick so I'm hopeful this is an abscess and not laminitis (which she likely has a history of).

 

[NoahG]

Side note I forgot to mention: she will tolerate standing on her "bad" foot to let me pick the other back hoof. She's just obviously uncomfortable doing it.

 

[Cayuse]

Does she have a digital pulse in that leg? I'd go ahead and treat it as an abscess, can you get Animalintex pads? Tractor Supply usually has them. Those are great for drawing out any nastiness. Plus if it is laminitis, making a duct tape bootie over one of those pads will also cushion her foot. You could always soak her hay meals for an hour to lower the sugar content just to be on the safe side until you are able to get a concrete diagnosis. I wouldn't let her out in the paddock until you know for sure it's not laminitis as excessive movement could damage the hoof structure.

 

[NoahG]

Does she have a digital pulse in that leg? I'd go ahead and treat it as an abscess, can you get Animalintex pads? Tractor Supply usually has them. Those are great for drawing out any nastiness. Plus if it is laminitis, making a duct tape bootie over one of those pads will also cushion her foot. You could always soak her hay meals for an hour to lower the sugar content just to be on the safe side until you are able to get a concrete diagnosis. I wouldn't let her out in the paddock until you know for sure it's not laminitis as excessive movement could damage the hoof structure.

I'll look into those pads. Unfortunately the nearest tractor supply is a good hour and a half plus drive away. I checked and couldn't find her digital pulse but I'll try again tonight (the barn is a 20 minute drive away so I see them twice a day). She has been really angry about getting her eye flushed and her wound cleaned so yesterday morning she was rearing pretty excessively. On soaking the hay, I'll look into that. The barn feeds their own hay for me so I'll have to put in a special request for that.

 

[Cayuse]

You can order them on Amazon too I think. I meant to add that if you do decide to poultice, there are a bunch of good you tube videos on how to make a duct tape bootie and kinds of poultices. Just make sure to only use the duct tape on only the hoof itself and not get it up on the coronary band as it could potentially cut the circulation. Hope Aggie will improve soon, poor girl!

 

[NoahG]

I saw those on Amazon. A 3 day delay for shipping isn't going to hurt her too much?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sending positive thoughts to you.

 

[Cayuse]

Just had a thought, I bet your vet would have them, maybe they'd let you pick some up? You could run the symptoms by them too.

 

[NoahG]

Just had a thought, I bet your vet would have them, maybe they'd let you pick some up? You could run the symptoms by them too.

My vet doesn't like being contacted on the weekends except for emergencies. Vet office is closed on weekends too.

 

[Cayuse]

Oh that's too bad, I'm lucky my vet's office always has someone on call. So many vets around here don't do after hour emergency calls anymore, they tell you to ship to the clinic which is not feasible for a lot of people. Makes horse ownership difficult.

 

[NoahG]

Look what I found embedded in Aggie's hoof wall. Identical color to her hoof. Only found it by going over her hoof for a good minute looking for anything abnormal.

 

[Cayuse]

Ouch! Bet she feels better now!

 

[NoahG]

This morning Aggie still seems sore and tender, has a fairly strong radial pulse and her hoof is warm. She's putting weight on it now but you can tell it's still bugging her. While her gait is altered she's not shuffling or dragging the foot anymore. I'll touch base with my vet tomorrow and get a wrap on her foot today. Given how quickly she went lame I'm assuming this is an abscess related to the rock in her foot. Laminitis doesn't usually spring up over the course of an afternoon right?

 

[HersheyMint]

I hope you are seeing improvement in Aggie. She is giving you hands on vet experience She is so lucky to have you

 

[chandab]

Being it's a single back hoof, I'd be more inclined to think abscess than laminitis; as laminitis usually strikes the front hooves first, as they bear the majority of their weight on their front legs. I wouldn't rule out laminitis in a horse with a history of laminitis, but the presentation has me leaning abscess. Not an emergency, but perhaps worth a look over by the vet as soon as you can get in during normal business hours, or at least a call to run by your vet and get their opinion.
[I thought I hit enter, yesterday, but evidently didn't; so my reply sat over night.]

 

[NoahG]

Thank you!

 

[NoahG]

Used my smaller hoof pick and got a much better look at the hole the rock made. Wrapping her hoof today once the wrap arrives.

 

[LostandFound]

Yes, laminitis can spring up overnight. But I agree that it's not the most likely scenario to show up in one back leg only. That rock hole looks like it would make her uncomfortable, but I'm not sure that's your issue either. Abscess can present like that but it usually looks more like a broken leg and when it resolves it resolves fully and suddenly. I'd be more likely to suspect she pulled something rearing and acting silly. We used to use epsom salt soaks for abscesses, I've never tried a poultice.

 

[NoahG]

Thank you. The first day she was lame it did look like it was 'broken.' That morning she was rearing a lot because she's not happy about getting her wound cleaned and treated, plus her eye flush for her irritated eye. I appreciate the insight.

 

[MartysMom]

Poor little Aggie. Our vets recommend the poultices for abscess, the Epsom salt based ones that smell minty, inside a hoof wrap. Hope she is better soon.