Rachael’s Corner: Hoof Abscesses

One of our Tictac team, Lauren, recently had the unfortunate experience of her pony Goldie developing a hoof abscess. Poor Goldie was in a lot of pain, and for a few days we were all very worried that she may have seriously damaged a major tendon in her leg as her pain was dramatically worsening day by day. It can be a very situation to be in so we thought we would use Goldie’s abscess to help all of you understand the symptoms that your horse would show if they have a hoof abscess and also some treatments that a vet would use to treat one.

A hoof abscess is a bacterial infection within the hoof wall. A horse’s hoof cannot expand so unlike if we had an infection anywhere in our body and it would swell, the pressure will just build up inside the hoof because it has nowhere to go causing severe pain to the horse L If an abscess is left long enough without treatment, the infection will take the path of least resistance to relieve the pressure. This means that it will leave the hoof at its weakest point which is usually the coronary band.

Signs that your horse may have a hoof abscess may include:

·         Bearing very little or no weight on their leg

·         Heat in the hoof and lower leg

·         Swelling of the leg due to congestion of blood vessels

If you are worried that your horse might have a hoof abscess, you should ring your vet straight away so that your horse will receive prompt treatment; the earlier you treat an abscess the better! When the vet came out to see Goldie, he used hoof testers to test if her hoof was sensitive to pressure at any point. As soon as he squeezed at a spot on her sore hoof she nearly hit the roof! The pain must have been absolutely horrible – poor Goldie! He dug a hole into the sole of her foot to let the puss drain out and for a week afterwards her hoof had to be soaked in salt water every night for ten minutes and then dressed with a poultice to help draw out the rest of the infection and keep it squeaky clean! She was also on antibiotics and pain killers to keep her more comfortable and to kill off any of the remaining bacteria.

If you have any stories or advice for any of our team or our customers, we would love to hear from you

Rain Scald

Rainscald is a common skin disease found in horses during times of particularly bad wet weather. It is caused by a type of bacteria called D. Congolensis and commonly found in moist, tropical areas, but can  can also be found in wet northern environments such as our own.

Rainscald causes serious irritation of and infection of the skin, culminating in painful legions and scabs. Thankfully, the disease normally heals on its own, but scabs can be softened with benzoyl peroxide and chlorhexidine and removed in order to speed the healing process. Just ask your vet for more information.

When grooming the horse, be extremely gentle and avoid brushing from affected to unaffected areas, and avoid sharing grooming equipment with other horses. Typically the disease is not life threatening, nor does it impact the welfare of the horse, so treatments are more for the owner's sake of mind and cosmetic appeal of the animal.

However, in order to prevent rainscald, it is important to stop the spread of bacteria. Tick and insect control - another major cause for the disease to spread - is an effective way to stop the spread of the bacteria from one animal to another. Separating and quarantining infected animals will also help to stop the spread of bacterial infection. Keeping the animal in a dry, well-ventilated area out of the rain and wet conditions will stop the bacteria from growing.