hoof abscess Archives - Life Data® Blog

With the development of a hoof abscess, an energetic and active horse can suddenly become severely lame. It can happen quickly, painfully, and with no prior signs of a problem. Finding your horse in this state can be terrifying, especially if you’ve had little experience dealing with a hoof abscess. Luckily, with time, patience and proper treatment most horses will fully recover. In this blog, we will discuss five tips that can be utilized to assist in your horse’s recovery.

1. Follow Veterinarian and Farrier Instructions

The treatment and recovery from a hoof abscess require a team effort from the farrier, veterinarian and the horse owner. The horse owner’s role and compliance among this team is vital to the horse’s recovery. The responsibilities of day-to-day maintenance and the required care important for recovery fall on the horse owner’s shoulders. Neglecting these responsibilities can hinder the healing process or even create a more severe issue. It is also important that the horse owner trusts the decisions and treatment methods mapped out by the veterinarian and farrier.

2. Protect the Abscess Exit Wound

The pain that occurs from an abscess is due to exudate buildup that creates pressure within the hoof. To relieve the pain and begin healing, this pressure must be relieved. Many treatment methods involve the surgical draining of the hoof abscess by the veterinarian. In some cases, the buildup will rupture out of the coronary band on its own. In either case, there will be an open wound where the pressure was relived. This wound is an open source for microbial invasions and debris to enter. This is especially true if the wound is located on the sole of the hoof. Infections, new abscesses or other issues can develop if the wound is not properly treated.

Your farrier or veterinarian may advise you to wrap the hoof depending on the location of the exit wound. If this is the case, follow their instructions carefully and regularly change the wrapping. Once the abscess has completely stopped draining, packing the exit wound with an anti-microbial clay may also be recommended. Packing the wound with a product, such as Life Data® Hoof Clay®, not only assists in keeping out foreign material but the non-caustic ingredients in Life Data® Hoof Clay® will kill bacteria. It is also made using natural porous clay which will not block oxygen to the hoof.

*Do not utilize a hoof packing or topical that contains harmful chemicals or that blocks oxygen to the hoof.

3. Promote Hoof Quality

A hoof abscess will compromise the integrity, structure and quality of the hoof. The goal is to rebuild hoof quality to where it was, or better than it was before the abscess. This can be accomplished through quality hoof supplements, such as Farrier’s Formula®. Farrier’s Formula® will assist in the recovery by providing the nutrients essential for new and healthy hoof growth. Farrier’s Formula® will also develop a stronger hoof with a denser hoof wall and sole, making it more resilient to infections. Even after the hoof has regrown, we advise the continue feeding of Farrier’s Formula® to maintain hoof quality and to help prevent future hoof abscesses from developing. You can learn more about the relationship between hoof quality and recurring hoof abscesses by reading our previous blog article

You may also want to examine your horse’s diet during this time. Since your horse is not as active it may require less calories to maintain its current body weight. Overweight horses tend to have more hoof problems due to the extra weight the hooves are supporting. Switching your horse to its “basic diet” of grass and hay with support from a ration balancer, like Barn Bag®, can provide the daily nutrients needed without the excess in calories. You can feed Farrier’s Formula® and Barn Bag® together without the risk of over supplementation.

You can follow the link here to learn more about the importance of a balanced equine diet.

4. Manage Environmental Conditions

The environment can make it more difficult for your horse’s hoof to heal after an abscess. As previously mentioned, the exit wound from the abscess acts as an entry point for microbial invasions and debris. Exposing your horse to excess moisture, urine, feces and mud will predispose your horse to continued infection. Keeping clean stalls, dry bedding, and limiting the hoof’s exposure to wet and muddy conditions assist in healing and maintaining the health of the hoof.

Utilizing a non-caustic hoof topical, such as Farrier’s Finish®, will provide extra protection from the environment and help control moisture balance in the hoof. Farrier’s Finish® contains a blend of Yucca Extract, tamed iodine and Tea Tree Oil for added protection against microbial invasions and the harsh effects of excrement. Farrier’s Finish® can also be applied over Life Data® Hoof Clay®.

Lastly, pay attention to the type of terrain surrounding your horse. Hard surfaces and rocky environments can typically further wear down the hoof. This wear and tear lead to the development of cracks, chips and other hoof defects. Loose pebbles and gravel can penetrate these defects or the recovering abscesses wound, thus creating another infection. This is especially important during recovery when the hoof may still be weakened and tender.

5. Maintain a Farrier and Maintenance Schedule

It is vital that you continue scheduling regular farrier appointments. Ensuring your horse’s hooves are balanced and, if needed, supported with the correct shoes will assist in the healing process. Your farrier will also monitor the recovery of the hoof and manage any other issues that may arise. With hoof abscesses it is typical for horses to unevenly distribute weight to relieve pressure off the infected hoof. In doing so, your horse’s other hooves become more susceptible to many hoof related issues such as cracks, splitting, laminitis and additional abscesses. Your farrier will help mitigate this issue through balancing and maintaining the other hooves.

Your farrier is not the only one responsible for your horse’s hooves. It is ideal that every horse owner ensures their horse’s hooves are being properly picked and cleaned daily. This ritual removes unwanted debris and acts as a preventive measure to future infections and hoof problems. Using the Life Data® Hoof Clay® to fill in old nail holes and hoof defects is also a recommended maintenance practice. Additionally, horse owners can use it on the white line and around the frog to help protect those areas from infections such as White Line Disease and Thrush in horses.

Hoof Abscess Recovery

Recovery from a hoof abscess can be a long and drawn out process. There is no easy route, but you can help the recovery along by fulfilling your horse’s needs. Supporting your horse during this healing time can speed up recovery and build a better more resilient hoof. If you believe your horse is currently suffering from a hoof abscess, please seek the advice of your veterinarian or farrier as soon as possible. The sooner a hoof abscess is found and treated, the faster your horse will recover. If you have any questions on using Life Data® products to prevent hoof abscesses or to assist in recovery, please call us at 1-800-624-1873 or visit our website.

Horse lying down

Hoof Abscesses can seem to appear overnight. Yesterday your horse showed no sign of pain, and today he can barely put weight on his foot. If you have never had a horse develop a hoof abscess, count yourself lucky. They can be extremely painful, often leading to severe lameness. Some horses suffer from recurring hoof abscesses that develop frequently. Hoof abscesses can be attributed to either the horse’s environment or the health of the hooves. They are often the consequence of a combination of both factors.

Types of Hoof Abscesses

A sole abscess is usually the result of a puncture wound from a nail or other foreign object. Bruising of the sole can also predispose the hoof to a sole abscess. Sole abscesses are common and usually break out at the sole surface. Occasionally the abscess will track under the surface of the sole and break out in another area of the sole.

Hoof wall abscesses often develop from foreign material, such as a small pebble, that enters at the white line area and migrates upward through the laminae. Small stones, sand, or gravel can also penetrate through hoof defects such as hoof cracks, crumbling hoof wall, or old nail holes and carry infection. The resulting abscess is often referred to as “gravels” or “gravelling”. The infection created by the migrating pebble will often break out at the coronary band, and with luck the abscess fluid will push out the foreign object.

Prior to opening and/or draining of a hoof abscess, the associated inflammation and fluid is trapped within the rigid confines of the hoof capsule. Intense pain occurs from the building pressure on the sensitive tissues. The pain often leads to reluctance or refusal to bear weight on the affected foot. The affected foot will often feel warmer than usual.

Hoof Abscesses and the Environment

The environment is one of the first things that should be looked at if your horse is suffering from regular hoof abscesses. Bacteria can enter the hoof through a sole puncture wound or bruise, a hoof wall crack, an old nail hole, a white line separation, or from nailing a shoe.

The incidence of hoof abscesses increase when the environment is wet and muddy. Wet conditions and unclean stalls are breeding grounds for bacteria that can create hoof abscesses. Also, the excess moisture will soften the hoof wall and sole making it easier for the bacteria and/or foreign material to penetrate into the hoof capsule.

Look at the environment surrounding your horse. Does your horse spend a lot of time in wet and muddy conditions? Are your regularly cleaning stalls? Does your horse walk on rocky pastures or gravel roads? Reducing your horse’s exposure to these kinds of environments can help reduce the chances of a hoof abscess developing. There are also preventive measures you can take to help protect against these environmental conditions.

Preventing Environmental Hoof Abscesses

Regularly clean and maintain your horse’s hooves daily. Remove any foreign material from the sole and around the frog.
Feed a quality hoof supplement, like Farrier’s Formula®, on a long-term basis to provide nutrients important for the horse’s immune system and to build a denser hoof wall and sole, increasing the hoof’s resistance to infection.
Apply Life Data® Hoof Clay®, a non-caustic antimicrobial packing, to fill in hoof wall cracks, wall defects and old nail holes. If barefoot, apply the clay directly to the white line to block foreign material and bacteria from penetrating.
- Do not use cotton balls to pack hoof defects or open abscess tracts. Cotton balls leave fibers when removed. These left-over fibers can lead to infection.
- Do not pack or wrap the hoof with any material that will block oxygen.
Apply Farrier’s Finish®, a topical hoof disinfectant and conditioner, to kill bacteria and regulate moisture balance.
- In wet conditions, add two tablespoons Epson Salt per 16 oz. bottle of Farrier’s Finish® and apply to the hoof wall and sole surface. The product will not only disinfect the hoof capsule, but will also help harden the softened hoof wall and sole to increase the hoof capsule’s resistance to microbial invasion.
- Ensure the hoof topical is non-caustic. Using caustic materials such as turpentine or formaldehyde can block oxygen and damage healthy tissue.
Maintain a regular farrier schedule and ensure hooves are being trimmed properly. Too much time between trimmings will allow the toe to grow out excessively thereby stretching or separating the white line. A separated white line predisposes the horse to gravels.
Maintain a proper body weight. The extra weight of an obese horse can place stress on the hooves, stretching the white line and “pancaking” the hoof wall. This weakens the hoof structurally and makes it vulnerable to microbes and foreign material. If your horse is overweight and suffers from recurring hoof abscesses, getting the weight under control could be the first step in the right direction.

How Nutrition Impacts Hoof Abscesses

[Bob Hill’s horse “Bo” suffered from frequent hoof abscesses. Using a combination of Farrier’s Formula® Double Strength and Barn Bag®, Bob was able to improve Bo’s hoof quality, reduce his weight, and stop the hoof abscesses. You can listen to his full testimonial here.]

There are many factors that affect hoof quality. Genetics, the environment, and nutrition all play major roles. We have already discussed methods you can utilize to protect the hoof from environmental factors that cause hoof abscesses; however proper nutrition also plays an important role in helping prevent hoof abscesses.

A healthy hoof has a denser hoof wall and sole, and is more resilient to microbial invasion and infection. Also the healthier hoof will have less hoof cracks, splits, and other hoof defects for foreign material to enter through. Feeding Farrier’s Formula® can improve hoof health and increase the resilience to these invasions both structurally and by improving immunity. Farrier’s Formula® contains ingredients such as zinc and vitamin C that support the horse’s immune system.

Treating a Hoof Abscess

Consult your farrier and/or veterinarian on treatment if you suspect an abscess. Your farrier or veterinarian will work to draw out the hoof abscess with a poultice or to open and drain the abscess. In the case of a gravel, if any foreign material remains within the hoof wall either the abscess will not resolve or it reoccurs on a regular basis. Foreign objects trapped under the hoof wall will usually require a procedure to open up the hoof wall directly over the gravel.

It is also important to protect and disinfect the exit wound. Once the drainage has stopped, packing with Life Data® Hoof Clay® and regularly applying Farrier’s Finish® will help protect the open wound and keep out any unwanted material.

If you have any questions on utilizing Life Data® products to help treat or prevent hoof abscesses, feel free to contact us at 1-800-624-1873 or by e-mailing us at cservice@lifedatalabs.com.

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Five Tips for Hoof Abscess Recovery