And behind door number 3...

...we have yet another abscess!

I went to clean yesterday and discovered that Curly was barely moving - again! I immediately called the vet and made an appointment for this afternoon. Poor Curly was in so much pain when I took him out to the trailer - the short walk actually made him sweat.

When we arrived at the vet office, the doctor agreed that the abscess on the left front hoof is healing up as it should and that my course of soaking/Betadine was the right thing to do. The vet then tested his right front hoof but could not locate any weak spot where an abscess was likely to come through. He's still pretty sure that is what is causing this newest bout of lameness, though. I am expecting to see another oozing wound like the last one, at the heel bulb. As far as I'm concerned, that's an okay place for this thing to erupt.

We are doing another round of Bute to help Curly with his pain and if the abscess doesn't surface by Friday, I'll take him back to the vet to reassess the situation.

So what's causing all these hoof and abscess problems? Well, Curly has always been a bit tender-footed. And there are bunches of stones out at the barn - it used to be a river bottom. Perhaps those things combined are doing this. Or perhaps it's just rotten luck.

Will shoeing the horse be the solution? I wonder....

Another Abscess

I've been home sick with a flu bug, so I wasn't able to go out to the barn yesterday. When E went out on Friday with her grandpa J, Curly was not moving at all. Today, however, he was getting around pretty well. When E cleaned out his hooves, she discovered a small puss-filled wound on the fleshy part of his left front heel.

Uncleaned abscess, on the left side at the hairline.

So it appears that what we thought was a pulled muscle was actually an abscess that hadn't come through yet. Now that it is draining, Curly is in much less pain. I put an Epsom salt poultice on the spot for 30 minutes or so to draw out any remaining infection and then flushed out the wound with some Betadine. We'll repeat this process over the next several days.

Vet wrap bandage holding poultice in place

This abscess is soooooo much easier to care for than last winter's. It's in a better spot, not as large and just plan easier to keep clean. He'll be ready to ride again in no time at all!

I suppose I should retract my earlier insult and state that my horse may not be such an idiot after all. :-)

And follow up the retraction by saying that he was actually quite patient during all my ministrations today. What a good boy.