Hoof Abscess

Poor Ozymandias.

About a week ago my sweet, sweet horse developed an abscess in his front left hoof. I brought him out of his stall on a gorgeous sunny day in hopes of a nice long training session in which we could introduce a few more obstacles. He is like a sponge. Incredibly intelligent and way ahead of the normal 4 year old learning curve. As we exited the stall his limp was dramatic and he held his head low. I stopped abruptly and checked his leg for heat, swelling, anything to give away an injury. Noticing nothing wrong I continued to walk him to see if he was simply stiff. As we headed up to the cross ties his limping abated and he seemed to walk it off. However once tacked up and in the ring the pressure of the sand caused extreme discomfort for him.

My trainer immediately brought out the hoof testers and determined it was an abscess. An abscess is an infection within the hoof. Bacteria enters the hoof through a wound, bruise or simply a softening of the hoof due to rainy weather. Once infected, pressure is put on the hoof causing pain until it is eventually pushed out through a soft spot in the hoof, often the coronary band. Treatment is soaking in Epsom salts and wrapping with an Epsom salve to draw the infection out the bottom of the hoof.

First aid for an abscess. Image courtesy of GVEquine.com.

We led Ozzy back inside for soaking, which he did not enjoy. Warm water and Epsom salts are not his thing. We were forced to hold up his other front leg in order to get him to stand still and even that only lasted for about 5 minutes before he thought it wise to jump on three legs out of the water.

This is the type of bucket we used for soaking. Low, rubber feed bucket. Image courtesy of HorseChannel.com.

After soaking, my trainer taught me an interesting technique for wrapping. She is not a fan of Ichthammol which is a drawing salve that is commonly used to help draw out the abscess. She prefers an Epsom salt salve, Kaeco Epsom Salt Poultice. She cleans the dirt and debris from the entire hoof, smears a generous amount of the Epsom salt salve on the bottom of the hoof and then wraps a baby diaper on the hoof. She goes over this with VetWrap and then duct tape creating a water tight boot.

Applying the Epsom Salt Poultice.

Wrapping hoof in diaper.

Applying the duct tape boot. My trainer wrapped in VetWrap before this step.

For the next few days, Ozzy has suffered through more soaking and new wrapping as well as being stall bound. The abscess popped out of his hoof about two days ago. I have maintained the soaking in Epsom salt and wrapping to ensure the infection is completely drawn out and healed. His impatience has grown to an all time high. He was incredibly fussy this morning kicking out and rearing twice in the cross ties trying to get us to leave him alone. Only one more day then back to training.

Newborn Filly

While cruising up the long, gravel driveway to my stable, passing through green pastures of grazing horses, I saw the owner running from the upper field to the barn. The moment she saw me she yelled, “We need help!”

Knowing the pregnant mare who was due to give birth the day before was in the field stretching her legs, my mind immediately went to the worst possible outcomes. The mare had tried to roll and was struggling to get up. By the time I and the stable hands made it out to the field, she managed to get up and was immediately brought inside to the birthing stall. Her water broke in the field and within 10 minutes she was having massive contractions and beginning the birthing process.

Never having witnessed a birth before, besides those gross videos of human mothers from health class back in high school, this was an incredible experience for me. Especially with my ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian. This spurred my interests exponentially.

The actual birth was a pretty quick process. The mare struggled a bit as the baby was gigantic, but with the help of my trainer and the owner, the filly was born healthy and happy.

Eyes Set on Horses

I bought a horse…

I may have lost my mind entirely.

But it is so worth it.

However, it is bankrupting me.

I have always been obsessed with Friesians. They are STUNNING. Gorgeous long flowy manes and tails, solid black coat, and incredible movement. Ever since I first laid eyes on them I have dreamed of owning my own one day. I actually added it to my bucket list – raising a horse, preferably a Friesian.

I came across a breeder’s website located about 1.5 hours from my home. She had a beautiful filly posted on the site, but when I called, the filly had already been sold. However, she had a 4 year old Friesian(75%) / Holsteiner(25%) gelding named Cornelius “Junior” currently for sale. Without any true intention of purchasing, I decided it could not hurt to take a look.

Unsure of what to expect, my mother and I drove up to her property to find an old backyard barn surrounded by fields with a handful of stunning Friesian horses grazing. Cornelius took my breath away. Solid black, full mane and tail, huge expressive eyes, sweet disposition, perfect. He was young, frisky, with practically no training. I fell in love.

Within a week I had him trailered to a stable in upstate New York for a week long trial with a very talented trainer. Here is a video from our first session:

After an interesting first week with my trainer working with him, I decided to take the leap and make a purchase of a lifetime. It was a quick decision for a very long and expensive commitment. I may have acted rashly and during a time of despair (death of my cousin), but it is something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl and it was finally becoming a reality.

Look forward to more pictures and videos! He is doing very well, solid at the walk/trot and catching on quick at the canter as well as with ground poles.