My horse has had two abcesses so far this year. They take a week to resolve and the farrier can't locate them to drill them, so they're coming up and out the coronary band. Does anyone have suggesitons beyond soaking in warm epsom salts? I've tried packing but it never lasts the night.

I am the abscess queen who was taught by the abscess diva! WHen my horse had multiple abscesses (after a white line resection), I soaked her foot twice a day in a hoof boot filled with very warm (but not hot) water with epsom salt. Once hte abscess broke, I added apple cider vinegar to the water (a few capfuls). If the abscess hadn't made its way up to the hoof yet, I'd pack the sole with epsom salt poultice on some days, on other days I'd pack it with icthamol, fill the sole with gauze to pack it in, then put a disposable baby diaper on the sole with teh diaper edges up the sides of the hoof. Then wrap in vetwrap, then wrap again in ductape/electrical tape...whichever the heavy duty silver stuff is. This packing mechanism kept her from wearing through the bottom and kept the good drawing stuff in where it belonged. If the abscess showed signs of breaking around the coronary band, I'd put the drawing salves on it there, cover with a gauze pad, wrap with vetwrap, then wrap again with ductape. (Wrap the whole hoof in ductape.) I'd leave parts of it slightly loose where possible to let the hoof breathe. The tape can seal too much moisture in. Make sure you change these dressings and clean it all out every day. I also feed a good hoof supplement to encourage growth to get whatever damaged hoof to grow out faster if possible and the new to come in healthy.

You are the Queen, those techniques are solid, The hoof boot is a great idea. What brand did you use. I had a guy who made them out of cow leather, really thin with a lace string.. it stayed on overnight really well..

Now i know they make them out of lighter better more durable and user friendly materials.. why boot due you use.. Heathur?

Both boots are at the barn...so I'm not sure which ones I use. We leave all our stuff out there in case anyone else needs them. I think these boots have a different use than the ones you're describing. You wouldn't keep these on overnight, and they would need to be water proof, since they're holding in the water. But I stick my finger in the top and check the temperature. Once it's cool, I empty it all out and either refill or walk the horse or pack the hoof.

The first boot I used was sort of a molded plastic black and blue, but it was difficult to slip on. One of hte other girls had a larger neoprene boot that was more soft and moldable and opened further down so I could easily get her hoof in it. It had velcro straps to hold it around the coronary band. I think both are in pretty much all the catalogs. I also used a rubber feed tub and small bucket, but my horse didn't like not feeling steady on them. With the boot, she could shift around and stamp in frustration, and it wasn't going anywhere.

I highly recommend animalintex drawing poultice pads...In a last ditch scenario, I was able to soak them in water, heat them up in the microwave and apply them to the sole and the coronary band, then apply gauze and electrical tape.

Epsom salt drawing salves with salicilic acid (asprin) also give the horse a little relief.

But they always seemed to pop when I put on icthammol...could just be the timing though as I was always getting desperate when I used icthammol!

I think a better title would be "EMPRESS ABSCESS" , printed that one out.. thanks heather. There is some good input.

Empress Abscess...that's what I call my horse!