Question: I'm having a problem with Knight, and I would appreciate your advice. 10 days ago I left for Paris. My dad and my sister were taking care of him. I left on Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, my dad took Knight for a walk and could tell he wasn't feeling good. He wouldn't pick up his right front foot, and was breathing hard. On Thursday morning, my dad received a call telling him that Knight was a 3-legged horse. He wouldn't put any weight on his left front foot. On the same day at 1:00, we had a vet come up and check on him. He was concerned about Knight's fetlock joint, because he wouldn't lock it back in the right position. He also tried to dig around underneath Knight's foot, to see if there was any infection inside. He got a little bit of pus out, but he didn't have the proper tools. He also put some Lidakane (I don't know how to spell it) shots in his leg. There was a farrier up at Garrods, so he had him come down and try to dig deeper. On Friday, Knight was much better (but not 100%). Thereafter, he didn't improve much and on Monday, the vet came up again. She said that she felt convinced that the problem was in the hoof (either an abscess or a hematoma) and that if he were her horse, she would just wait it out. She said antibiotics wouldn't reach a walled off infection and that to open his hoof up more, he would be out of service at least the same amount of time. She said to start working him lightly. But he seems to be limping worse now. He can't be ridden. I've been soaking his hoof in Epsom salt and water for as long as I can. Do you have any advice on what to do? We're going to get him stall mats, and I'm going to put down extra bedding. I think that Knight needs to be put on antibiotics, but I would like to hear what you have to say about putting him on some. We hope to have a vet come up today or as soon as possible. Pleasee-mail me if you have any suggestions. Thank you so much!!! Taylor

Answer: Hello Taylor, How traumatic for you. It is always hard when your horse gets sick - especially when it's something the vet cannot 100% diagnose and the recovery is several weeks. Based on your description I think the vet is correct in that Knight has a foot abscess. What happens is the horse gets a small infection in the hoof and it hurts so much because the hoof cannot expand when the bruising and puss builds up. Did he recently get shoes? Sometimes when nailing in the shoe the nail can nick the quick and cause an abscess, but sometimes they just get them for no reason. There is no quick cure, all you can do is to pare out the hoof, soak the foot as much as possible, and allow time to heal the abscess. Sometimes it can take several weeks for the abscess to drain and get better. Unfortunately the vet is also correct that antibiotics will not help. Usually (luckily) abscesses are not serious nor do they create any long term problems. If Knight gets more lame then have the vet come back out to see if they can better pare out the abscess. Hope that answers your question and let me know how he's doing. Amber