The dredded abcess.......

[bsnlark]

I was lurking over at COTH, and found this to be interesting..
(knock on my head (wood ) havent had any on the horses in the past 3 yrs...)

I found the use of the people heat wraps an inventive idea..

Mistyblue says:

Layers are:
Drawing agent...I usually use eithr icthymol or a thick paste of hot water and epsom salt
Washcloth...dry when you apply it. You need cloth to stick the heat pad to.
Heat pad stuck to washcloth
I add a diaper...mostly to cushion the entire thing and add a layer between hoof and ground besides duct tape. But it will absorb excess wetness from the drawing agent.
Duct tape bootie over the whole thing to hold it on. Duct tape stick well to diapers.
If I'm turning out in a round pen or somewhere where they can move around a bit (movement helps move the abcess) then I do a double layer of duct tape on the outside. Sometimes it's shredded after 8 hours, sometimes not.
If they're in overnight then I use a single layer of duct tape. After 8 hours I remove the whole shebang...wash hoof out and dry well and leave it to air dry for a couple hours. If the abcess hasn't popped yet...I repeat the process.
Then I just follow standard procedure after it's popped to keep it open and draining and somewhat clean-ish. Again, movement helps it drain fully. Stall rest makes abcesses take longer to pop...as does Bute. It's hard to see them so darned uncomfy...and an abcess does hurt like heck. But staying away from total stall rest and Bute helps them pop a lot faster. And there's no relief like when those blow out. I always get so happy for the poor horse when they finally blow open...a couple times they've blown while being handled and immediate sigh and relaxation in the horse is so obvious. Like a great big PHEW!

[cardicorgi]

bsnl, I've seen her recipe too and wondered about that heating pad. I LOVE those things (for me!) but I think I would need to talk to my vet about applying it to a horse (although perhaps all the cushioning and layers would prevent any burning) - my understanding is that horses are more sensitive to heat and its application than we are.

But I whole heartedly agree with the diaper/vetwrap/duct tape booty using ichthammol as a drawing agent - that stuff is awesome. The only drawback to it that I found is that it can be hard to see the black pus when an abcess pops, because ichthammol is black and stinky too. But not as stinky as pus!

[bsnlark]

Exactly, ck w/ the vet FIRST

My thot also
The washcloth would act as an insulation against the direct heat from the therapy wrap.