Hoof abscess??

Question

It looks like my girl has an abscess. She punctured her frog about 5 days ago. Had the farrier out and he cleaned it up and told me that it may abscess. Well yesterday she looked a little gimpy and when I touched her frog she was in obvious pain. Which she hadn't been the day after the farrier was out. So I called him and he told me to wrap the hoof with an onion under it. He said the sulfur something or other would help draw the abscess out. So I'm just waiting....she seems OK today. She doesn't seem to be in alot of pain...only if you push on her frog. Have you guys ever heard of wrapping their foot with a slice of onion under the frog??? Just thought I'd like to share...

Answer 1

i have never heard of wraping the hoof with an onion. But i have had a one of my horses have anbsecess. I mixed suger and some antibiotics. and put it on the hoof and wrap a diper on the bottom and wrapped it up, then go over the wrap with duck tape. it takes 4 to 7 days usually

Answer 2

never heard of it...but the farrier will know better than anyone else. They specialze in the hooves, so I would go with what the farrier says!

Answer 3

Have you been soaking it every day to keep it clean? In addition to soaking it, I would put on a standing soak - get a disposable diaper, epsom salts, duct tape & vet wrap. Clean her foot really well, then cover the bottom of it with epsom salts. Place the diaper over the foot & vet wrap it on. Then cover the whole thing with duct tape. Don't get the duct tape on her skin! Then soak the whole thing for 5 minutes or so. It will help to draw out the abscess and keep it clean as well. I am hoping you put her on antibiotics as well? A puncture wound in the frog  can get infected quite easily.

And no, I've never heard of using an onion, but I think I have heard of using onions on humans to draw out infections, so I guess it could work.

Answer 4

I am a veterinarian and I have never heard of that , but I think I can explain how it works.  As the horse walks on the onion and pulverizes it it gets mashed into a hyper tonic mixture like Epsom salt and warm water.  Perhaps even better because it is pasty.  Being hyper tonic it will draw fluid from the abscess and help keep it clean.  I usually have clients use Epsom salt and warm water or "sugar-dine"(mixture of sugar and iodine).  Sometimes those old home remedies work pretty good.

Answer 5

Never heard of that one before but I have heard about putting onion on boils etc on people.

Answer 6

I've always done the epson salt thing...never heard of using an onion.  I have also used ichthamol salve on the hoof after soaking.

Answer 7

soaking it in epson (or some word like that) salt mixed with water helps draw it out...i think the fairrier was getting at the same type of idea with the onion

Answer 8

Nope ...epson salt and warm water. Thats what is recommended by my Vet. Also bute. It relieves the pain so the animal walks on it more and help the abcess to bust.

Answer 9

Soaking in warm water + epsom salt twice a day is tried and true

Here's a link that gives a lot of options for treating an abcess...

http://www.healthyhoof.com/articles/absc...

Edit - I found this about onions: :"If you have an abscessed tooth or a boil, apply a piece of onion to that area to draw out infection and encourage circulation for faster healing."

Interesting. I personally like and have used herbal remedies and holstic alternatives for my horse, though never an onion. Unfortunately, separating out what will work and what is truly folklore is tricky.

Here's the source: http://www.angelfire.com/mo/countrysoulc...

Edit: I use Uptite Poultice and we had a horse that just healed up from an abscess at the barn; his owner used this to pack the hoof with after soaking, too. http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp...

Answer 10

I've never heard of that one. It's quite interesting. I've always been told about soaking with epsom salts. If it works, I'd say stick with it.

Answer 11

Yes, and people do it too.  think of the fact that drugs are either from nature (plants, etc) or synthetic (man made).  They are chemicals...that come from nature.  When you take a pill, it is nothing more than a combination of chemical substances that have been found to produce the effects needed to counteract whatever is going on.  Onions are effective in drawing out the products of infection that occur in an abscess, which relieves pain and helps to heal the abscess.  Your farrier is correct in his/her treatment.