Lameness Update

["C Eyler" <eyler@mindspring.com>]

After a summer and early fall of on-and-off lameness, sometimes severe, with
never any response to hoof testers, we finally know what's been going on.
Last Thursday morning my gelding showed a blow-out at the coronary band
that's about an inch and a half long.  Since he's my first and only horse, I
had nothing to compare it with, but my vet said it must have been a LARGE
abscess.

I have learned, after multiple x-rays, that he has thin soles.  When we can
return to work, he'll be wearing EZ boots in front for rocky rides.  My
questions is -- why would an abscess take so long to finally blow out?  My
riding buddy theorizes that he might have a very strong immune system that
managed to suppress the infection, intermittently, for all these months.
Does that make sense to all of you?  (In retrospect, I think that the bruise
that resulted in the abscess occurred last May.)

BTW, since we used EZ boots at one point during this saga, I've gotten
skilled enough to get them on (and even off, when I've used foam!) fairly
easily.  But my greatest discovery has been Keratex, which has preserved his
less-than-iron hoof walls through weeks of soaking.  Thank heavens, when
we're ready to re-shoe in another week or so (I hope!!), there'll be
something to nail to.

Cindy Eyler
Baltimore



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