‘The hole was so big’
CHARLOTTE COX HAS owned Mally, her 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse, since he was four. The pair enjoy unaffiliated eventing through the summer and arena eventing and showjumping in winter. After a long, wet winter, Mally developed two very deep abscesses in May this year. “It all started when Mally was intermittently lame. I thought nothing of it until he suddenly became very lame. “My initial thought was an abscess because of those symptoms, but I called my vet out in case he needed antibiotics or pain relief. My vet started scraping away at Mally’s hoof after using the hoof testers and eventually dug out a massive abscess hole. “I hot poulticed the hoof for a few days and then dry poulticed. Mally had to stay on box rest until there was no more discharge and he had his shoe put back on. “I was so pleased as I’d really missed riding him. But the next morning he didn’t feel right. “Unfortunately, he had another abscess in his other hind foot. So, it was back to more box rest and poulticing. My farrier packed the hole with antibacterial cotton wool as the hole was so big. “This year, I will be extra vigilant for any signs of an abscess. My vet thinks it was the prolonged wet weather that caused them, so preventing Mally from standing in wet conditions for long periods will be key.”