If you are reading this, I am assuming that you probably have a horse that has gone very lame for no obvious reason, and you suspect that he may have an abscess in his hoof. See if this real-life situation sounds like your horse's.

I have a 12 year old Arabian gelding who had never gone lame in the decade that I've owned him, until he one day started to significantly favor his left front leg. He would avoid putting weight on that foot at all costs, often holding it up slightly and not even wanting to rest it on the ground. He was spending a great deal of time lying down, again to avoid putting weight on that leg. I felt up and down both front legs in order to compare them, and the left one was much warmer than the right and felt swollen. I assumed that because there was so much swelling in his leg that it must be a problem there and not in the hoof, but as it turned out, I was wrong. The vet arrived and immediately pulled out his pinchers and hoof-knife. He picked up the hoof and used the pinchers to apply pressure to various parts of the sole, until the horse suddenly pulled the hoof away, indicating that the vet had found the source of the pain. It was an abscess, after all. The vet then took his hoof knife and began to carve away at the area until, just as expected, he found and opened up a small pocket of pus and blood.

Does this sound familiar? Read on to learn how to care for your horse's healing hoof.

After draining your horse's abscess, your vet will most likely give you bute (phenylbutazone) powder with instructions to mix somewhere around half a teaspoon in with his feed twice a day. As for caring for the hoof itself, you should follow the step-by-step instructions that I will give you, which should sound similar to how your vet said to care for it.

With pain being managed by the bute, the care of the hoof itself will need to do the following:

• Remove and prevent any debris getting into the hole
• Gently draw out any remaining pus or blood
• Clean out bacteria and prevent infection
• Encourage the hoof to heal and the hole to close up

The act of daily soaking and bandaging meets all of these needs and is the best way to treat an opened abscess in the hoof. Any other treatment should be used only on the recommendation of your veterinarian.

You will need to locate and pull together some supplies before you begin the soaking process. Many of these items, if you do not have them already, are available to purchase at most drug stores.

• A large bucket with enough depth to submerge most of the hoof. A flexible rubber feeding bucket works best, as it will not crack under the horse's weight like a plastic bucket might.

• Epsom salts to help draw out the contents of the abscess. You may have them at home, as they can be used to soak human injuries or be ingested as a mild laxative.
  

• Betadine to clean and disinfect; can be put into the soak or flushed directly into the abscess if the wound is deep enough to warrant it.

• A clean, dry rag will be needed to dry the hoof before bandaging as you should never bandage a wet hoof.
  

• Rolled cotton (cotton balls also work) will be used to pack the area around the wound.
  

• Vet Wrap to wrap the hoof with. Not necessary, but I prefer to use Vet Wrap in addition to duct tape, rather than using duct tape alone.

• Duct Tape to wrap the outside of the hoof, either by itself or over top of Vet Wrap.
  

Once you have gathered these materials, you are ready to get started.

Before you start, make sure you have access to hot (or at least warm) water. If you can not get hot or warm water at your barn, bring a plug-in kettle and use that to heat the water.

1. Take your hot or warm water and pour it into the bucket until it is deep enough to submerge most or all of the hoof. If you choose to boil the water, add cold water or let it sit out until it cools a bit. You should be able to hold you hand in the water without discomfort.
2. Take a handful (about 3/4 cup) of epsom salts and add them to the water. If you wish, you may swirl the water around a bit to help dissolve them. If most of the salt isn't dissolving, your water probably is not warm enough.
3. Add two capfuls (about 2 teaspoons) of betadine. You may need to add more or less depending on the volume of water and the concentration of the betadine. Do not add too much as soaking in too heavy a solution may irritate the wound and will definitely irritate the skin.
4. Some people choose to add a touch of apple cider vinegar to their soak, but it is not necessary and so that is entirely up to you.
   

While a relatively simple and straight-forward process, soaking takes practice and getting used to before it becomes as easy as it sounds. The ease of this process depends a lot upon the comfort level of the horse in question, and a horse who has never had his foot soaked may be nervous or uncooperative at first. Be patient, you both will get the hang of it before long. Before you start, here are a few things to think about.

• Do you feel comfortable with and trust this horse? Does the horse trust you? Is this horse known to be nervous, fidgety, or agressive? If you are not sure, be cautious. Ideally, you should soak this horse's hoof when there is at least one other person nearby whom you can ask for help if necessary.
  
• Are all of your supplies within easy reach? Make sure they are - if you have to get up and walk away while the horse has his foot in the bucket, he may take it out and put it on the potentially dirty ground while you are not there to stop him.
• Do you have the means to properly restrain the horse while you care for his hoof? Access to an aisleway and a good set of cross-ties will make things a whole lot easier; at the very least, the horse must be tied up in some way.

When everything is set and you are ready to begin, place the bucket on the ground and secure your horse. Let him inspect the bucket if he wants to, as he will be more likely to cooperate if he has had a chance to suss out what he's putting his hoof into.

If your horse has never had his hoof soaked, take it slow and be sure to encourage him. Pick up the leg as if you were going to pick out the hoof, then pull the bucket under it and guide his foot into the bucket. Your horse may take a while to get used to it and will probably set his hoof down and pick it back up several times before he gets accustomed to the warm water. Keep in mind that it might sting him at first, since you are treating an exposed and painful wound.

Your horse may either put the hoof down firmly and put some weight on it or simply rest his toe on the bottom of the bucket. Either way is fine, so long as the entire surface of the abscess is submerged. Stand next to your horse and pet him or talk to him as he stands with his foot in the bucket for the next 15-20 minutes. Never sit down on the ground next to him, and avoid staying crouched down unless you are very familiar with the horse being treated.

Remember to praise and pet your horse. Rub his back, hug his neck, kiss his muzzle - do whatever it is that makes him happiest. The idea is to make this as pleasant a process as possible for him so he will continue to cooperate for it in the future.

Once the hoof has been soaking for 15-20 minutes, lift the horse's leg and move the bucket to the side and out of your way. Pick up your rag and dry the hoof very thorougly - as you are drying, take the opportunity to look at the abscess, assess at a glance approximately where it is in its healing, make sure that the opening and the surrounding area is completely free of dirt and debris. Dry up as much of the moisture around the wound as possible before moving on.

Tear off a piece of rolled cotton or grab 4-5 cotton balls. Position the cotton over the abscess and the area around it, and secure it with Vet Wrap (or if you have elected not to use that, duct tape) by starting the bandaging there. Continue wrapping the rest of the foot, leaving no part of the hoof exposed. Wrap the duct tape on top of it the same way; if you leave any part of the hoof without the duct-tape covering, moisture and dirt can get inside and increase the chances of infection.

Whether or not you have used the Vet Wrap first, always make sure the duct tape layer is thick and durable, especially at the toe, where the bandage is most likely to rip.

You are finished, and your end product should look something like the picture at right. Cut the bandage away with a pair of scissors the next day, and you'll be set to start all over again. With careful soaking and bandaging, your horse should be abscess-free and sound again in a few days.

But remember, a guide from an experienced horseperson is never a substitute for a trained veterinarian's opinion. Chances are they won't, but if they do differ, always follow a trusted vet's instructions over a fellow horseperson's. I hope I have helped - happy soaking & wrapping!