[kelly58]

My shetland stallion, 26 yrs old, laminitis  prone, not over weight has been rocking  around on 3 legs for 8 days now .
The vet has been back and forth to evaluate the progress. ....... none !
Tried a poultice on his hoof (front leg) in case its a abscess for the last 3 days, no sign of any trauma,  nothing happening .
Not laminitis,  no damage to his leg, allows me to massage it no bother.
I am beside myself with worry because he has a problem with his back leg anyway and over compensating  because he cant put this front leg down at all is bound to give him trouble elsewhere.
Hes on bute, that makes him rest a bit. Vet said not to bring him in as may cause swelling not being mobile.
I am at a loss and so is the vet     was hoping someone may have experienced something like this and could advise.
Asked about an xray but vet said would not show anything happening in the hoof.
Any advice please !

[silkwoodzwartbles]

Any heat or pulses in the feet? Did you do a wet poultice or dry?

Would you be willing to try thermal imaging? It would show up hot spots all over and may help pinpoint the issue. If it turns out to be the foot then I'd push for a hoof x-ray - it's not very expensive and will confirm whether the issue is bone (i.e. laminitis) or not (soft tissue/ligament).

Good luck, really hope you get to the bottom of the issue.

[fsmnutter]

If not putting weight on it at all I'd be asking the vet to come back. Xray will pick up any fractures, gas bubbles if an abscess, rotation of the pedal bone if laminitis, etc etc Etc. If there's heat and increased pulse in one foot only with no weight bearing it sounds most like an abscess, has the vet pared the foot to look for any signs of this? Have they used hoof testers or nerve blocks to show it is definitely in the foot? Sounds to me (a mixed practice vet) like your vet should be doing a lot more, or you could always seek a second opinion from another vet, perhaps one that specializes more in horses.

[Sbom]

Id ask the opinion of an equine vet, yours sounds out of his depth

Good luck

[kelly58]

No heat or pulse in the foot. Vet said definitely not laminitis.
I asked him is there anything at all we can use to pin point were the problem is, whether leg or hoof , hence my request for an xray.
My daughter has horses and she came home (110 mile ) to check him and  was convinced it was an abcess.
Our vet has the monopoly in both towns either side of us .
Couldnt even contemplate taking him to lnverness in the horse box, thats were the next vet is.
Still wiating for vet to return call l made at 9:15 this morning, he was doing operations.
Will ring back now 

[devonlady]

It may be worth having your farrier look at him?

[kelly58]

The farrier trimmed his feet 3 days before it occurred, a little too much on the front we thought but he seemed sound enough walking over the next few days ?

[sabrina]

If this pony was mine I would take off the grass. Treat as if laminits. Pads on foot to ease the pain of walking. bute. Laminits does not always mean heat in the feet. If you think its an abcess might be worth soaking the foot in salted water then bandage wet to try and draw stuff out. This could take more than 3 days.

[kelly58]

Hes had hot poultice on for 4 days and 5 days dry padded covered hoof.
Just got him some cavello boots with gel cushions to go inside.
This morning he is putting some weight now and then on the foot 
If when we go to change the dressing it has popped, will clean the hoof with epsom salts and water in a shallow bucket.
Then put clean dressing and new boot on to keep clean and hopefully the gell pad will ease any pain.
Still having half a bute daily. Vet said to ring him monday if any change, hes convinced and his colleague that its an abscess.
Have been massaging his leg seems to enjoy it .

[waterbuffalofarmer]

could it be that the problem may be in his leg/hip/knee and not his hoof at all? Is there anything stuck into his foot like a nail at all or has he had any injuries like that in the past? I would get an xray done on the leg to see if there is anything, not just the hoof. Has he done any strenuous work/excercise at all recently? When did you first notice it? Has he had any antiinflamitories at all? Sorry for all the Q's. I hope you can find a cure soon/ loctae the problem. Do keep us updated on his progress?

[Buttermilk]

Some abcesses take a couple of weeks to work through to the outside, daily testing might show where to dig a helping channel as it nears the surface.

[CarolineJ]

One of mine will generally have an abscess tracking around inside his foot for a couple of weeks before it finds somewhere to explode out - not fun for them or you    Is your farrier Robbie?  Might be worth asking him to pop by, he's quite anti-digging for them and the vets up here can sometimes be a bit quicker than he'd like to go in after them. 

[kelly58]

It had popped  hes walking much better now, weight on the leg 
Put another hot poultice on to draw it. Will let the vet know tomorrow.
I use Keith Hedley farriers from Lairg Caroline.
Thank you all for the advice,  so good to have so much support.