If you’re dealing with an abscess, you might want to try this tip from College Station, Texas, farrier Don Sustaire. If the location of the abscess track is beneath the shoe, he’ll drill a hole in the shoe over the location. That allows the owners or a veterinarian to apply medication to the abscess, but keeps the shoe in place to support the hoof wall. The hole can also be plugged with a putty to keep debris from getting in, sometimes with medicated hoof packing putty.
The tip was shared by Robin M. Dabareiner, an equine veterinarian from Texas A&M., who frequently works with Sustaire. Dabareiner was speaking at the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners Invitation to Excellence Symposium, held at the Foxwoods Casino and Resort in Connecticut during late September 2009.
