Why won't my horse's hoof heal? It smells bad and her leg is swollen.

Thanks for using pet coach! This is a hard picture to interpret - but it appears that there may be an injury to the coronary band with a 'mass' there. You need to have a veterinarian take a good look at it - if it were me, I would clean the foot up completely which will allow me to better evaluate it. I would also like to take radiographs of the area to see if there is any bony involvement underneath the mass. In addition, I would like to assess if Cayenne has any lameness in this foot/leg. I would be suspicious that this mass is granulation tissue (best case scenario) secondary to an old wound, but it could also be a type of cancer (sarcoid or squamous cell carcinoma would be high on my suspicion list). I would recommend taking a biopsy to figure out what the mass is and thus the course of treatment. All of those potential diagnoses easily bleed and can look similar. So please find a veterinarian to come and examine Cayenne soon. Thank you for using pet coach!

This looks like a traumatic injury - small laceration above heel and abrasion to the heal bulb. These usually happen when the horse gets their foot stuck in something or scrapes it against a fence. I do not see signs of an abscess, but it's difficult to know without being able to examine the area. If there is infection, then it appears very mild from the pictures. I recommend flushing the wound twice a day with just clean water (no antiseptics) to prevent infection. It should also be bandaged to keep the wound from getting contaminated and help the wound heal quicker. Bute is good for the pain, but should only be used if necessary and should ideally be used per the veterinarian's direction. If there is a cornet band injury (not a picture of this shown here), then this will definitely need a veterinarian's assistance, because these can lead to longterm problems if they don't heal correctly. I understand that you were not happy with the vet that saw Lottie, but it would be worthwhile to have a different vet consult to help with the cornet band injury. I hope that helps and Lottie gets better soon.

Hi, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry to hear this happened to Cody. It does sound like it may be an abscess. Sidebone rarely causes lameness so I doubt it is that. Ringbone is a possibility depending on where the swelling is located (front of the hoof, one of the sides or over the heels); this swelling is usually very firm to the touch. You just said there is a lump above the coronet but not where on the foot so that makes it harder for me to be helpful. If you want to post again with a photo we may be able to assist you better. Regardless of the cause, I suggest you get a vet out there to check him. In the meantime you can soak the foot up over the fetlock in a bucket of warm Epsom Salt water for 10 minutes twice a day to hopefully draw the infection out (if that is what it is). If it is not an abscess this won't hurt but it won't help. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello. This may be a sarcoid, but without a biopsy there is no way to know definitively. Unfortunately, this site prohibits us from giving out any kind of medical advice, & ethically, it would just be wrong to do so. There are other advice sites that are more generous with information since we can have an actual chat. You might try to access one of these & see if someone can help you there. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Your horse could have an infection. Sometimes they can get an infection in the hoof that can cause some swelling in fetlock area. It may be a good idea to have your vet examine her and possibly give her some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds. I hope this has helped. Thank you for using pet coach.

It does look OK overall but the part that’s not healing is due to proud flesh growth (excessive granulation tissue). Usually the proud flesh needs to be trimmed off to get it to heal and the vet can give you something to put on it to keep the proud flesh down until it heals completely. So, I suggest a vet take a look at it. ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102907&id=4952518 )

At. This point, I would surgically explore that lesion. There may be a foreign body in there, there may be a small mass or tumor inside, but at least it should be surgically debrided. Debriding it will remove all of the dead necrotic tissue. It should be kept clean by doing daily bandage changes and your pet likely needs a different antibiotic. If this was a routine infection that was responsive to Cephalexin, it would be better by now.