February 2010

Abscess Kits Make Life Easy

Everything you need in one little pack.

By Eleanor Kellon, VMD

A hoof abscess is a collection of dead material located within the white line or under the sole. Abscesses may be sterile (dead tissue only) or infected with bacteria. They occur in the tissue at the junction of the sensitive (live) and insensitive (dead, hoof wall or sole) laminae.

Unless there has been a puncture wound, sole abscesses are almost exclusively caused by tissue damage. Over thinning the sole by the farrier or a stone bruise could result in an abscess. Abscesses in the hoof capsule can have many causes. Driving a horseshoe nail too close to, or into live tissue, is another common cause. …