In the middle of June I sent them a plea to help suggest what I could use on Sara's hoof following her two-month battle with a nasty abscess which has resulted in a new farrier needing to cut away a substantial amount of her hoof to try and get on top of the infection.
Carr & Day & Martin have very kindly agreed to add Sara to their trial and between the two I think this is the one we'll see the best results from.
Background:
Around 6 weeks ago Sara suddenly went very lame. In all the 16 years I have owned her she has never been sick, sorry nor lame, so it was quite a concern for me. After a desperate message to the farrier we found an abscess that had already burst but left a nasty hole in her foot. I was slightly relieved it wasn't anything more sinister but had no idea getting rid of the abscess would be a lengthy process.
Following a couple of weeks of trying different things, we made the decision last week to cut away the front of her hoof to try and get out what infection we could. Poulticing wasn't drawing anything out and this was the best course of action for her.Thankfully we found some puss, and after a night poulticed up again we managed to draw more out. The following day I noticed her hoof was a lot drier but I was absolutely mortified at the state of her foot and dreading comprehending what people might think.
So, along came Carr & Day & Martin in the shape of my heros. They have very kindly offered to add Sara onto their hoof care trial which means going forward she will go straight onto their hoof supplement and begin a daily routine of having both the Carr & Day & Martin Cornucrescine and Oil applied so we can try to help get her hoof back to normal as quickly as possible.
Already I have seen some tremendous results in Ziggy's feet so have every bit of confidence that these fantastic products will play an important role in getting Sara's hoof to resemble something normal again.
Day 2:
Today is the day after Sara has had part of her hoof cut away. I'll be honest, I'm absolutely mortified at how it looks and can't bring myself to look at it properly - all I keep thinking is what will people think and will it ever grow back! Of course I know it will, but she used to have such good feet; this is just a nightmare. Sara's foot spent the night poulticed up and when it came to removing the poultice I found quite a substantial amount of puss on the poultice. Good news that it's coming out, but bad news is that this means there's still more in there and it doesn't look like we'll be seeing none on a poultice any time soon!
Day 3:
I took the poultice off today for a few hours as the new farrier has recommended letting the foot breathe whilst we've got the 'hole' there, but ensuring I keep it clean. I'm cleaning regularly with neat hibi-scrub and cotton wool buds so we can get right up into the foot. It's not a pretty job and smells absolutely vile, but I am just trying to do all I can to get Sara right again.
The poultice I removed today was a lot drier - thankfully no puss! Are we on to a winner?
Day 4:
Sara is going absolutely stir crazy in her stable and I really don't think keeping her in is doing her any good, so managed to poultice her foot, then on top of that poultice a plastic bag onto it so she can go out in the field.
I was so thankful to hear from Carr & Day & Martin today that Sara can go straight onto their Hoof Care trial. I really cannot thank them enough. As of today she's having 1/2 a scoop of Hoof Supplement in her night time feed and in a few days when the puss has stopped coming from the hoof I'll start to apply the oil and cornucrescine. They really are my heros right now for agreeing to help!
When I returned from work I took the poultice off the foot that had been on the previous night and all day. I was secretly hoping for no puss but unfortunately there was lots again. I really do feel like this will never end, but as the old saying goes "better out than in". I left a poultice off for the night so her hoof can breathe and hopefully start the natural healing process. We're having to ensure her bed is kept clean at all times but thankfully she's on shavings, so this isn't too difficult! The hoof definitely doesn't smell as much as it did and is drier underneath. I'm hoping we're finally on the road to recovery.
Day 5/6:
As with the previous days I poulticed Sara's foot up for her to go out and then took it off for her to come in and cleaned with hibiscrub. I am beginning to get concerned with how dry her hoof is looking and she's beginning to struggle walking on the stones. Thankfully the farrier is due tomorrow!
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