Hi   fellow donkey people,

I woke up this morning to find sweet old Willy limping. He does not want to put any pressure on the heel of his left front hoof. He is walking ,  but limping, and very sad. I have picked it and rubbed it , and have looked for something terribly wrong , but found nothing out of the ordinary, no swelling , however the hoof wall is warm to the touch....I have a good farrier comming today , so he will have a look, but the vets here are only  livestock vets , so i wont be able to get someone "good" for a day or so. In the meantime what should I do for him?

YES !!! it sure was, a very small one , and it has been opened, its  the size of the head of a pin  and  a drop of dirty blood came out , and my poor Willy is  in soooo much pain, although much better now that its been opened. He is wrapped up with a betadine soak, and a 1/2 gram bute and in his bedroom getting ready for bed. Tomorrow I will find him a boot , and we will get to know eachother real well over the next few weeks..Poor little Willy is sooo sensative .

Hi polly, ( love your name)

thanks for the info...I live in Switzerland in the "no where to be found " area, my supplies and vet care is very limited. These are my supplies...

1 large ez boot, that I will buy from the local  livestock shop in the morning

bandages, telfa pads, vet wrap, betadine, and illegally smuggled bute, and diapers.

I can purchase duct tape (I think) in the morning too. I will also stop by the dog and cat vet that is a 3rd cousin of  my husbands , and they will allow me to purchase more supplies. Poultis is " not available". The farmers here use schnapps on wounds , and let nature take its place...fortunatly for Willy his mother ( me ) is sympathetic, and will NOT give him more "ouchies" like 60% alcohol on a open wound.

He is pouting now in the stall, which means he is feeling better. I have him in the stall because we didnt think the vet wrap was strong enough to hold up to being outdoors, thus getting dirty if the bandages get dirty. Tomorrow morning he can walk freely, and I will have his new boot..

The " plan" with the tools we have , is to keep that hoof clean, and until he can walk on it , keep it  in a bit of betadine.  Chamomile tee  will draw the infection out , but I will also  check with the vet that is related to us, about a poultis , (do you happen to know what poultis is called in German???),  Willy is in some way related to the vet and there is a special place in his heart for him,, and everyone in the village loves Der Willy.We need to get him through this rough patch...I just dont get it... for 30 yeard he has been healthy...no shots , no vet care, and this year he has had problems with his teeth, his eyes, and now his hoof...I going back out to  check on him ..poor little Willy

Hi all,

well Willy is doing just fine now. Yesterday when i changed the bandage  and squirted the betadine into the hole we made for drainage ; a clean red few drops of blood came out. Willy did not like this , but I know now the infection is gone. So I  packed the area with  cotton filled with betadine, and wrapped it up again. This morning when I took the bandage off the abscess looked good, clean and a little bit of red clean blood again. The farrier said to  no longer use the suringe in the  small hole, but to just clean it real well, and keep it bandaged up for another  5 days or so , then use my  "tar" . Its a  goo that is an a natural antibiotic, disinfectant. Willy is putting lots of pressure on that hoof , and even  put his full weight on it at one point, so he is feeling better. Now I just have to keep it clean, and wrapped , until the hole  heals up .  I have a horse show next week at the end of the week. Do you think the hole will be closed by then? I wont be here to over see things.  : (