Things You'll Need
- Bucket (large enough to fit a horse's hoof)
- Epsom salts
- Gentle Idiodine
- Bandages
- Veterinary tape
- Duct tape
Instructions
Remove the shoe from the hoof that is displaying the abscess. Improper shoeing is one cause of hoof abscesses and leaving the shoe on allows the infection to develop further.
Mix a bucket with 3 gallons of warm water and 5 cups of Epsom salts. Place the horse's hoof into the bucket and allow it to soak for ten minutes. Remove the hoof from the bucket and dry it off, leaving it on a clean, dry towel.
Apply a paste made from 1/4 cup of Epsom salts and one cup of gentle Iodine to the abscess. You can obtain gentle Iodine, which is only 1 percent real Iodine, at any veterinary supply store. Once the abscess is covered with the poultice, wrap the coronary in clean bandages. You can secure this first with veterinary tape and then with duct tape.
Remove the poultice and the bandage two times each day and apply a new poultice and bandage. Continue this treatment for one week. If the abscess has not improved, see your veterinarian to ask about other treatment options.
Continue to exercise your horse each day, but do it gently. Do not ride it or make it run---slow walks on soft ground are best. Horses with coronary band abscesses require rest, proper nutrition and the medical care you'll give them.