# Limping w/lump on hoof



## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

My Nubian started limping about two weeks ago. When I checked her out, she has a large lump on the outer side of her front left hoof, which she is favoring. It didn't improve after a week so the vet came out. She said it looked as though she'd injured it but she couldn't feel anything broken. We decided to give it time and watch it.

It's been another week with no improvement. If anything, my once social playful girl has spent more time laying down away from her herd. This morning when I went out to feed them, she got up and it looked like she hadn't even got up to go to the bathroom but just went where she laid. She is still eating her grain and hay every night.

I'm going to take her in for an x-ray tomorrow morning. But does anyone have experience with a lump on the hoof? Do goats get abscesses within their hooves that would make the hoof wall protrude? It's been dry here for about two months so I'm thinking it couldn't be hoof rot. It does not feel warm to the touch either. We recently moved the girls to a new barn and they have lots of gravel to walk on and boulders to play on now.

Any ideas for me? Thanks in advance.


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

That sounds like an abscess to me, yes goats get them. I think others on here have had experience on how to treat them, but for now just make sure your other goats all have trimmed hooves, and if the weather is wet it's a good idea to spray the hooves with vinegar.


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## Zarafia (Mar 25, 2012)

Soaking her foot in epsom salts would probably help, maybe a lot. If you can, try soaking her foot twice a day in epsom salts. You can use a bucket if shell stand tied, or a heavy duty garbage bag (cut down to size) and just vetwrap it around her leg if she's laying down and calm. Soak for at least five minutes, but ten or fifteem is better. And use warm water.
Then you can also be sure that the hoof is clean frequently too.


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

Would it be helpful to take her temp or put her on antibiotics in the event of an abscess?


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I found a helpful website on this. Here is the website: http://www.hoofabscess.com/

I'll post what I read. This is for horses, but it would probably work for goats as well.

5. Treatment of a Hoof Abscess
While a hoof abscess can heal on its own, this is not recommended. An abscess can be extremely painful for the horse and the healing process will take significantly longer without intervention. It is recommended that you work with your veterinarian and/or farrier to diagnose and treat an abscess.

If the horse is shod, the shoe is normally pulled. The hoof is then thoroughly cleaned and hoof testers can be used to help locate the point of entry and better determine the location of the abscess.

Often a black line is identified and the line is followed to locate the infected area. Using a hoof knife or loop knife, a very small hole is made in the sole of the hoof to allow for drainage and provide relief of the pressurized fluid. When the pressure built up by the trapped pus is released from the hoof capsule, often a black or brown exudate will drain from the site and the horse will experience some relief immediately.

If the point of origin and the abscess cannot be identified or the infection is too deep in the hoof, (the abscess could be deep in the heel/frog/bars region), no cutting or holes will be made. Cutting too much or going too deep can be more harmful than beneficial to treatment. If a drain hole is not able to be made or cannot sufficiently drain the abscess, then most likely the abscess will progress up to the coronary band and the pus will drain there&#8230;. a slower and more painful process for the horse.

Whether a hole is made or not, it is important to keep the hoof as clean and protected as possible and to apply a poultice. If no hole is made, the poultice can help soften the sole. If a drain hole is made in the hoof, then it is imperative that the hole be protected and kept clean while the abscess drains and the hoof heals. A poultice applied to the bottom of the hoof can help pull any remaining infection out of the hoof and help to prevent the abscess from progressing up to the coronary band.

A standard recommended protocol for treatment begins with the application of an Epsom Salt poultice to the sole of the hoof. Epsom salt is an osmotic and "draws" the abscess, pulling the bacterial infection from the hoof.

The hoof is then wrapped and placed in a special treatment boot to help cushion and protect the hoof to ensure that dirt and manure cannot come in contact with the hole and sensitive tissues.

If the poultice is applied immediately after drainage has been established, the horse should recover in two to four days.

What you can do
To help lessen the chances of your horse having a hoof abscess, maintain a regular schedule with your farrier or trim your horse on a regular basis. Often hooves with too much toe or excessive bars are more prone to hoof abscesses.

Act promptly to treat a hoof abscess, as the healing process can usually be expedited and resolved relatively quickly with fast action.

Be prepared. Make sure you understand the signs of a hoof abscess and have the supplies on hand to administer prompt and effective treatment. Products such as the HOOFix Abscess Kit from Plum Shade Farm are specially designed for effective treatment of hoof abscesses.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Getting her temp is good and can help identify wether the infection in her hoof has gone systematic or not, the advice given as far as soaking is good advice to take but if she needs antibiotic injections due to fever etc. then Pen G or LA200 would work but if the infection is centered within the hoof wall, soaking it will help soften the area enough for the abcess to rupture and drain, once that occurs, flushing the hole with an iodine wash and using an antibacterial spray or ointment to help healing would be better unless of course it's gone through her system.


Woodhaven posted some very helpful information :thumbup:


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

Thank you for the advice. That hoof abscess article was really helpful. I'm headed home with Epsom salts and industrial garbage bags to soak her hoof in just a few minutes. 

For future reference if needed, is LA200 an over the counter product? I believe I just saw the Penicillin g at the feed store this afternoon.

I got some bantamine from the vet this morning so between that and soaking her hoof, hopefully she'll be a new girl and won't need a trip to the vet for an x-ray.


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## Zarafia (Mar 25, 2012)

My arabian mare tends to get abscesses when we go from really dry weather to really wet, and vice versa, about once a year. I just soak her foot usually. If she stays visually lame at the walk for three days I call my farrier so he can cut the abscess open to drain, but I've only had to do that once (and I've had Fantasy her whole 11 years).
Horses can also get abscesses from "stone bruises". That's where they are theoretically moving fast and hit their hoof wall against something very hard. This can be similar to founder because it involves death of the laminae (the tissue that holds the hoof wall to the foot. (Imagine when you slam your thumb with a hammer. The whole (or most of it) nail goes blue/black and eventually falls off) in doing that, you have killed the laminae in your thumb. Same principal applies to founder. The hoof wall is the "thumbnail". Imagine the devastation of having all the laminae killed...
However, a stone bruise usually only kills a small area of laminae and the rest of the laminae holds the hoof wall safely in place while it heals. It still hurts though.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

You can get LA200 from livestock supply type stores or I get mine from jefferslivestock.com Hope your girl makes a quick recovery.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great advice.. good luck.... :hug:


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

Well, Mabel went down to the vet for an x-ray yesterday and the good news is that there are no broken bones in her leg. Two of their large animal vets looked her over and didn't have a diagnosis for her so I'm going to continue with Epsom salt baths twice a day and use the bantamine for the next three days. 

She's obviously in pain, limping and licking her sole and lower leg but the bantamine helps and she's still eating and drinking as normal. Thank you to everyone for your advice. If anyone as anything to add, please do. :thumb:


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Do you have a picture of it? I'm not sure I understand where on the foot this for sure.

My husband works with horses and has dealt with a variety of abscesses over the years. He said if it's an abscess you need to get it opened, so it can drain, otherwise it's still going to stay painfull, the epsom salt may or may not work like you want/as fast as you want.

He said if you can get it opened, drain it, soak it, and put a poultice on it. He said to soak it at least once a day after you get it opened up, and keep it clean/new hoof pack on it. Animalintex is great stuff and some vetwrap.
You can cut the animal intex down to fit her foot. 
I remember when I worked with horses, we used animalintex for the abscesses and it worked great, helped draw out all the nasty infection. 
If you just moved them to a pen with more rocks, maybe she did something/stepped on something that caused it to abscess? Things happen. 
But definitely post a picture as soon as you can might give everyone more of an idea of what your dealing with.

Just a thought, but I'd post a picture first, and talk to your vet. If it's an abscess maybe they can get it opened enough to drain.


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

Well, Mabel is still limping along. We've been soaking her foot in Epsom salts at least once a day and using Epsom salt poultice with vet wrap faithfully for the past week. Today, her foot seems more sore, hot and the outer hoof wall was pink in one area. I've tried trimming her hoof after soaking but it is so rounded and misshapen that I haven't been that effective. We are novice goat owners and I'm not comfortable using a blade on her hoof, just pruners.

I'm thinking of giving her Pen G procaine considering that her symptoms seem worse today or maybe that's a sign that the abscess is about to come to a head....

I am at a loss for what else to do.....thankfully, she is still eating, drinking and spending a little time grazing with the herd. I consider those positive signs. Any thoughts?


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

Also I forgot to ask....what dosage do you use for Penicillin G Procaine? I had figured about 6 ml subQ for an approx. 100 lb goat but the sales lady at the feed store made me doubt myself.....


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Pen G is dosed at 1cc per 10lbs 2x a day for 5 days or 1cc per 20lbs once a day for 5 days.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Is this on the bottom of the foot? Is there still any way you could get a picture, especially if it's pink?
If your trimming the bottom of the foot and getting to a pink area, then that means you've just cut down to the new flesh of the foot and that's where your supposed to stop trimming.

My only other thought is if it's an abscess or something that needs to be drawn out, then I would try using ichthammol, it's stinky, tar like stuff, but GOOD. When I worked with horses we used it a lot. Even with goats we keep it on hand, and when our doe had an abcess the summer before last, I used it to help draw out the abscess when epsom salt soaking didn't seem to do the trick.

I'd put the ichthammol on, put on a dry poultice <I prefer animalintex>, and then vet wrap it, and see if that helps along with the penG?

Good Luck I hope she gets better, I know, it can be very frustrating!!


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## WigPiggy Farm (Aug 23, 2012)

The lump is on the outer side and back of one of the halves of her hoof. It is as though something is pushing out inside the hoof. When I soaked it this morning, the hoof looked dark pink where it used to be dark grey/black. I'll get a pic tomorrow...it looks like it should be easy to attach.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

When I see bulged out, Outer "hoof wall", I see if it is dead hoof, if it is, I then cut out that pocket, all the loose wall, down to good wall,that is solid, leaving that there, prolongs healing. After, clean up all the bad, stinky stuff around it. I use iodine/water, and dip the tooth brush in it, clean scrub it daily, for 4 days or so.


Does it stink?


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