Hi Dr. Valentine!
Hillary and I need a bit of advise (again!)...we've been getting assorted info in the last few days; Hunny's suddenly limping on both front feet. There's no swelling, no visable damage, no nothing. We read through some of the old "V.V." posts here. But only found one that was limping on both fronts.
Anyway...Hillary's been soaking both feet in epsom salt water and rubbing her front legs down with Absorbine (twice a day).
My friend has been dealing with her horse that has 'hoof issues' on a regular basis (for almost 10 years now) and she said
'turn Hunny out to "work out" the possible absess'. Someone else says 'stall rest'.
I know you've mentioned that the ideal circumstances for a draft is turnout 24/7-not in a stall.
So now what? I'm thinking to set her up in those soaking boots every night when we put her to bed; those would give her a good long soak and might help bring this to a quick end. And: how do you even know if it is an absess? Will we be able to see it?
Thanks for your help! Hope you're having a great summer :)
debbie

These could just be sole bruises abscesses, and soaking certainly won't hurt and might help. You need to have your veterinarian check her out as soon as possible, though, to make sure she hasn't developed laminitis. Hard to say without knowing the cause whether stall rest or turnout would be best. So this is another good reason to get a veterinarian involved as soon as possible. Good luck!