Rural Heritage December 2025/January 2026

wore around his neck. A hair tie kept at the base of his mane kept it in place, but he could tear it off if he needed to. This actually worked surprising well, and I got rid of a lifetime of old tee shirts. We also continued to check his temp twice a day while the open wound existed, but he never ran over 101 degrees F again and mostly stayed in the normal range. At first it seemed like it would never heal, but after a couple weeks the swelling started going down, and after about three weeks the hole started to close. Finally, about six weeks after he was kicked, it was closed and healed. Now, we can get back training him! More on that in the next issue. I would like to thank Alex Schaff and all the vets at Mid State Veterinary Services in Cortland, N.Y., for all their help caring for Duke and all our horses. More and more horse people today do not have easy access to good equine vet services, and it is becoming an added challenge to keeping and working horses on a small farm. In the future, I hope to intersperse a few more articles about horse health and care (with the help of my vets!) that might be of use to folks that are not as fortunate as us to have great vets so close by.

Asking the vet “What if?” One question I asked my veterinarian was what we would do if we had a large mass that just kept getting larger, tighter and maybe warmer for weeks with no sign it would open on its own. How and when is the right time to open it? This is very much what happened to a young horse that belongs to a friend of mine in Vermont. Here is his response: “If an abscess doesn’t open on its own and continues to enlarge, tighten, or persist for weeks, with or without heat, it’s important to assess whether it’s beginning to affect the animal’s eating, behavior, or overall health. Those are strong indications that it needs to be opened. If the concern is more about appearance or convenience, we should pause and consider the animal’s comfort and best interest before inflicting an open wound. Location and timing are just as important as the decision itself. The incision should be made at the lowest and most superficial point of the abscess, and finding that site safely takes both skill and experience. I wouldn’t recommend opening an abscess without veterinary direction or oversight. If it does need to be opened, the area should be clipped and cleaned thoroughly, then incised with a sterile blade, wide enough to allow pus (and ideally not blood) to drain freely, but no larger than necessary. This procedure is best performed by your veterinarian under local analgesia and mild sedation. Afterward, the site should be managed as an open wound following the Donn Treatment Protocol, as outlined here.”

Rural Heritage

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