Draining them doesn't do you any good. You just need to buy a donut and let it heal. We went through it with a gelding. His was huge. Within a few days of putting the donut on at night it was gone.
Draining them doesn't do you any good. You just need to buy a donut and let it heal. We went through it with a gelding. His was huge. Within a few days of putting the donut on at night it was gone.
As an owner, we automatically want to drain them so they start to heal (and look better). But the vet said it would just fill back up if you don't stop it to begin with. They will eventually become sore if you ignore it. The donut was a cheap fix. We only put it on at night. I was surprised how fast it went away. I was wrapping it nightly askew waited for the donut. It helped but wasn't enough. Those donuts really work well!
My gelding has had them before. They are ALWAYS the result of an abcess in the foot. He lays down and pulls the foot right under him to relieve pain. I used the donut and a mixture of DSMO/dexamethasone. However, this last one he got was the size of a softball. I took him in for a coggins and although it was starting to shrink my vet was concerned. He explained to me that the the shoe boil is like a cluster of grapes so that's why they are hard to drain completely bc it's not a solid pocket of fluid. He did drain mine moving and injected it with antibiotics. It was much better and shrunk substantially. He does have scar tissue though.
Shoe boil
