My farrier used a slightly more sturdy nail last night and one of them drove higher than expected, causing a nail prick. Horse jerked and wouldn’t put weight on foot, so the farrier immediately removed the nail and squirted in disinfectant. Tiny amount of blood came out of the hoof wall hole. Rest of shoe was fine so he did not remove it since source was identified and handled quickly. Pain med was given. Horse lame, but walks out of it a little. Worse in turns. Antibiotics (SMZ) on hand, if need develops. Tetanus vaccine was 2 months ago, so good there.

How long should I expect him to stay lame? This is a first for me. Farrier handled it very professionally but I’m a worry wart. Video sent to me this morning from the barn manager shows great improvement in walking already.

I would be soaking it with epsom salts a few days to draw out any infection for sure. I would also be asking my vet about an antibiotic that works best on feet. SMZ would not be my first choice. I would also be packing and wrapping foot for 3-4 days just like an abscess. THe hole can close and trap bacteria in there. 

I JUST went through this exact scenario.  When it first happened, my mare went non-weight bearing lame.  On Day 1, my osteopath recommended mixing sugar and iodine and painting the bottom of the hoof liberally, then wrapping with baby diaper.  I did this and took my mare to the vet on Day 2.  He seconded the sugar-dine solution and had me continue it for 10 days, reapplying and rewrapping every other day.  my mare was immediately better after 24 hours and back to sound in 10 days.  I have since read up on the sugar-dine treatment and it is widely recommended as one of the best treatments.  Only drawback is that it's very sticky!!

Thank you. I've got leather pads so I can't do that. I think I'll soak in epsom this afternoon, rinse with betadine in the hole, and wrap with Animalintex on the outside wall this afternoon. Maybe that'll suck anything up? 

Echoing previous posts,, epsom salts soak and poultice, so those animalintex pads work great. Betadine and sugar if you need to make your own poultice. You want to keep everything drawn out so it can heal and not abscess. 

Just wondering how your gelding is doing? 

This happened on Wednesday, so we are a few days out. I started a once daily warm soak of epsom salt and a squirt of Betadine into the hole on Day 2 through yesterday. The first couple of days, he was noticably protecting the hurt foot when turning toward it. Straightaways you couldn't really tell. As of yesterday, there was no longer any favoring of that foot when I turned him toward it. Appears sound at walk and trot in pasture. I'm not quite sure how long to keep soaking to avoid a potential abscess, so I guess I'll just keep on for a couple more days in case. 

Thanks for checking in. It was scary to me. I've never experienced this, and I know it was just a freak accident. I posted the same thing basically on a farrier/hoof related group and a couple of farriers reached out to help. I didn't want to bombard my farrier, whom I love, with my worries. I sent them all pics and they said it's an awesome shoe job and things like this just happen now and then. Hope it'll all continue on this path because he seems better. 

Glad to hear that your boy is better, you are doing all the right things for him. I"m the same I would soak him for a few more days or more, it always better to overdo then to underdo, lol..

I had only had a hot nail happen years ago and I was not happy, because the farrier was in a big hurry and was sloppy with his work, when I realized that my boy had a hot nail I called the farrier to come out and pull the shoe, will he was to busy he would come out the next day, I was super mad, called my Vet and he came over and pulled the shoe. Never called that farrier back after he told me he was too busy, he called wanted to keep my business, but I told him when he would not take care of my horse after he hurt him I was done. But he still came around when he wanted to borrow money, lol..