This morning Delilah came up completely lame. She will not walk on her left front foot at all if she can help it, and if she must step on it she just dots it down. You can see from the first picture that it is noticeably larger than the other foot. The swelling is very stiff and all along the whole foot from the top of the toes to above the fetlock. The tops of her toes are swollen too and look bruised. You can see the purple bruising because it shows through her white hooves. The bruising also goes up above the hooves into the front of the pastern. At least, it looks very red-purple to me. I don't know if she sprained it somehow or if she's got an abcess forming. It doesn't look or feel broken, and she didn't protest too much when I was feeling and moving it. It's obviously sore when I handle it, but not broken sore.
I gave her a little Bute for the inflammation and pain and I also gave her a shot of penicillin in case there's infection (or to prevent one from starting). I haven't wrapped the foot and I see no reason to ice it since it's freezing outside and we have about 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground, so I figured that's probably all the cold pack she needs. Is there anything else I should be doing? Does this look like a bad sprain to you, or does anything else come to mind? I'd appreciate any input.
I gave her a little Bute for the inflammation and pain and I also gave her a shot of penicillin in case there's infection (or to prevent one from starting). I haven't wrapped the foot and I see no reason to ice it since it's freezing outside and we have about 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground, so I figured that's probably all the cold pack she needs. Is there anything else I should be doing? Does this look like a bad sprain to you, or does anything else come to mind? I'd appreciate any input.