If it's soft, mushy, or is carrying heat, or if the horse is very sore, I start thinking abscess, while a stone bruise is more subtle. It's usually a mixture of signs that tips me off. There's not much you can do to treat a sole bruise, says Goff, other than rest your horse if he's sore, and take care not to ride him on punishing ground. Generally, the ouchiness will dissipate in a few days. The active ingredient in these paints is phenol, which Goff says you can purchase directly from any well-stocked drugstore.
Cold hydrotherapy can be effective, even if it is short-lived.
It doesn't make the lesion go away, but it does offer some pain relief. If your horse is the type which seems to collect stone bruises as a hobby, it might be time to consider some shoeing changes to minimize the time he spends standing in his stall instead of being ridden. First, you might want to ask your farrier to remove less of the sole when he trims your horse. You also can try to toughen up your horse's soles by regularly applying an iodine-based product like Durasole. Wide-webbed shoes, which cover more of your horse's foot, are the next line of defense, according to Goff.