My Appy that lost her shoes has a heel injury.  It looks like a cut but could have been an abcess that came out the heel.  How should I proceed with this injury.  I've been wrapping it and putting antibiotic ointment on it.  I have been letting her go out in the mud but now think I should keep her inside for a couple days.  Is this something I should call the vet about?  It looks deep, she's tender to the touch of it, there is no heat, and she walks fine on it.

My guess is that what happened is similar to the same way she has been able to pull her shoes off. As I mentioned before it is not the mud that causes the shoes to come off but rather that their movement changes trying to get through the mud and the over reaching of the hind legs came forward and the toe of the hind hoof caught the shoe and pulled it off.

Now what has happened is that your horse still going through the muck and still over reaching in the hind legs has clipped the heel of her front hoof with the toe of her hind hoof. A very common problem with mud or even when they are ridden. I would definitely keep the injury as clean as possible, pack the wound with some sort of thick oil based anitbacterial ointment. Definitely consider using bell boots until the mud clears up. It will keep her form injuring herself again. You can call the vet if you feel it warrants their attention. I am dealing with the same injury in my own horse, and she is barefoot. Really think about the bell boots though.

Thanks.  I will go purchase some tonight. I'm guessing the rubber bells are the best in this situation rather than the velcro nylson?

I am cleaning the wound every night when I bring her in with clean water.  Then I am wrapping it with triple antibiotic, a diaper, vet wrap and then duct tape (purple of course).  She seems fine, however, she's a tough horse and doesn't usually show pain until she's really hurt bad.  I don't want to keep her inside when the weather permits her to be out.  Is this a bad thing?

NH woman farrier is right. Scout used to overreach and pull off front shoes all the time. Eventually he sliced through one of his heel bulbs down into the horn. You're treating it properly. It will be sore to the touch, but as long as there is no heat or puss, keep treating it the same way. Scout's turned out 24/7 and the bandage protected the wound from dirt/mud very well. If it starts to get inflamed or ooze, call the vet because antibiotics may be in order. There are lots of germs in dirt! Bell boots (the rubber kind are easier to clean) are a must, too, even after there's no need to bandage anymore, to protect from reinjury. You should also look into a remedy for her overreaching, to prevent it in the future. Scout now wears rim shoes on the fronts, because they make the front hoof breakover quicker, getting the it out of the way before the rear comes down. If your horse now goes barefoot, your farrier can roll the toe of the hoof to acomplish the same thing. I hope this helps.