possibly thrush! what to do?

notpoodle

notpoodle

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Jul 16, 2003
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i noticed that on both angel's front hooves, the sided of the frogs crumble ever so slightly when i pick out her feet. i also have the impression those frogs arent quite as hard as they usually are. i suspect its do do with the muddy weather at the moment :rolleyes:

i have cleaned the hooved out thoroughly, let them dry off and put some Frog Fresh (stuff with teatree in it) on them.

anything else i can do?? bleach maybe? is that normal toilet bleach? how much would you dilute it? how to apply it? does it work? is it a good idea?

i really want to nip this in the bud before it turns bad.

julia
x
 
Borax is good for treating thrush, you can get it from Boots. I usually put about a tablespoon full in half a bucket of water and soak in it for about 10 mins. MSM cream is good too, pick feet out well and wash them out with Borax then pack MSM cream along the sides of the frogs and any other suspicious gaps you can find. Things like bleach, hydrogen peroxide, purple spray ect. do kill the thrush but they also kill off some healthy tissue which gives thrush something to feed on and makes it easier for it to keep coming back. I've never tried fresh frog but tea tree is meant to be good for getting rid of thrush.
 
There is a thread on this in the 2001 archive of posts which has some good suggestions - worth a look.
My mare had thrush when she came to us, and my farrier recommended sheep foot rot spray (around £6 for a good sized can from agricultural merchants). This worked really well - I sprayed the soles of her hooves once a day for a week and she has had no further problems.
The spray can be a bit enthusiastic though - wear Marigolds and be prepared to have purple splodges over your face from the splashback! :D
 
Echo MelanieDs advice. If you can't find Borax (I haven't been able to) then apple cider vinegar is a good alternative for very mild cases of thrush.

I would steer well clear of bleach and hydrogen peroxide, both products will damage healthy tissue alongside the infected stuff.
 
vjwuk said:
Yes my farrier recommended foot rot spray too. Long white feathers with turquiose tints though so not before a show!
Click to expand...

Hehehe :D And then there's the perfectly shaped purple hoofprints they walk all over the yard :D
 
notpoodle said:
anything else i can do?? bleach maybe? is that normal toilet bleach? how much would you dilute it? how to apply it? does it work? is it a good idea?
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Nooooooooooooooo!!!! no bleach or H2O2.

a good scrub with pevodine 3 times a week, using a toothbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies then a spray with foot rot spray will clear it up quite quickly.
 
do they smell? what is your field ground like - when she is in (is she still in 24/7 every other day, or are they out now?) is her bed wet? does she have feet picked out every day?

'proper' thrush *stinks* unmistakeably. if it doesn't smell, and there is no gunge coming out, and it's just the edges, i'd be more inclined to suspect wet ground and soft feet than full-on thrush.

the frog-fresh stuff sounds appropriate. you can also ask the staff to ask the farrier when she is next shod.
echo - NOT toilet bleach! hydrogen peroxide will oxygenate the area, as thrush lives anaerobically, so that is a good starting point. it can damage the healthy tissue as well - so i'd use it on severe cases as a first atack, then switch to purple spray.
 
The purple foot rot spray (Hoof Master?) does work well, but don't use it for a long time. I've noticed it doesn't do any harm being used a few times but when I used it every day for a couple of weeks when madam was shedding her frogs and had minging bits all over the place I found it did do some damage to healthy tissue.
 
it doesnt smell, so i dont think its thrush just yet :rolleyes:

it just seems that the clefts either side of the frogs are a bit deep and little white bits come off when i pick out these feet (i dont scrape particularly hard!).

ive thoroughly cleaned the hooves with a toothbrush now, let it all dry for a while, desinfected (got some hoof disinfectant from tack shop), rode, picked out again and applied some fresh frog again.

@ mehitabel: shes out again now, only out at nights for the first couple of days, now out all the time. her feet get picked out thoroughly once a day (sometimes twice) and i wash and scrub them properly every other day, anyways. when she was in, the bed was mucked out daily and she hasnt been standing on anything wet.

i hope it will clear up soon and not turn yucky :rolleyes:

julia
x
 
Is it from the sole that white bits are coming off? That would just be dead sole. On shod feet, and sometimes unshod ones, it doesn't exfoliate straight away so you get chalky stuff coming off when you scrape at it with a hoofpick. There's more waxy sole underneath that's live sole. If it is the sole then don't worry about it. If she isn't shod riding on sand should help it come off, if she's shod then farrier should deal with it when he puts new shoes on. The frogs could just be normal shedding, but best to put something on anyway as the flaps and loose bits that can appear when frogs are shedding do make it easier for thrush to move in.
 
its hard to tell whether its off the sole or off the frog, as its right along the frog (clefts). it only happens at the front feet (which are shod btw), the back hooves (which are not shod) are fine, so you shoeing theory might figure :).

she was shod and trimmed about two weeks ago btw, farrier said her feet were good.

julia
x
 
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