Any thoughts on the management of thrush?

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BeachBreaker

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Yesterday, my horse came in from the field lame on his hind left. After a bit of digging it was thought that he had an abscess. He had a poultice and was bandaged overnight. This morning I went to him and his left fore had become very swollen and hot and he was reluctant to put any weight on it. I tried to take him out of the box but after one step it was very clear that he was hopping lame, now, in front. I removed his hind bandages and the swelling in his hind left had gone down considerably. I consulted my instructor who assured me that the swelling in front was a consequence of the abscess and not to worry. So we put a new poultice on and bandaged him up. I had already arranged for my farrier to come down and have a look and he couldn't find much behind but said I should call the vet just to be safe. The vet came not long after and was highly concerned about the front limb. After some probing it is now thought that he has a thrush infection in three of his hooves which is causing the swelling and heat in the front limb especially. He has been prescribed bute twice daily and also hydrogen peroxide applied directly to the hoof.

Hopefully it will turn out that the thrush is the cause of the lameness and obviously I am relieved that it is not something more sinister. However, I have always been aware that this horse has deep frogs and is predisposed to becoming a bit thrushy. I maintain his hooves extremely carefully with hibiscrub and they are picked out twice daily. I am therefore devastated that he has managed to get in such a state. I realize that at this time of year it is difficult to prevent most things from occurring but has anybody got any recommendations of fungal remedies etc that can be used on a regular basis for the prevention of thrush? I am a very worried mum and any advice would be appreciated.
 
I don't use hibiscrub for thrush - just a cheapy anti bac first aid scrub from supermarket. If the central sulcus is deep, then you can use gauze to "floss" the gap with scrubbing solution on. Then a dry floss and then a sudocrem floss. Could also pack the sulcus and grooves with cotton wool covered in sudocrem:)
 
If I ever have one that is prone to thrush I use a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide twice daily while I still get the fizzing reaction, then once or twice a week to keep on top of it. Some people dont like it as if not careful it can stop healthy tissue developing but if used only when required it is a very effective treatment.
The odd day in a dry stable will also help when the land is very wet.
 
Another vote for Hydrogen Peroxide - but only when the horse actually has thrush.

As a prevention I would be scrubbing all feet with diluted hibiscrub every few days until the Spring/Summer when thrush is less common
 
Please don't use hydrogen peroxide :( I've had a LOT of experience with thrush this past year.

This is Molly

http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w8/mollymurphy_2007/Molly/Molly Goes Barefoot/Right Hind

Photos aren't in the right order, but have dates on. Prior to the first pic being taken, hydrogen peroxide was being used daily. It literally did nothing / made it worse.

Since then, I've changed her diet & had her minerals balanced. I've also tried every thrush treatment on the market! Each horse is different, but here's a list of things worth u looking at:

White Lightening soaks
CleanTrax soaks
Scholl athletes foot aerosol spray
Red Horse hoof stuff
Red Horse field paste
Zinc & Castor oil cream mixed with active marnuka honey
Canesten thrush cream mixed with a triple antibiotic cream (have to buy this online from America. only cheap though).
No-Thrush
Thrush-Stop

I've tried them all & would recommend them all. Along with plenty of 'dry time' indoors / on concrete. And maybe look at what you're feeding as well.

Good luck. I know how u feel :(
My vet & farrier kept telling me to just carry on with the peroxide. But after 4 years, and rotten feet, i decided to ignore them! :)
 
Might be worth checking the diet too, my horse got thrush when I gave her top spec, and it went when I took her off it, and she hasn't had it since...

Anti bac is quite good as a twice weekly prevention, you can get this from our vet.
 
Tea tree spray works well as a preventative, and to treat mild thrush (so as soon as you see any signs). Picking out feet lots and lots helps too! If it's really bad and needs sorting fast, a friend of mine had some blue liquid prescribed from the vet that was just AMAZING. She was already using hydrogen peroxide and it was taking far too long to go so they gave her that. Don't know what it was called though.
 
What treatment has the vet suggested? Where is the swelling? Swelling can be a worry if it is above the hoof and accompanied by abscess or hoof infection. Did the vet check his body temperature? If not I suggest this is done.

I second soaks to start with for severe thrush, cleantrax may be best for a first soak follow the nstructions. I have heard a product called NTDry is getting good results. Also you could squidge cotton wool balls in canestan and an antibac cream mix and push into the cleft and smear over frog and collateral grooves. Replace at least daily.
Time in a dry environment each day helps too.
 
Also I second looking at diet especially possible mineral deficiency. Copper deficiency in particular has been linked to persistent and recurrent thrush. A good balancer and low sugar diet will help. Equimins meta balance is one to try. Forage plus have also started doing a mineral mix as well.
 
Thanks for the replies everybody, sorry I haven't been in touch but have just been so tied up with it all.

So...after having used hydrogen peroxide and bute for 2 days, the swelling in front leg had gone down considerably and he was much more comfortable when walking however, using the hydrogen peroxide was making him very uncomfortable to the point that I was struggling to get near his feet and I wasn't happy with how the abscess and thrush were clearing up.

I called the vet out again on Thursday who had to sedate him to get a proper look. His feet had definitely become worse even though I was using hydrogen peroxide twice a day. To begin with she suggested that she would give me some iodine and some dope but we finally agreed that it would be best if I took him into the practice so that they could get it cleared up.

I dropped him off the same day and he settled in beautifully. After speaking to them on Friday I discovered that they had used iodine to treat his feet and then bandaged all around. To be honest I was a bit annoyed as previously they had told me not to bandage his legs or feet and I think that if I had been advised to use a less corrosive treatment from the beginning he would not have become so wound up and I may have been able to continue doing it myself. Anyway, hindsight is a wonderful thing!

So I am going to go and see him tomorrow because it's very difficult to get a clear idea of what's going on over the phone and if he's a bit happier with his feet then I may make arrangements to take him home on Monday, but i'll just wait and see how he's doing.

Thanks for all the suggestion regarding on going treatment. I have owned this horse for nearly two years and this is the first bout of thrush that he has had and just seems to have come out of nowhere. I pick his feet out twice daily and use a hibiscrub solution at least once a week to give them a good wash. With regards to feed, he is a good doer, rather excitable and in moderate to hard work so he is fed hi-fi original and spillers slow energy release competition mix. He has a bit of garlic, salt and oil but that is it. Would anyone suggest any supplements/change in feed? Like I say, this is the first time I've had any problems but it was awful to see him in such a state and I want to try my utmost to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Thanks for all your help!
 
If thrush has got deep into the central sulcus it can invade the frog corium and even the digital cushion. Corrosive treatments can be very painful.

Hope they get him sorted soon.
 
We were not far off going down this road after failed efforts with iodine and various other hoof disinfectants and a worsening case of thrush. My horse also had become difficult to treat with the various remedies from being perfectly happy and co-operative with his thrushy frogs we started with. That was until I got some advice on here from amandap and also found zinc sulphate treatments.

I feel he had recurrent problems due to copper deficiency and not finding an effective enough treatment that was not also painful, so poor co-operation lead to ineffective treatment. I put him on a hoof formula which gave him the copper (I have now swapped to a general feed balancer with his RDA of copper) and I used zinc sulphate for 7-10 days and now keep up with it 1-2 days a week. He is 100% co-operative with his feet being treated and has not shown any pain reaction to the zinc sulphate at any point (this horse was even reacting to iodine when the vet said he wouldn't). His feet are now thrush free and solid and he is generally tremendously well in himself and has far more stamina which I put down to sorting out the copper deficiency (thanks amandap I really owe you one).

I would have a discussion with your vet and farrier before trying different treatments but as I say the zinc sulphate for us has been fantastic. If you google remedial farrier sites and copper sulphate treatments you can see how some farriers have successfully treated very severe cases (where there was heat and potential tendon damage) by sealing in copper sulphate crystals with impression materials and booting up. If I ever had a horse with really severe thrush, that found daily repeated treatment painful I honestly think I would go down this route as the results were impressive.
 
Thank you for your reply cyberhorse. I have spoken to the vet today who has said that his feet are beginning to harden well through the use of sugardyne bandaging so hopefully I can pick him up on Friday. I am still keen to investigate any long term preventative measures so will mention the zinc sulphate that you suggest. Could I ask, where do you buy it and is it something which can b applies directly or does it need to be made up in a solution? As I say, this is the first time I have had a problem with thrush in this horse but have always been aware of his deep frogs. Ideally, I want to find something that I can use on a semi-regular basis without running the risk of him become sour about his feet. Seems as though you have found the answer for your horse!
 
BeachBreaker said:
Thank you for your reply cyberhorse. I have spoken to the vet today who has said that his feet are beginning to harden well through the use of sugardyne bandaging so hopefully I can pick him up on Friday. I am still keen to investigate any long term preventative measures so will mention the zinc sulphate that you suggest. Could I ask, where do you buy it and is it something which can b applies directly or does it need to be made up in a solution? As I say, this is the first time I have had a problem with thrush in this horse but have always been aware of his deep frogs. Ideally, I want to find something that I can use on a semi-regular basis without running the risk of him become sour about his feet. Seems as though you have found the answer for your horse!
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I would ditch the garlic I'm afraid. It has quite a strong antibacterial action which isn't good for the gut also read here and google. http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/nutrition/feeds/eqgarlic528/

I'd start with a good mineral supplement such as Equimins meta balance or Forage Plus's new mix in a small amount low sugar base also switch the oil for micronized linseed which has many more benefits in the body than pure oil but also has the oil content.

By deep frogs, do you mean a deep sulcus/split in the centre? If you do I really recommend soaking, it get into all the nooks and crannies.
If you don't wish to use a strong mix that can be necrotic to healthy tissue such as milton then apple cider vinegar solution is a good alternative and I've found it effective. Then push canestan mixed with an antibacterial cream deep into the cleft carefully. This is known as "Pete's goo" from Pete Ramey. Link to his article on frog management. he has another on feeding the hoof as well. http://hoofrehab.com/frogtrim.htm

Here's a couple of links to read of experienced trimmers experiences and thoughts on thrush. http://www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_MoreTopics.html
http://www.healthyhoof.com/articles/Thrush/Thrush.html

ps. Obviously you will be guided by your vets advice on follow up treatment. Smearing sudocrem over the frog before turnout is helpful as a preventative measure.
 
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I buy ours as NAF rock hard, but you may get it cheaper as the sheep foot rot treatment from the vet. My horse won't put up with soaking so I use the brush and then soak cotton wool in it and pack these in the central sulcus. I do this twice a week. The rest of the time I use a Kevin bacon hoof treatment that is mildly antiseptic, but sudocrem would do the same job.
 
cyberhorse said:
I buy ours as NAF rock hard, but you may get it cheaper as the sheep foot rot treatment from the vet. My horse won't put up with soaking so I use the brush and then soak cotton wool in it and pack these in the central sulcus. I do this twice a week. The rest of the time I use a Kevin bacon hoof treatment that is mildly antiseptic, but sudocrem would do the same job.
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Prior to all of this, I was using Kevin Bacon. It seemed to keep his feet in good condition so will carry on with this and talk to the vet about other foot rot treatments such as the one you recommend. Thanks for all you help.
 
Goldenstar said:
Where do you work the horse OP? I mean on what surfaces .
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I work him mainly in a large sand arena. The surfaces are good but the indoor can become very dry and dusty. I only hack him very rarely as I am on large, busy yard, where roads are not easily avoided and he is quite excitable. He does more hacking in the winter. He is out in a large paddock every other day with another horse who, previously has never suffered with thrush but owner is beginning to notice the feet are a bit smelly and black. It is not overly wet apart from at the gate and poo picked regularly. The rest of the time he is on a straw bed and rubber matting, which is kept immaculate. I'm very anal about the cleanliness of my stable!
 
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