Best Bedding For A Thrush Suffering Horse

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Andalusianlover

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The horse in the stable next to mine suffers from really bad thrush. The owners have been treating it for weeks now, firstly with hydrogen peroxide and latterly with iodine. They couldnt be looking after this horses feet any better than they already are. The horse stil has very soft heels and occasionally smelly feet. They keep the horse on rubber matting and Aubiose which in itself is damp. I suggested to the owner that they bed the horse on a deep bed of straw for a few weeks and the feet would dry out but they say the Aubiose is dry and any Urine soaks through to the bottom of the bed. When I'm looking after the horse and picking its feet out I find the Aubiose is clumped in the foot and is wet.

What do you think is the best bedding to keep this horse on to sort its feet out.

Thanks
 
Wood pellets - they continue to absorb water to the point where I am slightly worried about them making my horses feet too dry. Would be ideal for thrush though!
 
Ditto wood pellets - I have about 4" deep bed on top of porous mats and even with the amazing piddly clydesdale, the bed stays dry, thus keeping the feet dry. First time I have not had wet rugs where she lies down, having tried all sorts of bedding with her.

I take the wet out every few days and this is the only bedding that I have found that copes with Farra, though I do use 3 and sometimes 4 bags of pellets a week to keep the bed clean and dry when she is in a lot, most normal horses use 1 - 2 bags a week.
 
Definitely wood pellets - they've sorted out my TB's stinky thrushy foot - he's got one boxy foot that he gets thrush in, and we tried without success every combination of potion known to man before we put them on pellets. Now we pick his feet out before he goes into the box, spray the frog with purple spray and no problems whatsoever.

The only problem is he absolutely loves the wood pellets, digs the entire bed into a heap in the middle of the box, and rolls and rolls - several times a night (no, it isn't a bad back or colic, pure enjoyment!), which turns the pellet bed into a horrendous mess that I have to sift the droppings out of - any ideas anyone?
 
Or farrier recommended a deep, dry shavings bed for my friend's TB when he had thrush, and it cleared up pretty quickly. Bed should be a few inches deep, and all the way to the stable door.
 
Megazorb is another alternative.Its supposed to be the most absorbant on the market .It cleared friends horses problem in few days.:D
 
Another vote for megazorb, I moved my old horse to a different yard and changed from straw to megazorb. He'd had thrush on and off for years, within a week it had completely gone and never returned! It is definitely the most absorbent bedding I've used.
 
also try hibiscrubbing out the foot and put some Eucalyptus oil either side of the frog. I have a twenty year old horse who is retired with terrible lower leg circulation so he gets thrush often (well, not any more since trying this!). This winter he has had no thrush since using scrubbing out and using Eucalyptus once a week. He was also turned out during the day (now out 24/7) and stabled on wood Pellets.
 
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