Best Product for Thrush

[Escada2004]

I have a mare thats suffering a bit with Thrush. Im over the top with picking out feet etc, they are done at least twice a day every day, she has good feet in general, no cracks etc shoes hold really well. Over the last month she has developed thrush in all 4 feet and splits on the frogs, my farrier had a look a couple of weeks ago when he come to shoe my other horse and trimmed them back for me. Ive been spraying with purple spray every day and the smell and black goo has gone (has been gone for a couple of weeks) however i want to encourage the splits to heal as i obviously dont want them to get worse and make her sore. She isnt sensitive at all when im poking and prodding or when the farrier tidied them up. Any suggestions on the best thing to put on to strengthen them slightly and also close the splits?

 

[southerncomfort]

Best product I've found so far is Red Horse Field Paste. My only issue with it is once you've added postage on it's costing in the region of £20 a tub!

 

[supsup]

There's no way to close the splits. The horn you see on the frog is the outermost layer, which (like fingernails and the top layer of your skin) is dead. It still is a protective layer over the "live" part of the frog (the corium, with blood vessels and nerves), so dead doesn't mean useless. But it doesn't have the ability to heal and close up again. You'll have to wait for the new horn to grow in, and for the old, split layer to be worn off (or trimmed, if your farrier is so inclined). If the smell and goo are gone, I'd just try to keep up with the cleaning regime to make sure no new infection takes a hold in those splits, then wait.
Incidentally, it is quite normal for the dead horn to build up like a tough shell during dry weather, because it is not easily worn away. Once wet weather returns, the dead horn soaks up moisture and becomes softer. Many horses start having flappy raggedy bits of frog that are worn away with work. It's just the natural cycle of shedding frog horn. Unless you see smelly, gunky stuff take a hold (the soft, dead horn forming pockets does make a nice place for thrush to thrive) I wouldn't worry about the frog suddenly looking less nice.

 

[Mrs G]

Another vote for Red Horse products. I used the hoof stuff to pack in a very deep thrushy crack in my horses central sulcus. After trying all sorts for a good year or two (it would improve but never actually go completely) Using the hoof stuff in a few weeks it was all sorted!

 

[xgemmax]

Another vote for red horse products though if the heel is contracted then I'm not sure the splits will be able to open up and heal with shoes on? I've found their hoof stuff very good in deep splits and the artimud as it starts to heel and the split is shallower. I now just use the sole cleanse daily to keep it at bay with a smidge of artimud if its looking a bit deep

 

[Escada2004]

Thanks everyone, her feet are looking much better with what i've been doing (leaning and purple spray) just didnt know if i should be doing something else now the thrush has actually gone. Will have a look at the red horse products

 

[eggs]

In the old days we used to squirt hydrogen peroxide into the frog cleft with a syringe.

 

[chestnut cob]

In the old days we used to squirt hydrogen peroxide into the frog cleft with a syringe.

That's what I do! It's about £1.20 a bottle from the chemist!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

dilute povidine/iodine scrub-so take a 1% solution and dilute it 1/10 and scrub out hoof.

 

[joosie]

Hydrogen peroxide is caustic and will also kill healthy foot tissue, making the foot even more susceptible to attack. Don't use it!

 

[tallyho!]

In the old days we used to squirt hydrogen peroxide into the frog cleft with a syringe.

Thank god it's in the old days! mAy it stay there forever.

 

[Cortez]

......aaaand we're back to Red Horse products, which are the very best I've ever used to clear up stubborn thrush.

 

[Mike007]

Stockholm tar works wonders.

 

[splash30]

Im having amazing results with NT dry powder, ive been using it for a week and the changes in my horses frogs are huge. And its easy to get off Amazon.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I'd like to remove the shoes and let nature heal, with a bit of hacking on a firm surface, though I would feed less sugar, more fibre, minerals, salt and micronised linseed, but the I am a bit of a convert to the DARK SIDE

 

[Penny Less]

My horses both have thrush . Its really difficult at the moment getting feet dry and clean as they immediately go out in the mud again. I thought hydrogen peroxide was the go to product ? How is it caustic when you can use it as a mouthwash I believe ?The stuff you get in the chemists is usually 6%

 

[hollyandivy123]

net-tex foot and master with violet............works wonders and is a good once a week treatment after the thrush has been cleared

 

[Kikke]

red horse, sole cleanse and hoof stuff, amazing!!

 

[joosie]

My horses both have thrush . Its really difficult at the moment getting feet dry and clean as they immediately go out in the mud again. I thought hydrogen peroxide was the go to product ? How is it caustic when you can use it as a mouthwash I believe ?The stuff you get in the chemists is usually 6%

Sorry, caustic was not the right word - should have said cytoxic, which means it's a substance that is toxic to cells. The hydrogen peroxide in commercial mouthwash is less than 3% and it is still strong enough to damage the dentine that protects the teeth, which is why regular use of those mouthwashes is not recommended by dentists, and why you are meant to spit it out afterwards not drink it Using it on the horse's frogs will damage the cells infected with thrush but it will damage the healthy cells too. That's why people don't really use it any more.