Bleach in hooves??

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EquestrianFairy

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Right my girlies soles are rather soft at present, she hasnt the best feet at the moment (only had her 4 weeks so im working on it!)

The farrier suggested (not my farrier id like to add) putting neat bleach on her sole to harden it up- once a day for two weeks should suffice, he also suggested because there are some gaps between her foot and the shoe i should make sure i wash it out to save any infection (Which is a given) but again i should just use neat bleach?

Is this right? Seems rather harsh to me?
 
We have used hydrogen peroxide in the past, neat just enough to cover the surface, it was a long time ago but I seam to remember it worked. I think this was for thrush. I also seam to remember it bubbles a bit!
 
I don't think so technically??? HP is what people use to bleach their hair. Whereas bleach I associate with scrubbing floors. Either way you can buy bottles of HP from the chemist.

Presume there was no pun in the blonde bit!
 
Our farrier also advised bleach for a resting racehorse we had here for a while. It was a bit messy, but it did the job and was a lot cheaper than Keratex, which is what I prefer to use
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The only problem with using HP or Bleach is that they will both kill off the good tissues as well as any necrotising tissues as in thrush hence the bubbling as they literally burn away the tissues........
 
My farrier uses HP before applying plastic shoes or Bond and Flex as the surface as to be really clean for it to bond properly. It is a bit of a hassle buying it from the chemist for him as it is also used in bomb making.
 
I had my tonsills out when I was 30!!! I had to gargle with Hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the huge infected scabs that formed on the site where my tonsils were...... dont think I would have tried it with neat floor bleach though!!!!!

I dont think it will kill iff all the good tissue though or I would have had no throat left
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Hmmmm soles should be thick but flexible not 'hard'. I suppose it depends why they are soft as to what you do about it.

The active ingredient in 'Bleach' is sodium hypochlorite so it is different to hydrogen peroxide. Household bleach usually has other stuff in it to thicken it up and to aid cleaning, if you just want sodium hypochlorite then get Milton or a supermarket own brand 'baby bottle sterilser'. I wouldn't use either neat though - as someone has already said they are both necrotising so while they'll kill off infection in damaged tissue they'll also damage healthy tissue and make it prone to infection so you could get into a vicious circle.

I'd treat any infection with dilute hypochlorite but go for the long term healthy foot from inside option and get the nutrition right.

Both hypochlorite and peroxide can rust shoes and nails so be aware of that if you're splashing it round a shod foot!
 
Hydrogen peroxide 30 - 40% sol. is what we used to use on horses hooves around the frog to kill off Thrush years ago - and I still do when necessary. It won't hurt a horses foot at this strength but household bleach may be excruciating against any tender skin or little cuts. I certainly would not use that.
Hydrogen Peroxide works by oxidising and killing the fungus or bacteria, it gives off Oxygen molecules (O2) as it does this, hence the bubbles.
If you buy it from the chemist it comes in a brown bottle and is very cheap. I always keep some in my horse cupboard.
 
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