Eeeeewwww, he has maggots in his frog!!! What to do???

[Porkie]

I feel sick

Picked my old boys feet out when he came in at 2pm. Nice, clean, no problems.

He had a nice bath in the sunshine and when I was cleaning his feet I went to check them again and one frog had MAGGOTS crawling out!!

I am horrified.

Went running to YO who sent me off for some Hydrogen Peroxide which I then syringed his frog out with twice, but the little blighters were still wriggling poked around and killed as many as I could get at with my hoof pick, until I made it bleed a little (I feel really bad now)

He's not lame and his feet are in good health, he is unshod and I pick his feet out and brush clean a minimum of once a day.

I couldn't see any when I left but if they are still there tomorrow what should I do?

Also, what hoof care should I be doing that I'm not to prevent this happening again? How would they have got there in the first place?? It was soooo gross!!!

I feel all itchy and need to go for a very hot shower now

 

[kerilli]

Yeuk. Tbh i would call your vet for advice, I could be wrong but I think the presence of maggots means that there is necrosing tissue there for them to eat (could be wrong though) and I'd want a vet's opinion asap...

 

[welshied]

One of mine had this farrier had to cut his feet right back to get rid of them all he said they can eat away at the feet in a matter of day and becareful about what you put on his feet as they can get very sore.
Don't think its anything you have done wrong just something they pick up maybe from swampy mucky water or something like that. Good luck

 

[Sheri]

Never heard of this before, but I too would have thought there would need to be a bit of rotting tissue for them to eat. Maybe you could ring your farrier and ask for some advice if your vets not around until Monday.

Hydrogen Peroxide always used to be used to get rid of thrush so I think that would help.

Also does your horse have excess skin on his frog? My mares grows like crazy and my farrier always trims it down (just thinking how they may have got in there)

Keep us posted!!

 

[doratheexplorer]

goodness poor you, and poor horsey... no clue what to do, but best of luck with treating him... I would call the vet, even if he doesn't come out, he can advise you on your next steps...

 

[Porkie]

Done some more browsing on the net and apparently it's not uncommon :-/ although I had not heard of it before!

Standing on a pile of poo where a fly has just laid eggs is apparently one way to easily pick them up!

All the threads I've found so far say not to worry too much as they only eat the dead bits of frog but I am still totally grossed out and very worried!

Yes 'Sheri' he does have excess frog as it grows like mad and has quite deep cleft in all his frogs, just the way they grow - he has regular 6 weekly trimming and only done last saturday so not too long at the moment .........

 

[Spit That Out]

Hi, A woman on our yard a few years ago had this happen to her horse and it was a vet job.
It's a bit like "fly Strike" that happens often in sheep.
I can't remember everything about it but she had to soak her horses foot in a solution the vet prescribed and then added either purple or green spray.
Sorry if this isn't much use but i deffo think it's a quick vet visit just to get the right ointments.
Good Luck

 

[horseriderdeb]

one of mine had it and when I rang the vet he said not to worry as all they eat is the dead skin. He says that he probably got it from standing in poo that a fly had layed eggs on. All I did was syringe his hoof out with hibiscrub until all of them had gone. I was disgusted that this had happened but apparently that year loads of horses had been getting them and its nothing to be ashamed off.

 

[Porkie]

one of mine had it and when I rang the vet he said not to worry as all they eat is the dead skin. He says that he probably got it from standing in poo that a fly had layed eggs on. All I did was syringe his hoof out with hibiscrub until all of them had gone. I was disgusted that this had happened but apparently that year loads of horses had been getting them and its nothing to be ashamed off.

Thank you!!! I have been waiting for someone to say they'd experienced it first hand and it was ok after treatment!

Everyone on the yard has been teasing me saying it's bad hoof care!! They are laughing and saying they are joking and I know they are only joking but still.......... makes me feel a bit bad!!!

Did you use neat hibiscrub or diluted? Were you told to use hydrogen peroxide at all? I used it today as YO advised and she is a vet nurse so she knows more than me but I never take anyones word a gospel !!

 

[toomanyhorses26]

We have a couple of horses at our yard that get it year after year - all have typical draught feet ie deep with large,deep clefts. We minimise it by having the frogs cut back as much as possible and syringing with hibiscrub and then a coating of purple spray. As people have said they will eat the dead and dying tissue rather than the healthy living tissue - actually seemed to help one of the horses who had a touch of thrush at the same time We did this twice a day for a week or so and it cleared it up a treat - we used a strong hibiscrub solution as a normal strength didn't seem to kill the wrigglies

 

[fitzaud2]

Just rang my farrier for you, he said use bluestone, which is copper sulphate in crystl form. You pour it in to the hoof and put a poultice and bandage it. works wonders seemingly.
Hope it helps

 

[Serenity087]

Urgh...

I've delt with more maggots on animals than I bare to remember. In honesty, I would seek veterinary advise or at least get the farrier to have a look. Strike can spread amazingly quickly.

I've seen some horrific strike though. So I'm just uber nervous!

 

[lizness]

Hiya,
When the sheep get struck, (attacked by maggots, yuck!) Thye stick loads of tar on them as it sufocates them, not sure what kind. Although I am no expert Copper Sulphate burns aaway stuff, e.g proud flesh seen it put on abcess things so be a little careful maybe?

 

[Porkie]

Thanks guys, I guess I will see what the morning brings - can't do anything more tonight. If they are still there tomorrow I will ring the vet / farrier. Am hoping there won't be any more there and that I've got them all quick smart but who knows!

Fitzund2 that's so kind of you to ring your farrier, thanks for the info.

I am still cringing everytime I think about it and hope to god there aren't more in there overnight, can't face the thought of them wriggling around in his foot all night makes me feel sick......

 

[RSL]

Ah my farrier mentioned something about this last year, can't for the life of me remember though, my boy at a slight bit of puss coming out of his frog at the time.

Could it been as simple as hes stood in some horse poo for a while? and its infected his frog?

 

[cundlegreen]

Pour in tea tree essential oil and see them come pouring out. I used this on a lamb that had them in a hind leg injury.talk about evacuate ship!!

 

[Janette]

My mare had this last year and I was grossed out/mortified as well. I applied loads of hoof disinfectant and the maggots were jumping ship so fast. I called the farrier and he said don't worry, just keep picking/disinfecting the feet. However, I did get the vet who 'gave' me blue spray and advised me to scrub them daily with Lifedata Hoof disinfectant. (It wasn't until I changed farrier to a Registered foot trimmer did the frog get cut right back and the hole start to close.)

My mare is stabled on a Shire stud, and they were treating a mare with the same thing. they just squirted them with flykiller LOL.

 

[Maisy]

Just leave them!!!! They will eat the dead tissue and then leave of their own accord!!!

Nasty as they may seem, they are good little things really, and only get rid of the stuff you dont want!!

My mare gets them most summers, as she has thrush that I cannot get rid of, even though I have tried *every* solution known to anyone I can ask! She is not lame or even sore, so I have come to the conclusion that she will just have thrush forever.....

Chances are, by the time you get there today, the maggots will have eaten what they came for and left again! It certainly isnt anything to call a vet about!!

 

[s4sugar]

Don't leave them unless you are sure they are necrotic fleash eaters. Some maggots eat live tissue.
Anything that gets them to move out is good IMO. You don't want dead maggots festering in the foot.

 

[Cuffey]

Remember in fly strike on sheep--the maggots literally eat the sheep alive so assuming these maggots are the same best to get rid--many suggestions above
You can buy tar spray--Stockholm tar thinned to spray from a can--this is good for dressing wee cuts after sheep are clipped to prevent fly strike, so why not use in frog clefts (they need to be scrubbed and dry first though)

 

[Sarah2207]

Hi,

A little while ago we had this in one of our horses, I was horrified and immediately called the vet, he said (over the phone) to wash out the foot just with a hose to get rid of some of them, and then put a large dose of the anti-flea you put on dogs onto the frog and leave it. This worked wonders! Maggots are quite easy to pick up in the field either from treading on a dead animal or faeces. Having said this if the maggots are still there in the next 24 hours I would definately call out a vet to have a look!

Good luck!