Products for healthy feet?

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Ilovefoals

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My boy has had a problem with a very deep abscess which took weeks to get rid of. He had his foot x-rayed on wed as still lame on a turn which showed his foot balance had altered. Both vet and farrier think this has been caused by a combination of the abscess but also he has a very deep sulchus (sp?) and his frog seems to peel away quite regularly so they are querying pain from infection. They told me to keep it clean but I forgot to ask the best products to treat it with. His other front and one hind are fine but the remaining hind is also going the same way.

So this morning I've washed them all out, sprayed them with an antibacterial spray and clarted on field paste but are then any fab products you guys could recommend to get rid of the bugs and get his frogs and heels healthy again?

Many thanks!
 
I'd just call either your vet or farrier and see what they recommend as they know exactly what has happened and what infection he has.
 
Personally would be soaking them all in clean trax for 15 mins each to give yourself a kick start. After that I love the red horse products so would be using field paste/sole cleanse.

Is the horse shod? It sounds like the frog is underdeveloped from lack of weight bearing stimulus - if you posted up pics from the side and the sole it might be useful :)
 
When my horse had a sulcus infection, I mixed iodine and water and used a syringe to flush it right out ( just be carefull it doesn't spray back in your face!) then dry with cotton wool and use cotton buds to get in the sulcus. Once dry spray with either iodine or something like netex hoof master. Have used both successfully. but as tiger tail say, it's usually down to no wear bearing stimulus on the frog, or if your horse is unshod, this very wet weather we are having.
 
how to clean them is described very well on this thread.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=558187

it is not what products you use but the fact you clean the sulchus very frequently and you get right down to the bottom and get it very clean each time you clean it. I use hibiscrub to clean it. I have also used salt water or cider vinegar. Sudocrem works well for many. I have also used bee propolis which you can dribble into the deep sulchus. You can poke the sudocrem in with a cotton bud or you can use a piece of cotton wool covered in sudocrem and leave it stuffed in the sulchus. It often falls out after a while but stays in for a bit.
If you have a really deep and tight sulchus that can keep wadding in then "hoof Stuff" (from the red horse stable) is excellent.

Spraying doesn't work well for a deep sulchus as the spray doesn't get to the bottom. Syringing works better. I have syringed sudocrem in to make sure it gets to the bottom.

I have found clean trax to be a waste of time. It is not easy to use.
I have always managed to deal with problems with cleanliness and sudocrem/hoof stuff etc but if I had to use anything else it would be white ligthening.
 
Thanks folks. I will check with vet/farrier but it's the weekend so can't do that til monday. I'll check out the Red Horse stuff and also have Sudocreme in the cupboard so will get that on asap. I will post pics tomorrow if I can. Yes, he is shod as well :)
 
Ilovefoals said:
Thanks folks. I will check with vet/farrier but it's the weekend so can't do that til monday. I'll check out the Red Horse stuff and also have Sudocreme in the cupboard so will get that on asap. I will post pics tomorrow if I can. Yes, he is shod as well :)
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If you have a deep sulcus - it suggests the heel is contracted. This happens when the frog has been devoid of ground stimulation long term. That's a mechanical problem and the thrush is a side effect from this.

Treating the thrush is all well and good - but while the hoof is unhealthy....it's pointless. The sulcus shouldn't be so deep in the first place :).

I kicked myself after my horse suffered for 13 years with the same issue...until I took the shoes off and my trimmer slapped me over the head with a tub of Sudocrem:D
 
He's a new horse so we are working to get his feet looking better. He had long toes and under run heels when he came but the good news is, his feet grow at some rate! Hoping that this means we can sort them out much quicker. Farrier is due in 3 weeks again so fingers crossed he'll see some improvement.
 
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