Seedy Toe confusion!!

[Gemshona]

Hi, I'm new to the forum so am still getting to grips with it!! i have a coloured mare and she has really been in the wars recently having just recovered colic and a cold! She has had seedy toe for a couple of months now and it started from a crack in her toe which didnt get bigger but also didn't disapear with regular farrier visits and trimming. My farrier is currently stuffing it with iodene and cotton wool, i was wondering if anyone knows if there is anything else i could be doing for her. If anyone has any infomation i would be very greatful!!

 

[parsley]

I believe seedy toe is caused by a fungal infection that lives in anaerobic conditions. The iodine is to kill it off and it is stuffed in the hole on cotton wool to prevent dirt becoming impacted in there again, creating ideal conditions for the fungus. Having it soaked in iodine is also a bit of a bonus! A farrier I used once told me to regularly clean the hole out (he left me a nail), digging the loose stuff out, clean it with bleach and then plug the hole with cotton wool soaked in bleach. I did this every couple of days and also used hydrogen peroxide to clean the hole. It was looking better when he came again so he cut away the side of the hoof to let the air in.

I am sure there are lots of treatment for seedy toe and that someone will correct me if I am wrong anywhere!

 

[Gemshona]

Thanks for that, v useful. I am ringing my vet tomorrow to see if she can give me any extra info.

 

[sally2008]

I second parsleys treatment. My lad has always been prone to seedy toe if I don't keep on top of treating even the minutest blemish. I paint his hooves with Life Data hoof disinfectant (recommended by my farrier) which is tea tree oil based and soaks into the foot and find that this does an excellent job and keeping both seedy toe and thrush at bay.

 

[SusieJane]

One of my Shetlands had seedy toe, and I used to power wash his feet out, dry them off and then used Peroxide ~ however I also kept him off the sand school and gritty areas as I found that these tiny particles worked their way in.

Good luck x

 

[hollyzippo]

Hi,

Where abouts in warks are you!?
I had a horse with seedy toe and farrier recommended cleaning out with eucalyptus oil. Worked a treat and v. cheap from boots!

 

[Gemshona]

Thankyou to everyone! I will deffinately look in to getting some of the Life Data hoof disinfectant! DOes anyone know if it would be ok to turn her out as the field is quite wet from all snow and rain we have had and i dont know if the damp will make the area more ideal for the bacteria to thrive in?

 

[fizz-tally]

we used hp & tea tree oil

 

[Klaudette]

The life data hoof disinfectant is definitely the best option (tea tree oil and iodine- the tea tree acts as a carrier for the iodine- disinfectant part of the preparation). Her feet must be kept clean and dry, so that means removing all faeces/urine from her bed ( to remove the wet and ammonia). If she is really bad at the moment and the field is muddy dont turn her out (repeated washing and drying is not good for the hoof wall).
Horses with seedy toe are often calcium deficient so feed alfalfa (it contains calcium bound to protein making it highly avaiable to the horse).
Also try the farriers formula supplement contains all the right things for promoting hoof growth- its the only one really worth it- the only one to have been tested by a UK Vet school and has ISO accreditation.
Above all liase with your farrier!
Good luck and try not to worry too much. I recommend the above for my clients and it seems to work well (and I use it for my horse with very bad white line disease).

 

[Fairynuff]

Do you have shares in Farriers Formula? M.

 

[Klaudette]

No but I wish I had! I recommend it so much and use it myself. The reason why I recommend it is because I know the lady who developed it at the Dick vet (published data in the vet record) and she uses it on her own horses. It is a product I trust. It got my horse to a world championship.
If I had a penny for everytime I recommend FF I would be able to buy myself a nice big bar of chocolate.