seedy toe

Cazza525

Cazza525

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my old mare has got it in 2 of her hooves, the hind one is bad and vet and farrier are dealing with it. Farrier has cut away area, told me to scrub with hibiscrub or milton and then coat with iodine. Vet has given me bute which she has half a sachet twice daily. This in itself is no problem.
What i'm concerned about is the weather. Both vet and farrier have told me to leave out as much as possible as standing her in brings a whole host of other problem. She is 25 you see and gets very stiff is stood in.
I am concerned about wet and mud..........surely this could harm it? On the other hand i know you are not supposed to cover hoof as bacteria will breed!!
I should point out that she is lame. She is improving since hoof was pared right back and looks more stiff behind than anything.
Any suggestions welcome.
 
When she goes out you could try keratex hoof putty, which seals the cavity t prevent mud getting in. Then leave it open to the air when shes in the stable. You can carry on with the iodine, just let it dry before you put the putty in
 
I had a horse with this, had to have a huge amount of hoof removed as my farrier at the time decided to ignore it and told me it would be fine....until he went lame
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I used to clean it thoroughly with dilute iodine before and after going in the field and then plug it with cotton wool that had been soaked in the iodine (he had a special shoe with a plate on the front which helped the cotton wool stay in.

I'd be very cautious about plugging it when not super clean as the bugs that cause seedy toe are anaerobes, which means they don't need oxygen to survive (so would love an area that is enclosed) - this also explains why vet/farrier remove some of hoof wall, to expose the bugs.

Its a real nuisance to deal with, my chap took 6months to grow the foot out. I only did the iodine routine when the foot was still vulnerable, when it started to grow down I backed off a bit and he was fine
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my pony had some grit which had gone right up into her foot the farrier dug it out then we pluged the foot with cotton wool and a bit of stockholm tar worked great!
 
Do NOT use Hoof Putty, or anything else to block/seal it. It is imperative that air gets to it. When you bring her in at night, just pick out the area, the bedding will remove excess water.
As a donkey owner, I have much experience of ST.
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My boy had this and i used hydrogen peroxide , then washed it out, then used keratex hoof putty and then removed the putty (as best as I could) and repeated once a day- HOWEVER, it was only a small hole...but it did mend!
 
My friends pony had a huge amount of hoof taken off and the vet was adamant to use keratex putty when the horse was in the field to prevent mud/grit from getting in. Although it stops air getting in, it also stopped the mud. The thinking is that if the cavity fills with mud this will also stop the air but with associated bacteria and the possibility of grit working its way into the foot. i.e. better to be anti bacterial putty stopping the air than mud! You can then expose the foot to air when in the stable.
 
Maybe you would like to put this to my farrier and the donkey sanctuary, who have done more research on seedy toe than anywhere else then
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As we all know, vets are not as knowledgable about hoof conditions as farriers.
 
PMSL, the same vet practice also go to one of the donkey sanctuary farms, my friend has a donkey too! And the work was done in conjunction with her farrier, he took the foot away whilst the vet watched!

Different areas, different ideas i suppose. I do get the logic that mud would stop air getting to the cavity as well though.

OP- maybe best to ask what your vet thinks of putty?!
 
Strong salt water foot baths
Lots of iodine and similar
Also perhaps try feeding magnesium, my girl had bad seedy toe and due to the magnesium improving and encouraging growth farrier could cut it away quicker, perhaps worth a try, its incredibly cheap too
 
Sunday before last she went crippled lame on back hoof. Farrier came on Monday and pared hoof right back as much as he dared, told me to administer half a sachet of bute daily, scrub and iodine and chuck out as much as poss. Vet came next day told me to up bute to half sachet twice daily and to do what farrier told me.
Basically mare hasn't been eating all of feed and so bute not all in system. Phoned her owner today(she's on loan as a companion) and she told me to give bute in an apple ehich i've done.
Anyhow who do i call next, vet or farrier?? Although not crippled up like she was she is still not walking great and is generally looking unhappy.
Farrier said he would have trouble putting shoe on as literally no horn left to nail it too one side. Do i just wait a few more days, keep doing what i'm doing and knowing now that i'm getting all the bute in??
Basically she's in for an hour in a morning to sort feet, administer bute and then throw out again. I am trying to rotate paddocks well so that there isn't too much mud.
My worry is is that its the beginning of winter and she's lame now, what if she's lame all winter??
 
I am having the same problem with my pony. Nightmare, isn't it? At the moment, he is barefoot when stabled overnight or pottering round the yard, but when he goes out in the field, I wrap a disposable nappy (Newborn size just fits his small foot!) round his poorly foot and than put a canvas boot with a plastic bottom over it. I figure nappies are fairly breathable and the boot is quite roomy, not like a poultice boot. Good luck with your girl!
 
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