Soft heels/frogs?

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RachelB

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My horse's feet are fine when the weather is dry, but as soon as it rains and her feet get damp she gets everything under the sun wrong with her feet. Even if it gets a bit damp on the ground because of dew, her frogs and especially her heels seem to become stupidly soft. We did the seedy toe bit this summer (not too bad and now thankfully grown out) and had thrush round the outsides of the frogs, but now we seem to have developed thrush in the middle bit of the frog. One of her heels is also starting to crack upwards between her heels. My farrier told me to pack it with iodine-soaked cotton wool and I have some terramycin spray, but would it be a good idea once it's cleared up to put something on her heels/frogs to stop the gunk getting in there? She is in a mud-free field 24/7 so there isn't much I can do there... I thought about Camrosa but it's waaaaay too expensive to go putting that on every few days!
Suggestions/thoughts?
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It came from my farrier who is far more sensible than me!!!!

I & EO really sorted out my mares feet last year. I initially painted them once a day then as they improved reduced how often I did them. My farrier now moans about how hard her feet are and she had no thrush at all this year (touch wood). I just use Kevin Bacon most days now and the I & EO when she has been shod as feet nice and clean, so can really soak in.
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Get some good old fashioned stockholm tar and mix in a little tea tree and eucalyptus oil. Paint the whole of the front, sole and heels in the stuff. Stuff plenty in the cracks and any crevices.

Works a treat even though it is messy. If it goes a bit too sticky in cold weather, put the pot into another pot of boiling water. Don't get it in your hair - sticks like glue and even if you don't get covered, you will smell of the stuff - luckily I like it.

Cairo had a lot of problems with his feet which all disappeared once he went barefoot - never had thrush again, though I did the tar treatment once a week instead of once a day just to make sure nothing came back in wet weather.
 
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