Thrush - advice needed

[stimpy]

Well, I've had horses more than 30 years and never (knowingly) had a horse with thrush until today. The farrier found it whilst he was shoeing the one horse out of my five that is currently in work. When he tidied up his frog, it started to bead tiny prickles of blood which then turned into welling blood. The horse had been a bit uncharacteristically snatchy with that foot for a few weeks, I guess it's been sore and I haven't been on the ball

Anyway, horse is in a night but on a yard so he's off the mud but on an area of concrete and road planings that is wet if it's raining rather than a dry stable bed. The farrier suggested treating with NY dry, as I have some in hand, but I'm not sure whether to scrub his foot out each evening before applying it or not. If I do scrub out what shoudlI use?

All advice appreciated. Especially advice for a real thrush novice, I'm not sure that I really even know what it looks like

 

[lizness]

What is NY?
I have heard vets many time suggest packing round the frog with swabs with a mixture of sugar and iodine made up into a paste. You would then need to put something over this. Then possibly cyclo spray from your vets.

 

[Kallibear]

Well, I've had horses more than 30 years and never (knowingly) had a horse with thrush until today. The farrier found it whilst he was shoeing the one horse out of my five that is currently in work. When he tidied up his frog, it started to bead tiny prickles of blood which then turned into welling blood. The horse had been a bit uncharacteristically snatchy with that foot for a few weeks, I guess it's been sore and I haven't been on the ball

Anyway, horse is in a night but on a yard so he's off the mud but on an area of concrete and road planings that is wet if it's raining rather than a dry stable bed. The farrier suggested treating with NY dry, as I have some in hand, but I'm not sure whether to scrub his foot out each evening before applying it or not. If I do scrub out what shoudlI use?

All advice appreciated. Especially advice for a real thrush novice, I'm not sure that I really even know what it looks like

Think you need to go and do some reading on healthy feet! And what is acceptable from a farrier.

Thrush does NOT cause the frog to bleed. It bled because the farrier cut far too much off and hit the soft sensitive live tissue inside. It is NEVER acceptable for the feet to bleed. Ever. To tell you its normal and just because he's got a bit of thrush is very wrong!

Thrush is when a bacterial or fungal infection eats away at the 'dead' thick frog tissue. It leaves a black gunk that smells and the frog will look tatty. It can range from awful black stinking frogs to just a tiny little bit, the smell only noticeable if you sniff the hoof pick.

This is a thrush eaten foot. The 'nibbled' look of the frog is classic. It often leaves flaps or gaps in the tissue. This foot has been treated and no longer has the black smelly appearance. It'll just need to grow back now.

(also note how tight the heels and frogs are and the big cleft in them (the central sulcus). Very common in shod horses and thrush's favorite place to lurk)

Thrush is really really common. Id say at least 90% of horses of Britain have a little to some extent in the winter. It's caused primarily by wet conditions (which we get plenty of in the UK !) and is made worse by an unsuitable diet (starch or sugar in feed) or crushed tight heels caused by shoeing. It has little effect until it becomes more severe, eating away the majority of the thick dead frog down to the sensitive stuff underneath and making the frog sensitive.

It's easily treated. Any flaps or loose bits of frog need chopped off so there's nowhere for the thrush to lurk (sounds like your farrier's already done that ). Then a good scrub with an antibacterial (hibiscrub, dettol etc). Then a thick paste of something antibacterial to finish. If the central sulcus is deep and narrow (like the foot shown above) then packing it with the paste will help. If thrush becomes a recurrent problem you need to look to the cause and address them (contract heels is the usual cause)

 

[philamena]

Some very good advice ^^.

Would add that thrush is also often a fungus as well as a bacteria, especially if well developed... so worth making sure what you clean the feet up with is fungicidal as well.

 

[stimpy]

Thrush does NOT cause the frog to bleed. It bled because the farrier cut far too much off and hit the soft sensitive live tissue inside.

Yes you are, of course, right. I think he was as shocked as I was to be honest, nothing like that has ever happened in the 6 years that this farrier has been doing my lot.

Thrush is when a bacterial or fungal infection eats away at the 'dead' thick frog tissue. It leaves a black gunk that smells and the frog will look tatty. It can range from awful black stinking frogs to just a tiny little bit, the smell only noticeable if you sniff the hoof pick.

I think my boy has just a little bit, it's certainly not noticeably smelly and I am blessed (or is that cursed?) with a really good sense of smell.

This is a thrush eaten foot.

Brilliant, the picture is very helpful, thank you.

Thrush is really really common. Id say at least 90% of horses of Britain have a little to some extent in the winter. It's caused primarily by wet conditions (which we get plenty of in the UK !) and is made worse by an unsuitable diet (starch or sugar in feed) or crushed tight heels caused by shoeing. It has little effect until it becomes more severe, eating away the majority of the thick dead frog down to the sensitive stuff underneath and making the frog sensitive.

It's easily treated. Any flaps or loose bits of frog need chopped off so there's nowhere for the thrush to lurk (sounds like your farrier's already done that ). Then a good scrub with an antibacterial (hibiscrub, dettol etc). Then a thick paste of something antibacterial to finish. If the central sulcus is deep and narrow (like the foot shown above) then packing it with the paste will help. If thrush becomes a recurrent problem you need to look to the cause and address them (contract heels is the usual cause)

Thanks you for all this excellent advice, it is much appreciated. I think his diet is OK, he is avery good doer so he just has straight unmollased alfalfa chaff, a bit of linseed and some probalance. He has a tightly controlled hay ration in small holed haynets, I did experiment with bulking this with straw but he got an impaction colic

His central sulcus doesn't look to be anything like as pronounced as in your image, it's not deep at all so hopefully if I get on top of it now the thrush won't become recurrent though I guess some dry weather wouldn't half help! I am ashamed to say that I was given a copy of Feet First for Christmas, I'd better get on and read it....

Thanks very much for your jolly helpful post Kallibear

 

[Kallibear]

That book is well worth reading. It'll give you something to do whilst we all wait for the wet weather to naff off and dry up.

Diet sounds fine. A week of frog scrubbing then once weekly should be more than enough.

And talk to your farrier about trimming the frogs. They need their frogs (they're actually meant to walk directly on them) and the only trimming they should have is to remove bits that will harbour nasties. If your farrier made them bleed he certainly does a lot more than that!

 

[amandaco2]

Ouch.
Ditto trimming caused the bleeding. I had a farrier who bled one of my horses frogs twice. Got rid of them (farrier not oss)
Cutting any hoof to cause bleeds is taking too much off.
Found farrier who doesn't touch the frog or sole at all now (unshod)