Thrush - Dangerous With Feet!

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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Does anyone have any ideas what I can do about the thrush in all four of Dex’s frogs? One foot smells but they’re all a bit tender.

Tried with purple spray today and managed this morning but this PM it was full melt down mode, rearing, kicking out and breaking the bailing twine tie.

He’s only just got good with his feet and I think where they’re sore, and then the sound of the aerosol, sensation of spray which he’s not the best with yet and it possibly stinging, it tipped him over the edge.

So does anyone have any ideas what I can do? I’ve already made him a huge bed, but I think it’s more the rain we have had and being out overnight. Do I keep him in for a couple days to dry them? Sedate him and clear out the thrush properly? Is there a powder or cream or something I can try?
 

Burnttoast

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Will he let you tub them? If so I'd be inclined to soak them in a milton solution as long as he'll tolerate per foot. Then field paste (or Hoof Stuff if there are deep cracks), which only needs reapplying every few days.
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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Will he let you tub them? If so I'd be inclined to soak them in a milton solution as long as he'll tolerate per foot. Then field paste (or Hoof Stuff if there are deep cracks), which only needs reapplying every few days.

I’m at RIHS tomorrow so I’ll see if I can find some hoof stuff.
Will it work if I don’t soak? I don’t think he’ll let me tub them, he never stands still long enough.
 

Burnttoast

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I’m at RIHS tomorrow so I’ll see if I can find some hoof stuff.
Will it work if I don’t soak? I don’t think he’ll let me tub them, he never stands still long enough.
Yes, I just think soaking gives you a head start as it gets into every little crevice. Field paste good for general application to collateral grooves, outside of the frog, hoof stuff if you have a deep central sulcus. Or both, as I ended up using for a while.
 

PinkvSantaboots

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paddy555

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ideally soak them in copper sulphate solution . c £12 Mole valley.. Otherwise scrub with a hard brush and solution of copper sulphate.
 

SEL

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If he's really funny then try athletes foot powder. I had to do that a few years ago when it was hard enough to get a hoof up let alone add a spray noise / sensation. It puffed powder.

Don't wear black 🙄
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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lots of ideas, thanks everyone. I’ll jot them down and see what I find at RIHS tomorrow.

If he's really funny then try athletes foot powder. I had to do that a few years ago when it was hard enough to get a hoof up let alone add a spray noise / sensation. It puffed powder.

Don't wear black 🙄

I quite like this idea, as it’s really escalated to the point that he doesn’t want me to touch his frog at all. Thanks!
 

SEL

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lots of ideas, thanks everyone. I’ll jot them down and see what I find at RIHS tomorrow.



I quite like this idea, as it’s really escalated to the point that he doesn’t want me to touch his frog at all. Thanks!
My other bright idea at the time was making a small puddle that I filled with Dettol and got her to step in it.

She was vile with her feet. I'm not entirely sure what had gone on beforehand because she was much, much worse with men.
 

TPO

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Sudocream/nappy cream will do a job too if you need to wait for Field Paste to arrive.

I used the Leovet Thrush Powder years ago, thinking g a dry solution would be best. It did absolutely nothing.

He might be more snatchy with his hooves because thrush nips. Apparently that leads them to stand in dung to "cool" it, but that in turn makes it worse. So its something to break that cycle too.
 

HollyWoozle

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Red Horse products really are fantastic - I’ve used the sole cleanse and the field paste and they work fast. Can you give him one of those mini horselyx things whilst you do it? They are sugary but he only needs it for a few mins and they are like crack in my experience and distract them wonderfully!
 

Highmileagecob

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Beware of using anything 'strong' to soak sore feet. Bleach solutions, copper sulphate, clean trax are all useful, but could provoke a pain reaction. Dettol solution is quite forgiving, and if you can't get him to stand his foot in a bucket, maybe saturate a pack of straw and see if he will stand on it. Make sure the purple spray you are using is Terramycin Spray, from the vet, as it is specifically aimed at foot rot. The purple spray that can be bought from the tack shop is gentian violet and is not the same.
Red Horse field paste is good stuff, as is Sudocrem, and good old zinc and castor oil nappy cream. Are the hooves balanced, or have you got long heels developing? I struggled with thrush for years, until I changed to a barefoot trimmer who started to lower his heels and get the frog working properly.
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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I have some field paste on order - so hopefully that will nip in the bud.

I did some real OTT praise (scratches) for picking feet up this AM and I didn’t touch his thrushy bits, then this PM I managed to get some first aid spray on them which was much quieter/gentler. It claims to be antibacterial, antiviral and anti fungal but I don’t hold much hope of it doing much. Better than nothing and good practise though.

They didn’t smell this morning which is better, so I think the big bed is helping, but he is now out all night on a wet field so not ideal.

His feet need work but his farrier visit for the first time with me was just getting his feet up as they still required work at that point, so the proper trimming will have to be done next time. He has overgrown bars, slightly under run heels and overgrown frogs a bit, farrier is due soon to get them looking better
 

FitzyFitz

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I had one on training livery with awful thrush who was pretty bad with her feet as well.
Vet suggested sugar and iodine mixed to a paste, packed in and held on with a nappy/poultice boot. Huge pain to get on initially, and had to stable overnight, but only had to do it twice (a few days apart) and it helped so much that she stopped booting me as much as it didn't hurt any more!
Had just been stuck in a rut where I couldnt do a good job of treating it with my normal products (horse leads sole cleanse and hoof clay) because she was kicking like mad, so the thrush never got better and she just saw me handling her feet as a source of pain so kicked harder. Went back to my normal thrush treatments afterwards and her behaviour rapidly improved. Next farrier appointment got the old raggedy yucky frog bits off, after that and a bit more sole cleanse and clay she was absolutely fine.

Any treatment thats not spray and doesn't involve too much poking and prodding should work. Horse leads sole paint can be squirted from the nozzle then brushed in, doesnt stay as well as the clay but very gentle to apply. Theres lots of other products that are a squirty nozzle type thing instead of a pack in or spray type thing. Vet may be able to advise which ones are actually effective. I'm afraid I gave up on purple spray years ago despite it always being the go to when I was younger. Presumably it had some effective but horrible ingredient back in the day thats been taken out!
 

MissTyc

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As a side note, if you can get yourself a wide but shallow bucket, you can probably clicker train him to stand his feet inside the bucket as a target training trick easier than asking him to have sore feet be handled. Will also give him an element of control as he can remove his foot if it gets too much ...
 

Nasicus

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I used a medicine boot with Milton solution for one of mine that was a bit tricky when she had thrush:

Boot was oversized so I could just slip it on, tighten it and then pour the solution in down the back. Leave for 5 minutes then repeat with next foot.
 

AShetlandBitMeOnce

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I used a medicine boot with Milton solution for one of mine that was a bit tricky when she had thrush:

Boot was oversized so I could just slip it on, tighten it and then pour the solution in down the back. Leave for 5 minutes then repeat with next foot.
I was idly musing whether a poultice boot would work - If what I'm currently doing doesn't produce a result then I will definitely give this a try
 

Fransurrey

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Have a look also at Tubbease hoof socks for soaking if you go down that route. They're easy to get on and stay put for them to walk around the stable (or even field in my case). If he's funny with his feet, you can buy a paint on version of field paste and use a large syringe to soak his feet in this (or paint it on as intended!!). Presumably you could just dilute the actual paste, but that would take a while!
 
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