Thrush - Dettol?

holeymoley

holeymoley

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Horse had deep thrush in one hind hoof last Winter. He had never had it before in 12 years of ownership, I blame him being in a lot more due to wet fields however that's by the by. It was really difficult to get under control and to be honest I don't think we ever did completely. I used a mixture of Backtakill and Red Horse Sole Cleanse. I also packed the crevice with Athlete's foot cream on a piece of cotton wool. I think it slowly started getting better and come the drier months it was almost away. Unfortunately it seems back with a vengance. I've been trying a different method this time by washing the frog and then using Dettol in it. 2 weeks on it definitely seems to be looking better. It's not as deep, in fact you can see new frog underneath. Horse is due the farrier on Monday so hopefully he'll cut away some frog and I can reach it better and get rid of the bad stuff. I seem to imagine the products I used last year would have been 'stronger' and more up to the job than Dettol? I have an 'old-school' horseman at the yard who believes the only way to get rid is to scrub with bleach. Personally I feel this will kill the good tissue. Just hoping that Dettol doesn't have the same effect? Has anyone used it successfully before? Is there anything else out there I can try? Farrier initially said Iodine but getting hold of that seems a bit tricky... Thanks
 
try and get hold of some Terramycin spray - used for sheep foot rot, keeps it clean and dry, i would avoid over washing as you are just making a nice environment for thrush.
 
Iodine is probably the textbook stuff, easy to get at Mole at al. But the sheep-strength stuff needs watering down a LOT - it's stingy and mine had total hysterics when I put it on at full strength.

Most vets say Terramyicn shouldn't work because it's a fungal not bacterial but it does seem to.......

What about athletes foot powder, for dryness?
 
Having a look, some people say it's only available from vets? Some people comparing to purple spray? Not sure if I'm looking at the right thing... There's an agricultural shop by work I can nip into on the way home if needed.

In terms of washing I'm doing it every other day. He's out on a clay field at the moment too which is a bit wet.
 
Wash thoroughly, a sprinkle of copper sulphate powder in the cracks and raggedy bits, followed by Horse Leads hoof clay to lock it in has sorted mine out amazingly. Previous to this we tried everything and although it would seem to work for a while it always came back. Just be very careful with the copper sulphate.
 
Can thoroughly recommend the Kevin bacon stuff, our big lad had thrush quite bad and within 2 days it was so much better, well worth the money
 
ihatework said:
I use the spray used in sheep for foot rot - applied liberally after each farrier visit.
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This is what I use routinely on smelly feet. Battles is the brand that I can get locally.

My new horse has some thrush and deep central sulcuses. I cleaned them out initially by syringing Milton fluid to wash them out and using those Tepe interdental brushes. I then syringed in a kitchen strength antibacterial spray. Finally I filled the bigger crevices with Red Horse hoof stuff and the rest with the sole paint. It seems to be improving just need to keep working on the hoof balance.
 
Tea-tree oil spray (either Equimins or Oz Oil) it is ant-bacterial and anti-fungal, not strong enough to sting but strong enough to dry the thrush up. Don't wash the foot, that defeats the object.
 
jj_87 said:
try and get hold of some Terramycin spray - used for sheep foot rot, keeps it clean and dry, i would avoid over washing as you are just making a nice environment for thrush.
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this^^ I fannied about with all sorts of things with one horse, then scrubbed with povidine-iodine for 5 minutes, then terramycin. repeated weekly. You need to get it off the vet.
 
I was told by my farrier to use Listerine, do I did last year on my old boy that had thrush quiet bad, even the stuff from the vet didn't touch it, within a few days of painting it on each night, his foot looked better, and within a week or so, it had gone, I continued to do it every so often just to kill any bacteria. Great result and a 1lt bottle was on £5. and the barn smelt minty fresh. farrier said he had lots of people with good results from it.
 
Red Horse Field Paste all the way. I've used just about all of their products with good success but the Field Paste is far and away the best. It can be packed into all the crevices and sticks.

Also check the horse's diet as I believe there is a link between (high) sugar intake and thrush. It could just be the sugars in the grass if the grazing is stressed (being burnt with heat/eaten short/flush after rain etc).

I know a few people who feed Calm Healthy Horses supplements and have noticed massively improved hoof health not only with the mineral supp but the GrazeEzy and AlleviateC. I've just ordered my first batch so I hope it lives up to the hype!
 
My old farrier (very "old school", bless him ...) recommended painting the hoof with neat Domestos bleach when my barefoot highland got a bad attack of thrush: clean the sole thoroughly first, use a small paint brush and wear gloves. Seemed a bit extreme to me, but tried it and it seemed to do the trick. Once clear I packed with Red Horse hoof putty for a few weeks and he's fine now.
 
Hydrogen peroxide is good because it's relatively safe to handle, the fizzing helps it get into confined spaces and the bacteria that cause thrush are oxygen haters. It's less good because after it has decomposed all that's left is water and you don't want the hoof to be damp.

I've tried many different things and the most effective was formalin at the same concentration as was used for sheep foot baths.
 
I have never found red horse products to be that effective at eradicating deep seated thrush.

I have found terramyacin spray or iodine spray more effective. I also on farrier recommendation use formalin (diluted) with copper sulphate gradules dissolved it it as a combined hoof hardener and foot disinfectant.
 
Red horse field paste is good.

Antibacterial only gets rid of bacteria. Since thrush is a fungus you need antifungal like canestan 1%. Hydrogen peroxide kills live tissue so while it’s killed some of the gunk... some survive then it’s got fresh dead cells to chew on.

There is an effective soak you can use I just wish I remember it’s name. I used it once, it got rid of it and it never came back. White lightning? (Not the tramp cider)
 
tallyho! said:
Red horse field paste is good.

Antibacterial only gets rid of bacteria. Since thrush is a fungus you need antifungal like canestan 1%. Hydrogen peroxide kills live tissue so while it’s killed some of the gunk... some survive then it’s got fresh dead cells to chew on.

There is an effective soak you can use I just wish I remember it’s name. I used it once, it got rid of it and it never came back. White lightning? (Not the tramp cider)
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cleantrax - it is a right pain - soak in airtight bag and and then fume feet in air tight bag. But it is very good!

Thrush I thought had some antibacterial and some fungal properities, a bit like mud fever.

Dual action athletes foot cream / spray / powder isn't bad either.
 
flying_high said:
cleantrax - it is a right pain - soak in airtight bag and and then fume feet in air tight bag. But it is very good!

Thrush I thought had some antibacterial and some fungal properities, a bit like mud fever.

Dual action athletes foot cream / spray / powder isn't bad either.
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My farrier recommended Clean Trax, there was a fortnight's delivery time, so in the meantime, I used Tea-tree spray. By the time the CleanTrax came the problem had cleared up!
 
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flying_high said:
cleantrax - it is a right pain - soak in airtight bag and and then fume feet in air tight bag. But it is very good!
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Yes and yes ;).

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ETA for milder cases, I use Red Horse sole cleanse and hoof stuff.
 
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