Thrush - Does anyone elses horse suffer??

[dressagespain]

One of my horses that is stabled most of the time does suffer from thrush, and frustratingly its not that I don't try to keep it under control.
I muck out 2 times a day, never leave him with wet bed and pick out his feet 2 times a day aswell.
On his actual hooves, I use salt water and if really smelly purple spray.

Vet and farrier both say that I'm doing everyhting I can BUT ITS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!! It all started when he was on livery and they didn't do the beds that well and now it won't go!!!

Any suggestions? I feel like a bad mother!

 

[TheresaW]

Mac has had it on and off since the day I got him. I do everything I can to keep his feet clean and it will clear up in one foot and not another. I never seem to get rid of it totally.

I have asked my farrier to keep an eye on it and let me know if it gets bad at any time, but he says that some horses are more prone to it than others, and Mac is one of those horses.

 

[TGM]

Our old pony used to suffer from thrush quite a bit - I found it helped to bandage on dry Animalintex (or a disposable nappy) overnight for a couple of nights. Not only does this draw out all the gunk and moisture, it also prevents the frog coming back into contact with urine/droppings.

 

[dressagespain]

That could work but I thought thrush thrived on not having the oxygen to it?

 

[Rambo]

Yes, Bo is a sufferer.

The best stuff we have found is a purple spray...but not the usual horsey one ! It's for sheep ! Our tack shop sold it to us, and as it isn't designed specifically for horses, it isn't too expensive either

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
That could work but I thought thrush thrived on not having the oxygen to it?

[/ QUOTE ] Well if you don't have the Animalintex bandaged onto the foot, the hoof will just fill up with bedding or droppings anyway - so it really doesn't make much difference to the oxygen supply! Better dry Animalintex next to the frog than moist poo/wee

.

 

[dressagespain]

Well you do have a very good point!!!

I also find that filling a squirty bottle (Like a washing up liquid bottle) with salt water and blasting the hooves once a day works but nothing gets rid of it!!

 

[dressagespain]

Rambo, Can you remember what that purple spray is called?

 

[Heidi1]

I used a low grade Hydrogen Peroxide from the chemist. Cheap and it does the job, one of my girls suffered when she was on box rest, cleared her up in no time, just used it twice a day for a couple of weeks. Might be worth a try if you can get it......

 

[dressagespain]

I'll get my spanish dictionary out and go to the chemist!!! Thanks

 

[annaellie]

[ QUOTE ]
I used a low grade Hydrogen Peroxide from the chemist. Cheap and it does the job, one of my girls suffered when she was on box rest, cleared her up in no time, just used it twice a day for a couple of weeks. Might be worth a try if you can get it......

[/ QUOTE ] I took a horse on a trial with view to buy and he had very bad thrush when he came yo also suggested this it worked very well

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
Rambo, Can you remember what that purple spray is called?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll have a look next time i'm up at the yard (won't be tonight as they're having a day off

).

 

[dressagespain]

Cool well I am sure you can get it here, I'll pop to the chemists on way home.

I'm sure if you can manage to get rid of it, and manage the stables, it won't come back. (Crossing my fingers as I type!!)

 

[dressagespain]

RAMBO!! Whats a day off?? HAHA! I'd love one of those!!

 

[spaniel]

You need to kill the bacteria, salt water alone is not really up to the job.

Hydrogen peroxide is what you need. Thrush bacteria are anaerobic which means they cannot survive in the presence of oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide solution will fizz and bubble when squirted into the foot and produces a lot of Oxygen thus killing the thrush.

Its the most effective way Ive found to get it cleared up.

Cheap from the chemist too.

ETS. Dont get it on your clothes...it will bleach!

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
RAMBO!! Whats a day off?? HAHA! I'd love one of those!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Not me...the horses

(Livery do the hard work in my case lol!)

 

[dressagespain]

Ah your a lucky lucky soul!! One day I'll be rich enough to have someone to muck mine out!!

Thanks Spaniel - gonna defo give it a go!

 

[Theresa_F]

Cairo used to be like this, hibiscrub and salt water, purple spray, foot rot spray, perioxide - used the lot. Every day had to scrub out feet and apply foot rot spray three times a week and even then did not stop it completely.

What seems to have stopped him and this is not for everyone, is since he only wears shoes a couple of months in the summer, the thrush has stopped.

All I do now is pick out daily and every few weeks put on a bit of stockholm tar and have done so for the past two years. Nothing else has changed in his routine. No more scrubbing and spraying daily.

With shoes he has very narrow deep clefts, without them the whole frog has spread out and his foot is much healthier.

 

[spaniel]

That makes a lot of sense....there are fewer crevices and more air can circulate.

 

[Llwyncwn]

The sheep foot rot spray is known at Tetcin (Tetramyacin). Think you can only get it from the vets.

 

[dressagespain]

AH right - not much good for me then!! I can try my local feed merchants though I guess!! Not many sheep on the Costa del Sol though!!

Going without shoes is a no no - the ground is much too hard out here and he is having corrective shoeiing as well.

 

[Breezesbenefactor]

Try a stong solution of detol scrub the hoof clean and dry then apply purple spray do this 3 times a week and then once it gets better go to once a week during the wet/ winter weather - bobs your uncle