thrush that won't go away!

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budley95

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My friend brought a little cob back at the start of August. She then went on holiday 2 weeks after buying pony, he got thrush whilst she was away and one of the young girls was looking after him, so she told The girl to call the vet to sort it and give her the stuff and show her what to do. Girl followed vets instructions religiously. Friend then came back and continued regime. Cleaning with iodine and then spraying a green spray on it. Didn't do any good after 2 weeks. Friend has had vet out twice more who has now prescribed peroxide. Pony has been on this regime of peroxide and then drying packing with talcum powder and then spraying with this green spray. It begins with a and I can't remember the name im afraid. Pony is still no better and is now hopping lame. Friend has also had farrier to check and he just said vet job as it's so bad. Pony has a frog that's deteriorating and he's in a lot of pain and is now being difficult to even pick up this foot, he's lame in walk. He has been stabled for the last week on rubber matting with shavings and all wet is removed 3 times a day. Thrush is getting worse not better though. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Pictures are the best I could get as he wouldn't keep his foot up.
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Any suggestions? New vet was my quite unhelpful one...
 
I've not heard of the current way your friends dealing with this not keen on the idea of talcum powder? But shes right to try and do something as that frog looks totally eaten away bu thrush.

Anyway I'm using "septi clense" which is what farmers use to treat foot rot on their animals, It comes recommended from a few people in the know on here and it was only £4 for a tin you can get it from a farm supplies shop.

I would stop with the peroxide as that seems to be making it worse, can you soak the hoof in solution of diluted milton or just warm water for ten minutes to clean it and then apply the septi clense?

also worth looking at diet if the horse is getting the right vitamins and minerals this helps fight thrush.

please let us know how you get on
 
Brilliant. A couple of people have said milton so I'll suggest that. I'd never heard of talcum powder, but was there when the vet told her that :-S he's on ad lib hay and gets half a scoop of hi fi with equivite in and then grass nuts in a ball to keep him quiet. I don't think it's anything to do with his diet unfortunately! I'll suggest the septi cleanse as well. Thank you.
 
so the alaymycin is an antibiotic spray- and as such will be treating any bacterial but not fungal cause- fungal would be covered by the peroxide. Looking at the pic I am wondering whether some judicious trimming might help too??

There are a lot of options for thrush and it is hard to know what is best - especially as a lot of the traditional treatments can knock back healthy tissue a bit too.

Perhaps - for longer term treatment throughout the day it might be worth having a look at one of the red horse pastes? or white lightening gel? http://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/Hoof-Treatments/White-Lightning-Gel-30ml
 
ester said:
Looking at the pic I am wondering whether some judicious trimming might help too??
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I agree here. There are a lot of flaps and infections can lurk underneath and make treating more difficult. It's also hard to see what's what. Is the thrush deep in the central frog sulcus?

If it's severe I would consider a soak in something like cleantrax but it is a palaver and the horse needs to be happy to wear a big boot for a long time. So not an option for some.

Having a word with Justine (who is also a hoof care professional) from the equine podiatry supplies link Ester put up would be a good move imo.
 
I would get him off the rubber matting, let him stand on concrete to encourage blood flow. Is he arthritic? Good diet works wonders, chaff and a decent balancer and a decent farrier. Peroxide also damages healthy tissue which is probably why he's lame. Scrub out feet and pick twice daily. Ask for some Terramycin spray.
 
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Farrier has looked a few times but he won't let him touch the frog unfortunately. He's not arthritic at all as is only 9. Owner is starting to think that he had it when she brought him 6 weeks ago now. I don't know much about where it is and things like that im afraid as he's not my pony. All the stables at our yard have rubber matting down. And we just have grass outside which unfortunately from this rain is a bit boggy :-( thank you. I'll show her this thread.
 
budley95 said:
Farrier has looked a few times but he won't let him touch the frog unfortunately.
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Who is "he"that wont let the farrier touch the frog? Is the vet wondering that something else, apart from thrush, is going on? Is it in all hooves? Is the frog tender when hoof picked out?

Healthy frogs are best left alone but unhealthy ones may need some trimming at times imo.
 
Sorry he is pony. They've tried twitching and sedalin but he just loses it. It's only in his back hoof. He did have it in all of them but only this one that has it now. It's the only hoof of white horn if thats of any importance? Vet gives off the impression that he couldn't care less to be honest.
 
Hock spavin can complicate these cases, especially if its persistent in only one hind. Vet sounds a charmer. Regain the pony's trust and get some spray in there. Good luck. (Don't forget the sympathetic farrier too he may succeed where others have failed)
 
I imagine it is quite likely that he had it when he arrived. It would be worth considering getting the vet to sedate properly so that the situation in that foot can be fully assessed with your farrier present. (though perhaps with a new vet :p )
 
I was also going to suggest one off full sedation if it's very severe and sore. Training is going to be required by the sound of it but it can be hard to train when horses are really sore. Keeping the hoof as low as possible when lifted might help pony as well.

Good luck.

ps. In the longer term a decent balancer with good levels of minerals might help prevent thrush. Something like pro hoof.
 
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Hiya a different vet and a decent farrier. I found eucalyptus oil brilliant, it's now an important part of my tack box. It soaks into the hoof and frog so penetrates deeply. I had a horse with terrible thrush a few years ago and used all the products you have mentioned so far. Kerratex used to do a hoof disinfectant ( not sure if they still do it) in a tiny bottle but it was only thing that worked. I was recommended the eucalyptus by a very highly qualified farrier and it works brilliantly.
 
Brilliant. Thank you for all the suggestions. We'll work our way through them! Farrier is a brilliant farrier and very calm. He took my horses rubbish feet to unshod and has got rid of abcesses and thrush for me on Many occasions over 8 years but Arthur (pony) is not being the best to sort at the moment, although we all understand why! Think new vet is coming next week.
 
I honestly think that the pony came with the problem. I can't believe a healthy frog could deteriorate so much in such a short amount of time. Given the very deep crevices and concave appearance of the frog, I would suspect that the infection may have reached the sensitive frog (frog corium).

If this was my pony, I would get a different vet out, ask for a full sedation so that the extent of the infection can be ascertained. Debridement and packing, if necessary. I would also keep the hoof padded and booted to keep it clean (and away from bedding).

Poor pony, it looks soooo sore, I'm not surprised he is a bit grumpy picking his feet up at the moment!
 
My vet recommends Golden Hoof so it may be worth trying to tub him with that? Also feed does play an important part & I have heard of success stories when they are fed a decent probiotic to sort out the gut
 
Definitely agree that the frog needs some trimming. We have a 24yr old cob who has big old tough fleshy frogs with all sorts of crevices, flaps etc going on ( he is barefoot and very rock stomping with very good hard feet otherwise - farrier just siad that because he has good deep soles mud packs in and makes him more susectible. We struggle to keep them thrush free with out good trimming and Milton spray. Also when they get soggier than usual we use NT Foot Rot or something which is a powder and is very good.
 
Are you able to get some Potassium Permanganate crystals? If so dissolve some in warm water and soak his feet in it.

First scrub feet clean and rinse, then squirt some into the frog, before standing him in it for 10 mins, twice a day if you can.
 
Will definitely suggest everything. This is also posted by another livery on another forum. A lot of people are suggesting canker on there? Hopefully owner will get another vet rather than the charmer that's racked up a £400 vet's bill for something thats not working, hopefully they'll rule other things out rather than just saying carry on with peroxide. So could anyone tell me about canker? Or post a link I could print? Never heard of it before.
 
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Thank you. I haven't heard of it before and there's so much conflicting information in Google! Some saying you can treat it with tea tree oil and zinc right through to it needs cutting back and chemotherapy! She's had a vet recommended that takes a special interest in feet so she's going to get him out to see pony instead. Poor pony. owner really isn't having much luck. insurance won't cover it where it was so close after buying him. :-(
 
hoof specialist has been out who goes around the world for whw. He's 90% sure it's canker. Just need a biopsy to be sure :-(
 
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Oh no, had she had him 2 weeks before the problem started? She may be covered by insurance?? How is the cob at the minute? Your poor friend what a rotten situation.
 
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