Thrush -vs- Terramycin

Rudey

Rudey

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I am treating one of my horses, Sammi, for thrush. He has got it within the cleft of his frog. He is currently turned out on sandy land (doesn't hold water or get boggy) 24/7. I pick his feet out on a daily basis, and stand him in a bare stable on concrete to allow the air to get to his feet.

Today I have scrubbed all four hooves clean with cold water, then a good going over with salt water. I waited for them to dry, and sprayed with terramycin. I had him stood in for a further hour to allow everything to soak in, before turning him out.

My question is, how frequent should I (if I should) repeat this treatment, bearing in mind, I have used terramycin? :confused:

I'm conscious winter is approaching, and desparetly want to get this sorted for my little man. If it doesn't start to improve I will stable him to clear it up, in an attempt to keep it as dry as possible.

Advice/experiences would be gratefully received! xx
 
When my lad had hoof problems last winter we cleaned it with hibiscrub and purple spray every day for a week I think, it definitely cleared it up.
FDC
 
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When my boy gets thrush (he seems prone to it for some reason, even though I'm very careful with picking and brushing out his feet everyday and keeping the stable clean and dry! Hooves are also well maintained by farrier!) I scrub with hibiscrub and warm water every day before leaving to dry and spraying with purple spray, or if it's worse Kevin Bacon thrush treatment. Some people also do this twice daily, but I usually do it once as I always catch it very early.. I would definitely scrub out with salt water daily and leave to dry, but no idea on the Terramycin front, sorry! xx
 
Thanks for the responses. I will keep up the treatment for a week, perhaps using purple spray from tomorrow, and pray I have it under control. :) I was a little concerned wondering whether terramycin was a once only type use!

I fairly recently had the farrier out for him, but I might ask him to come out and have a look - perhaps he could take back some of the manky parts of his frog so there's less places for the bacteria to thrive. It is near on impossible keeping their feet clean and aired!

I HATE thrush! :mad: xx
 
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Surprised your lad has it on such sandy ground, weird. I have always found hibiscrub and purple spray o do the trick, even on bad cases. Not as harsh as a lot of treatments people suggest either. Sure it will clear up soon though, sounds like you are on top of it. Hope you're all well x
 
When my mare got an infection in her toes and thrush on her frogs I was flushing it all with hydrogen peroxide and then spraying with terramycin once or twice a day for about three weeks. Definitely no scrubbing involved! Just lots of labour-intensive cleaning. I was never told to be cautious with the terramycin use :)
 
somethingorother said:
Surprised your lad has it on such sandy ground, weird. I have always found hibiscrub and purple spray o do the trick, even on bad cases. Not as harsh as a lot of treatments people suggest either. Sure it will clear up soon though, sounds like you are on top of it. Hope you're all well x
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I'm great thank you sweet, how about you? I can't wait for the next time we cross paths.... Rox has grown loads since you last saw him! Have you got any ponies to play with at the moment?

Sam's got deep grooves either side of his frogs. His feet not only collect mud, but jam pack the frigging stuff in! I think with that, combined with his frogs shedding, it has given the bacteria plenty of hidey holes to creep into. Damn stuff. :(

Rox on the other hand, obviously turned out in same field, hardly has anything to pick out of his feet when he comes in. His feet are totally a different shape. His groves appear wider, but definitely shallow in comparison to Sam's.

It's rather frustrating seeming I look after their feet on a daily basis. Urgh. Stupid thrush. xx
 
Silmarillion said:
When my mare got an infection in her toes and thrush on her frogs I was flushing it all with hydrogen peroxide and then spraying with terramycin once or twice a day for about three weeks. Definitely no scrubbing involved! Just lots of labour-intensive cleaning. I was never told to be cautious with the terramycin use :)
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Ah thanks for the info Silmarillion. I was worried in case I over used it. I searched on here earlier about peroxide - which admittedly was the route I was going to go down - and although it can give good results, other posters commented that not only can it kill off the bad stuff, but also the good stuff too! Whether this is the case or not I do not know, but I decided to err on the side of caution, and went with salt water and terramycin. xx
 
Dont worry about the Terramycin - you can use it as much as necessary. I usually say use it twice a day, usually after eithe hydrogen peroxide or hibiscrub was (prefer the former). Id usually say forget the purple spray as its useless but the surgical spirit that is in most purple spray may be useful for hoof hardening(though Im not entirely convinced). Terramycin over purple spray every time.
 
Thrush is a fungal infection, terramycin is an antibiotic. It's not going to act on fungus at all. His hooves sound uber clean though! Nothing wrong with that. It will protect any broken areas from becoming developing a bacterial infection.
 
BeBopTalulah said:
Thrush is a fungal infection, terramycin is an antibiotic. It's not going to act on fungus at all. His hooves sound uber clean though! Nothing wrong with that. It will protect any broken areas from becoming developing a bacterial infection.
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Terramycin DOES work on Thrush, but there are other things which are very useful.
Naf Hoofmaster (an aerosol puple spray - excellent stuff) and Lifedata Hoof disinfectant - an iodine based treatment which works well also.
Goodluck.
 
Thanks for the responses and advice. Muchly appreciated. Interesting points made - I had a quick Google in relation to terramycin to see what was what. One of its main uses is to treat foot rot in sheep, and to apply in weekly intervals where necessary. So that being the case, I think I will continue with the salt water, and use purple spray or a thrush product on a daily basis, then next week, use the terramycin. I will go to the local farm store tomorrow and see what treatments they have available for daily use. Terramycin is difficult to get hold of, and I like to have it in my first aid box as a just in case measure! xx
 
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Rudey said:
Ah thanks for the info Silmarillion. I was worried in case I over used it. I searched on here earlier about peroxide - which admittedly was the route I was going to go down - and although it can give good results, other posters commented that not only can it kill off the bad stuff, but also the good stuff too! Whether this is the case or not I do not know, but I decided to err on the side of caution, and went with salt water and terramycin. xx
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I have always found only one treatment with terramycin does the trick.
 
BeBopTalulah said:
Thrush is a fungal infection, terramycin is an antibiotic. It's not going to act on fungus at all. His hooves sound uber clean though! Nothing wrong with that. It will protect any broken areas from becoming developing a bacterial infection.
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^^^^This, completely, for all the reasons stated. Thrush is caused by a fungus, not a bacterium and therefore is treated with a fungicide. Foot rot in sheep is caused by bacteria and is treated with an antibacterial agent (antibiotic) hence terramycin is effective. Fungi and bacteria are two different organisms requiring two different treatments.

Hope this helps!
 
sula said:
^^^^This, completely, for all the reasons stated. Thrush is caused by a fungus, not a bacterium and therefore is treated with a fungicide. Foot rot in sheep is caused by bacteria and is treated with an antibacterial agent (antibiotic) hence terramycin is effective. Fungi and bacteria are two different organisms requiring two different treatments.

Hope this helps!
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I thought this too, but terramycin works wonders on thrush. I think it's because thrush thrives on bacteria and terramycin kills that food souce and creates a sterile environment where fungus cannot grow. Another effective treatment for thrush is human athletes foot cream. Works a treat on horse's hooves.
 
One of the easiest treatments I use is to clean the foot well with salt water or hibiscrub or Milton and then pack in some Sudocrem, you can pack cotton wool with it in the collateral grooves and the cleft if it is deep enough. It's never failed me yet!
 
stockholm tar painted on the soles twice a week in winter will prevent recurrence, so don' worry too much, but you need toget rid now, i would as always ask the vet, but personally would not go too overboard on the wetting with a fungal infection of any kind, yes ensure its infection free then apply s tar daily.

i think fungus is killed when its no longer has access to air, well in general, the tar will act as an antiseptic and has waterproofing qualities so will help dry the area, you can of course bring in the horse wet days to avoid moisture, well that"s what i'd do anyway.
 
QR

The Terramycin tin says once per week, but I'd check every day and perhaps go through your regime 2 or 3 times per week. You don't want to wash the teramycin away but need to give it a chance to do its job. I've certainly used it more than once a week, but no more than 3 times. I often find if its caught early enough, one spray sorts it! Marvellous stuff imo
 
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