Thrush

baylover

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How do you get rid of it?

My 23 year old gelding has now got thrush! I'm bemused how he even got it as his stable is very clean! It's sort of first stages, only flakey and white around the frog! What do I do to get rid!
 
It's not all stable management at all.. Mostly caused by diet but the wet mud doesn't help! Have a look at red horse products online, they're brilliant at getting rid of it :) I would recommend the field paste for getting rid quickly
 
It's not all stable management at all.. Mostly caused by diet but the wet mud doesn't help! Have a look at red horse products online, they're brilliant at getting rid of it :) I would recommend the field paste for getting rid quickly

Thanks, he's fed on haylage around 8-10 kg and he is on a hi-fi no molasses, D&H pasture cubes and D&H Ultimate balancer. is this likely to affect it?
 
Doesn't sound bad, do the pasture cubes have mollasses in? I expect its the horrible muddy fields causing it at this time of the year and if it't not too bad should clear up in a few treatments :)
 
Not according to the website but probably will say on the bag! Will check, he was on alfalfa a but he had way too much energy so changed him to dengie hi-fi! Will try the paste, thanks so much for your advice! I feel less bad that it's maybe one of those things!
 
I would assume he is getting too much sugars and not enough minerals [though many horses are on a similar diet and have no problems], for that reason I would alter the diet.
Try soaking the haylage, even an hour will remove the worst of the sugars.
Supplement the minerals eg Pro Hoof from Progressive Earth or Equimins original if not doing a lot of work.
A bit of salt added to feed.
Some micronised linseed 50-100gms.
Remove anything which has moglo or molasses in the ingredients.
Plenty of turnout.
According to the D&H website the pasture cubes need to be fed at 2 to 3 kgs per day for a 350 to a 500gk horse, that's a lot, feeding less means he is not getting the full recommended dose of minerals from the nuts. More relevant to me is that the minerals provided are not targetted at hoof health, and as this is your problem you need to address it.
I found Pasture mix to be high in cereals, and not particularly suited to feeding to a horse on pasture!
 
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I would assume he is getting too much sugars and not enough minerals [though many horses are on a similar diet and have no problems], for that reason I would alter the diet.
Try soaking the haylage, even an hour will remove the worst of the sugars.
Supplement the minerals eg Pro Hoof from Progressive Earth or Equimins original if not doing a lot of work.
A bit of salt added to feed.
Some micronised linseed 50-100gms.
Remove anything which has moglo or molasses in the ingredients.
Plenty of turnout.


Thanks bonkers2. He has very good turn out as it is, he has been on this feed for a good 4-5 months , other than the hi-fi, that was in the last few months, with no problems, is it still likely to be the case?

I have heard that micronized linseed can make them fizzy? Have you had any experience with that? He is a TB so I really don't need him to have any more energy!
 
I have fed micronised linseed to mine for the last few winters and it does not make them fizzy :) It does help a lot with the quality of hooves and coat, makes tails easier to brush through too I've found!
 
I think you will have no fizziness with linseed, it is a slow release energy source, but you would be able to reduce the pasture mix.
I have no problems with feeding oats to a TB in hard work, but for general hacking and so on, I would avoid cereals, there seems to me to be a lot of stuff in pasture mix and I assume in the cubes. A lot of people prefer Spillers Hi Fibre cubes.
I know the feet were OK for months, but now they are not, so best to change the diet.
Think about feeding fibre, this is the basic feed for the horse, which will convert the fibre in the gut to provide slow release energy.
Minerals: these are expensive, so you will find that when you buy a feed mix it will have minimal minerals as this is a way to keep the bag of feed at an acceptable cost. With feet problems you need to make sure you have a broader spectrum of minerals.
Salt: this is an essential, but is not added to feedstuffs as it absorbs moisture, you cannot rely on your horse to lick it, they don't all like the taste>
 
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I would assume he is getting too much sugars and not enough minerals [though many horses are on a similar diet and have no problems], for that reason I would alter the diet.
Try soaking the haylage, even an hour will remove the worst of the sugars.
Supplement the minerals eg Pro Hoof from Progressive Earth or Equimins original if not doing a lot of work.
A bit of salt added to feed.
Some micronised linseed 50-100gms.
Remove anything which has moglo or molasses in the ingredients.
Plenty of turnout.
According to the D&H website the pasture cubes need to be fed at 2 to 3 kgs per day for a 350 to a 500gk horse, that's a lot, feeding less means he is not getting the full recommended dose of minerals from the nuts. More relevant to me is that the minerals provided are not targetted at hoof health, and as this is your problem you need to address it.
I found Pasture mix to be high in cereals, and not particularly suited to feeding to a horse on pasture!


Thanks so much, you've both been really helpful
 
Yes, the whole seed is "micronised" which means a light heat/steam treatment and light crushing, so it is is the whole product. The liquid is linseed oil, which is expressed from the seed by manufacturing, so the 20kg bag is what you want. Store it dry and in the dark and it will keep for ages. It helps skin, the feet, and the condition, so you might feed 100-200gms [ 1-2 coffee mugs] in winter and 25-50gms [small blue scoop] in summer.
You can buy tiny scales for about £3.00.
 
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I would say try the Red Horse products. I have a mare that lives out and I have been using the Field Paste every other day and it has cleared it up well.

Thanks Pauline have just ordered so fingers crossed. I think its thrush but a colleague has suggested it might be Chalky feet. I have little experience with either!
 
Can I just sneakily butt in and ask about Artimud? My pony has a bit of thrush in her central sulcus so have been cleaning out with sole cleanse and then put some artimud in there but not sure how long it is supposed to stay in there for!! It doesn't fall out as she is on yard rest at the moment but obviously I do need to remove it and put fresh stuff in but how often?
 
Can I just sneakily butt in and ask about Artimud? My pony has a bit of thrush in her central sulcus so have been cleaning out with sole cleanse and then put some artimud in there but not sure how long it is supposed to stay in there for!! It doesn't fall out as she is on yard rest at the moment but obviously I do need to remove it and put fresh stuff in but how often?

I don't know but if you email them they are super helpful! Got a response within 5 minutes!
 
For thrush I either syringe some hydrogen peroxide onto the frog, you can buy that from the chemist. Or I scrub out with some baby disinfectant - stores own brand version of milton. Mine has got some thrush too, but I think we are almost back on track now
 
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