Thrush

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jenz87

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My cob has very deep upright feet and suffers from thrush sometimes, especially in his back feet.
One hind leg has now got really bad thrush into his heels and im horrified!
Im trying my best to sort it.
Picking his feet out 4 times a day, his stable is mucked out fully twice a day and he is turned out in the day in a dry paddock. His bed is shavings and is fully mucked out so no wet. Ive been putting purple spray on as by vets recommendation but its spreading to his heels and im panicing.
Does any one have any further advice? Vet will be looking again next week
 
Thrush can become a vicious cycle if the frogs are not being used properly, the constant pressure they should have if they are built up correctly will prevent thrush from starting generally but if the frogs are poor, not in contact with the ground they will become weaker, more prone to thrush and prevent any treatment really being effective, putting them in a clean bed and treating with various potions will only in part treat the symptoms they will not fully cure the problem.
Wet ground is not the cause and in some cases being out on mud that packs in and stimulates the frogs more may help it clear up, not much help to you but I would look at why his feet are so deep and upright as sorting them will help long term, for now there are various treatments you can use that will be more effective than purple spray, soaking in milton, red horse products are usually recommended, I tend to use salt water and hydrogen peroxide whenever mine need a clean but yours sounds as if it requires a more serious approach, I would get the farrier out to do as much as possible and consider taking the shoes off, unless they already are, to allow the frogs to work as they should as that should really help more than anything topical, also look at his diet sugary mixes will not help their feet be healthy.
 
Not a huge fan of iodine, but if it's really bad (as in horse flinches when you pick out feet) and spreading to heels despite good hygiene and purple spray, I would consider a clean trax soak. It's a pain in the bum because it take ages, but it will definitely kill the thrush. And then get some red horse hoof stuff and/or field paste and smear frogs and shove in central sulcus twice a week to stop it happening again!
 
Nudibranch said:
As above, diet and hoof care long term. I the short term iodine is excellent and not damaging to tissues.
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Er, not so: iodine, unless is is very dilute and therefore not very effective, will blister the skin. Indeed was formerly used as a blistering agent for that very reason.
 
Cortez said:
Er, not so: iodine, unless is is very dilute and therefore not very effective, will blister the skin. Indeed was formerly used as a blistering agent for that very reason.
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doesn't on mine and I have used it for years when needed. It is the most effective thing I have found. Also the easiest to apply. On several occasions when a horse has moved I have got it over my hands in relatively large quantities. No blistering and no side effects. If it was going to blister the horse's skin I would expect it to have the same effect on mine.
 
Cortez , iodine is what surgeons use to clean skin before operations...It can be safely used on any skin. I asked OH (surgeon) to make sure I had my facts right...perfectly safe and effective on thrush. I'm talking about this, not an industrial pure element! And it does work. Vet recommends too.
 
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Nudibranch said:
Cortez , iodine is what surgeons use to clean skin before operations...It can be safely used on any skin. I asked OH (surgeon) to make sure I had my facts right...perfectly safe and effective on thrush. I'm talking about this, not an industrial pure element! And it does work. Vet recommends too.
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Cortez must have got confused with something else surely!
Standard pharmacy issue iodine solution is perfectly fine for a horses foot
 
ihatework said:
Cortez must have got confused with something else surely!
Standard pharmacy issue iodine solution is perfectly fine for a horses foot
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Yep, I'm thinking of the very high percentage stuff we used for flushing out a bursa which caused the skin on my fingers to peel off...The pharmacy grade version should work fine :-)
 
ive tried so many different things and the only one that i found to work was NT Dry, you have to use it every day until the thrush has gone and then a couple of times a week to keep on top of it but results are amazing! My mare even had deep splits in the center of her frogs, i was told that these would never close up, well they did with this stuff :-)
 
If you are still looking for a solution the only thing I recommend to my clients is red horse field paste ... not expensive and it actually works. No nasties that are going to damage hooves either.

If the central sulcus is deep it's best cleaned out and red horse do something called hoof stuff that is great to pack the cavity out with.

By the way baby wipes are ideal for cleaning hooves! Unscented!! As thrush and scented baby wipes is awful!!!
 
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