OK..so the weather has been horrible, wet-wet-wet. My horse has had a thrush infestation and it has split his frog...and going up to the middle of his heel bulbs. A bit hard to explain, so I attached a picture.

He IS lame on this foot and I have been treating it. Tonight was a treatment of scrubbing with iodine(which has been done daily), hot water with epsom salts bath(more just to clean it out a bit), cotton to dry it as much as I can. Koppertox/Thrush Buster every day. And the cotton is in there everyday, too. Tonight he is staying in because he is just that sore, but has been going out otherwise. His foot is wrapped with padding underneath so he has a bit of relief. It has NOT been this bad. He was quite sore on it this evening. He has NOT been ridden since the initial finding of this. A hack today, but he was fine during it, it was after. It was only 10 minutes long on the grass, and his foot was packed and wrapped for the hack as well.

This was last week, I didn't get a picture of his foot from the bottom. But I think it's safe to say it was wider this evening.


Any more ideas that can help with a thrush treatment?

When thrush is this bad, you need to get the vet involved. Although what you are doing is good, OTC (over the counter meds) can only go so far and you need strong meds before more damage is caused.

Thrush is a bacterial infection and can be very stubborn and nasty to get rid of. In addition to keeping his foot clean and very dry, you need to make sure that your tools that you are using on his foot are kept clean and are not shared with other horses. For example, dip your hoof pick in bleach after each hoof cleaning to kill any bacteria that may be lurking. Make sure his stall is as dry as possible and if he is turned out, he should be on as dry a paddock (high ground) as possible. The bacteria that causes thrush lives in the ground, and will be happy where it is wet.

But the best advice at this point if the horse is sore is to get the vet involved before any further damage is caused.

Good luck! Thrush is just nasty.

Agree with Tuckerjake on the vet.

Many thrush problems are caused by trim. You may want to check that angle as well.

Once you have him over the situation, maintain using a mixture of Apple Cider Vinegar with a few drops of Tea Tree Oil. Spray foot regularly. APV creates an acidic environment that thrush does not like. TTO has anti-bacterial properties.

In certain states of thrush, some people have had success with packing the foot around the frog with cotton balls soaked in ACV.

Hope that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Glory:
Agree with Tuckerjake on the vet.

Many thrush problems are caused by trim. You may want to check that angle as well.

I'm sorry but could you explain why a trim would cause a bacterial infection?? Do you mean the farriers tools spred it? Or the actual angle of the foot trim?

I agree with the vet comments at this point.

Soak the foot in a borax solution (1 tablespoon to 1/2 gallon of water) for 30 mins a day.

Then, get a tube each of Athlete's-foot cream(Clotrimazole) and Triple antibiotic(Neosporin, make sure it is 3x), mix it together and put it into a syringe (needle removed of course). Apply it into all of the grooves and cracks.

You can wrap or boot the hoof for the first couple of days(make sure you let the hoof air out for at least a couple hours each day), but the best way is to let air into the hoof as thrush greeblies are anaerobic.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vintage Lace,

Vet is coming out this evening...so I will update once I find out more information.

Thanks all for your tips..they are printed and I will ask about them.

In the old farrier books, thrush is defined as contraction. The microbes thrive in frogs that are lacking in circulation are it has very little to do with how wet the pastures are (wild horses living in swamps do not get thrush). Lack of circulation to the frog is the main factor in allowing thrush to take hold and the trim would be the cause in most cases. Any topical treatments will only work on the surface, correct circulation and trim is the only real cure that I know. Pure tea tree oil applied once a day will also work. It is non toxic (unlike koppertox) and is what the hospitals use on babies when they have thrush (yes it is the same thrush horses get)

Looking at the photo, the hoof shows a very deep central groove (contraction) so the trim should be looked at first. Iodine will not kill thrush (it will burn the frog/cause pain) and koppertox will only work on a few types of thrush (will not work on yeast types). I would also stay away from boots as they will trap in the thrush making a wonderful environment for the microbes to triple in hours.

Thanks melaniem. You have captured the concern with respect to trimming well.

Ponybreeder...My comment had nothing to do with angles of the trim. Sorry, bad choice of words. I meant to say, check out trim as an angle that the OP may wish to follow in addition to working with her vet.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Glory,

Sorry Glory I was wondering LOL That makes sence

My horse gets very bad thrush as well. What i do and find that works is I syringe the feet with warm water and epsom salts once a day and apply thrush buster once every 5 days. In between I apply Koppertox. The key is making sure that you get all dirt and debris out of the feet with the syringe. The syrige lets you really get into the crevasses of the foot. Make sure feet are completely dry before adding thrush teatment. Also allow the feet to dry with the truch treatment before putting your horse back in his stall/field.

If the thrush is really bad, (raw, pink, or bloody), make sure you don't apply thrush buster until it is more under control as this can burn your horse. TB is very potent so be careful not to apply too often. Once every 5-7 days.

I have just used bleach or hydrogen peroxide in the past. Worked great! The thrush wasn't too bad though, I caught it right when it started!
Good luck Paula! You must let us know what the vet thinks of it!

The only thing about using caustic chemicals, is that it burns the healthy tissue as well...not something I'd want to be doing.

Daily spritzing with vinegar or as melanie mentioned, tea tree oil, will also help keep thrush at bay.

Vet came out 2x. The first night he said that the loose parts of the frog were just dead tissue and should have been taken off on his trim. He dug into the grooves alongside the frog and took out whatever was sitting in there.

He came back out this evening and cleaned out the hoof even more. The hole/crack that was created is now dug out. I am to call back in 4 days after I have soaked him once, or ideally twice, during the day with epsom salts and hot water. Wrap the foot only when he goes out(which is at night).

tri soaking his foot in warm water and a cup of pure apple sider viniger. when my pony had thrush we did this and it helpd alot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Talahassy,

I also heard that sugar and iodine works to. not sure how really.. but another try.

I have to anecdotally agree with what's being said here about feet, farrier and thrush. My current mount had contracted heels and always seemed to have thrush at least once a year. After I got my clutches on him a new farrier recommended putting him in bigger shoes to see if his feet would expand (he had contracted heels). We managed to spread him out, up one shoe size.

I (knocking wood) haven't had an issue with thrush since. But I keep copper sulphate around and administer "just because" when it's wet and muddy.

If the infection is eating it's way up you need to do something about it. I'd contact the vet and start using bleach and/or peroxide with a dosing syringe. Starting first to get the area as flushed out and as clean as possible and then with the product to get it as high up into the "crack" as possible.

quote:

I also heard that sugar and iodine works to. not sure how really.. but another try.

The iodine and sugar works best for abscesses, since sugar absorbs, it literally draws out he infection and the iodine helps to kill the infection. You basically pack it in and cover it with vet wrap and duct tape.