A new Valley Vet catalog arrived in the mail the other day. Paging through it was a no-brainer since there is now a very valid reason *to* look at loads of equine goodies. (Lutin agrees. He has already put in very specific orders for cookies, fly spray, brushes and a new halter. Rotten pony.) Back to the topic though. Since Lutin has wonderful feet, I had planned on skipping over the hoof supplement/ thrush treatment/ hoof goo sections. It proved impossible though, as the pages of the catalog fell open on their own to the hoof care section. Pages of goop, goo, and additives filled my view. A confusing array of colors, whose product descriptions all promised incredible amazing indescribable results in no time.
Because I can not be up and doing for more than short amounts of time, sitting down and looking over the available options seemed like a good way to avoid some boredom and gain some education. What I found from the descriptions was confusion more than education. How can these things make promises to treat all these maladies and provide your horse with amazing feet?
Now- none of the companies have contacted me to do reviews of their products. The information you are about to read is purely my own observation, questions and supposition. Just sayin'.
First- lets look at the thrush treatments.
Appearing at the top of the page is "Thrushbuster", made by Mustad. First thing I liked? They were the ONLY ones who addressed the fact that yes, thrush can be cripplingly painful.
I have used this in the past. Was less than impressed with the results- that tiny 2 ounce bottle promised the world, but fell short of delivering for my needs.
I had to look online for a list of ingredients: water, isopropanel formalin, PVP, iodine complex, Gentain Violet. (Hey-- formalin.. as in formaldehyde?)
Directly to the right on the page:
A relatively new product that I'd actually like to be able to test.called "NO THRUSH", it is a powder form with a puff nozzle. It took a bit of digging to get the ingredients list, and I only managed to score a partial one at that. The partial list: copper salts, oregano powder, diatomaceous earth. I know I like oregano on my pizza, but had no idea of the natural astringent properties. What I do know of and a tiny bit about was the DE. As a drying agent alone, I can see where that would be hugely helpful in wet cases of nastiness.
Next on the page was a product by Absorbine. I think Mikey might be using some of this: Hooflex Thrush Remedy. The ad did not really say much about the product, other than it won't stain, and it will kill the bacteria for thrush and white line disease. (Note: Any product that claims they can kill WLD bugs topically makes me wonder a bit. WLD tends to penetrate the hoof deeply- most topicals I've seen simply can not get far enough into the hoof wall to do much good. They don't do harm, other than to your wallet, but they don't really do much GOOD either.) Listed active ingredients: Chloroxylenol 5.0%; Aluminum Chlorhydroxy Allantoinate 0.25%.
Next on the list:
Thrush Magic Paste. This caught my eye making more investigation a priority. Would it be along the lines of any of the mastitis treatments? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not, too. All I could find for a list of ingredients was "Contains 2 anti-fungal, anti-bacterial ingredients. Contains a safe, persistent, thorough drying agent." Priced at $8.25 per tube, with an expected 15 to 30 treatments per tube, I might just stick to the cattle mastitis treatments- much more affordable price, quality treatment for owners and horses alike.
Up next:
Huuf Magic Thrush Treatment, by Healing Horse.
(OK- I'm sorry for this next bit in advance. But when I read "Magic" in the name, I had to wonder- does it come complete with a magician to apply the product? You know what I mean-- top hat, cape, cheesy mustache, assistant in a slinky costume and too much make up...)
*coughcough* Right. Back to business:
Apparently, this solution combines naturopathic ingredients with pharmaceutical ingredients to treat mild to moderate cases of thrush. A blend of tea tree oil, benzethonium chloride and jojoba oil, it is supposed to penetrate, not stain and treat all kinds of issues (that honestly can mostly be attributed to the nasty little bacterium that cause thrush initially.) It also claims to treat white line disease. Now, I know tea tree oil is good stuff. I've used it as a mild antiseptic in the past and quite by accident, I found that it repelled ticks off of a colt I owned a few years back. Using it to treat thrush simply did not cross my mind, but since it is readily available at local mega marts, I might have to try it.
Up next: Thrush Off, by Well Horse.
In 2009, Well Horse was happy. Horse Journal awarded them the coveted Editor's Choice Award. Claiming to be all natural and incredibly effective against severe thrush infestations, it's ingredients are listed as: Tincture of pyoctanin, sdd-37, spring water, ethylic alcohol, propylene glycol. Would I try it? Maybe.
Moving along, we next have:
Horseshoer's Secret Thrush Treatment.
I've never used any of the Horseshoer's Secret line of products, so attesting to their effectiveness is out of my realm. The ad did not say if this was a dry treatment, or a liquid one. Active ingredient listed is Copper Naphthenate (at 37.5%) with 62.5% inert ingredients. Would I try it? My gut reaction was no- probably not. Why not? Mostly because I am a stubborn old fart, set in my ways who prefers to stick with the tried and true that I KNOW work.
Wow- there are six more products listed on this page:
Thrush Stop (by SBS)
Koppertox (by Ft. Dodge)
Thrush-XX Aerosol (by Farnam)
Pritox
Podi-Cl 02 Green (Hey now that looks like fun-- except for the price tag. Looks like a form of White Lightening Gel to me.....)
and last but not least,
Sav-A-Hoof Gel (also by SBS). This last one also looks like something I'd like to test out.
Overall, I'm going to say one thing that I see ALL of these companies have in common:
They saw a need, and are doing their best to fill it.
Wait-- there is something else:
They ALL claim to cure thrush. Many of them claim to cure WLD.
Thrush is big business. Shoot- anything horse related- supplements, treats, tack, brushes, tools-- it's ALL big business. It seems that we horse folks like to part with our hard earned dollars to purchase gizmos, gadgets, hoobie-dos, whatzits and potential cure alls for our much adored and spoiled rotten equid companions. Whether we actually NEED to do that or not is an entirely different subject, and not one we are going to explore today.
In the meantime, think about things before you jump up and hit the buy button. Consider all possibilities for treatments. Improvise, adapt and overcome, and possibly save yourself some dough.
Thoughts anyone? (By the way- the main promoter of the No Thrush is on Facebook. I left a comment inviting him to contact me to discuss thrush, treatments AND No Thrush. However, I did not hear back from him.)
~MM
12 comments:
Thanks for the take. I get completely befuddled trying to figure out the best course of treatment for my mare!
And here's where I get confused: if you are trying to keep your horse sound and comfortable and ailment free - why the HECK would you care if something stained? Maybe I just don't care enough?
I'd rather try something highly effective and stainful (ha!) than keep pretty and have a hurting horse.
Keep us posted if you hear back from the promoter!
I'm loving Vetricyn for EVERYTHING. Thrush, boo boos, hot spots on my dog.... it just does a phenomenal job.
I'm using the Absorbine Natural Hoof and that's working good, but it's not the thrush buster product they have.
I tell you people, Vetricyn... it's my new fav product.
Why would you care if it stained? I might have asked the same question until I had a bottle of ThrushX that leaked. I was hauling it to the barn and it leaked in my SUV. Thank God it leaked on my denim shirt and kerchief rather than my seats!! And that smell never really goes away either.
The April issue of "Western Horseman" has a section on 'Horse Care Product Guide', listing their pick for all sorts of supplements and ailment cures. Their pick was NO THRUSH, claiming its fine powder "attacks the bacteria and then wicks the moisture out, essentially making it impossible for the bacteria to re-establish its breeding grounds." In the comments section, it said it "has also been shown effective against coat fungus and scratches", its "fine residue coats the entire surface like flour coats your hand while baking", and that the "powder sticks because it seeks the moisture of thrush and bonds to it". It got one of the larger write-ups; maybe something you could test for them if they call you back?
Juanita
Essential oil of oregano is a very strong anti-fungal.It's also antiviral, antibacterial, anti-parasitic, anti inflammatory, and an immune stimulant. There are a lot of essential oils out there that have these same properties. I prefer to use oils because they aren't harmful to me or my horse, and because of the way they work: Their molecules are small enough that they can absorb through the skin into the bloodstream, which standard vegetable or animal oils can't do. I assume that they can also absorb through the frog or sole, and so would work well for such things as WLD. When I used oils to treat Beamer's thrush, they worked awesome. The trick is to buy good quality oils which aren't cut with chemicals to make them cheap to produce. Since we are talking name brands in this post, I can't say enough about Young Living Essential Oils. (Google them!) Doesn't hurt that the founder, Gary Young, is a horseman and uses the oils on his horses.
I've had success with No Thrush (even on scratches), and I've had dialogues with Heath Kizzier, the VP. He seems to be a pretty good guy who likes to talk about his product. I can shoot you his email if you want it.
I have had luck with Thrush Buster, but I havnt had any bad cases either. I may be muddy, muddy, did I say muddy? here LOL but I clean the stalls every day, use bedding pellets, and they come in and dry out every night.
I really want some Vetrycin!!! Mikey!!! It is quite expensive! @$23. for the small 8 oz ? I havnt bought it "yet" LOL I am hoping is will come down in price soon!
Just some notes from someone who lives in Western Washington state with barefoot event horses....
I have used almost all of the products on this list at some point in time. Living in the Northwest.... well, let's just say that thrush is a SUPER big business!
The one I haven't used is the powder... although I have had success treating scratches/rain scald with "Wonder Dust" which comes in a puff bottle and seems to help dry up all kinds of funky skin conditions... I have never used it for thrush but I can imagine it might help. Though to be honest, where I live, no powder is ever going to dry out the bottom of a horse's foot unless you bed their stalls with it!!
Tea Tree can help clear up mild thrush conditions if you use it RELIGIOUSLY several times a day... so that goes for products like Magic Huuf... it smells GREAT, you could probably mix it with water and use it as fly spray (ha ha), but in my experience doesn't do diddly-squat for thrush.
As far as other "natural products" go... Well Horse seems somewhat effective, mostly because they tell you to scrub it into the frog with a toothbrush which helps get the product into all the little cracks & creases. But the ingredients doing all the work are the ones that are not very "natural." So you can save your pennies and buy something that uses the same chemicals but doesn't label their product as "natural."
The product that I always go back to that, in my experience, is by far the most effective at not only clearing up thrush, but also WLD... is soaking hooves w/ White Lightning & white vinegar. It's a messy hassle.... but it works.
I quite by accident realized that you can look at Valley Vet online and if there is a review available on the product, you can see what others say about that particular product. Some didn't measure up very well and staining and ease of application seems to be the biggest problem people have with the products.
I tried Kopertox and did not have any luck with it curing anything. It stinks to high heaven and stains. NOT getting any on your hands is nearly impossible, since it runs like crazy.
I'm having good luck with scrubbing the feet with Betadine and spraying the frogs with Lysterine (Thanks for the help on that one MM).
I also saw that Save-A-Hoof paste MM and thought it would be worth trying on my black horse. Before I spent the money on it, I thought I would try an Epsom Salt/White Vinegar soak. I guess you can mix 1c. Epsom Salt, 1c. White Vinegar with a gallon of very warm water and soak the foot for 20-30 minutes and it works on deep tissue thrush. The directions did say NOT to do this more than 2x's a week as the Epsom Salts can be very drying. It's supposed to be very good for WLD and drawing out abscesses as well. But then, that's not exactly a 'commercial' product is it? ;-) LOL
What I've found is that the effectiveness varies. For example, a remedy that works dandy here on my sandy ground doesn't do diddly on my friend's horses on heavy clay ground, and vice versa.
When we opened up our slough pasture to the horses for the first time I was very worried about thrush. You have to wear rubber boots to walk back there - it was used for sod farming at one time, and the neighbor digs peat right on the other side of the fence. Amazingly there hasn't been any resulting thrush in 4 years of summer grazing in the slough! My theory is that they are moving a great deal more and as their hoof shape and quality has improved from the exercise and better grazing they just aren't inviting hosts for thrush anymore.
Ooo ooo! Would you mind going into detail about using tea tree oil for repelling ticks?
Thanks!
Again , no experience with thrush , but I do have experience with Coppertox, used it for years with hoof rot in cattle , fairly effective if you can get the animal to hold still long enough to use it , that said , it is a strong irritant and can cause excessive horn (hoof ) growth if used too long
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