Treatments I've Used:
White Lightening Gel (LOVE IT)
Clean Trax (Also LOVE IT)
Dish soap and warm water
Plain water flushes (higher pressure than just the hose)
Povodine scrub mixed with water (as a scrub and flush)
Listerene Mouthwash
PenG
Mastitis treatments (Alba Dry, etc)
Mild bleach/ water mix (about a 70 / 30 ratio)
There are probably a few more that I am overlooking, but you get the idea.
Treatments I Have HEARD Of and NOT Used (and would NOT USE):
Formaldehyde
Straight bleach
The list of treatment suggestions I have heard of and would consider is lengthy, and frankly I'm pressed for time at the moment.
So- WHY treat thrush?
Because eventually, it WILL work its way up into the central sulcus of the frog, up into the hoof capsule, into the heels, and eat away at the connective tissue there. In a healthy frog, the forces exerted upon movement cause the frog NOT to just compress as so many of us were taught growing up, but to stretch to the left and right (side to side), acting as a wide rubber band. Think about your fingers for a moment. You have a split in the index finger on your primary hand, and you *have* to work with your hands. Period. The split lies right along your nail, and every time you move your finger, dig into something, go to wash dishes, wash your hair, or cook your supper, that split is forced open more and more. And it HURTS, right?
Now, take a look at your horse's hoof. Look at the way the frog blends into the heel. Remember our hypothetical finger split? Well, think about how every time your horse takes a step, that frog is supposed to flex and stretch. If your horse has a skinny, weak looking frog, he is not going to be comfortable moving out. If your horse has deep cracks and crevices in the middle of the frog, running up into the heels or beyond into the hairline, think about the pressure applied there. Every. Time. Your. Horse. Takes. A. Step. The force applied has the foot moving and essentially adding to the damage already done by the thrush. Forces are applied laterally:
<--------(gap from thrush)--------->
Ouch, right?
Right.
When you notice your horse moving not quite right, take a good, hard look at those frogs and heels. Watch to see if he is moving landing toe first, protecting the heels. Wash the foot THOROUGHLY with a scrub brush and dish soap if need be, and really LOOK. Probe- if there is a soft spot in the frog or heels, I advise treating for thrush in any method you may wish EXCEPT formaldehyde or straight bleach. (Why not those? For one, formaldehyde is a carcinogen. It is used to preserve dead flesh. Dead. Flesh. What can it possibly do to LIVING flesh? And Bleach-- ever spilled bleach on an open cut? Burns. Like. HELL, right? Imagine that in the highly sensitive tissue. Can we say PAIN for your horse? Also bleach creates more necrotic tissue - by burning- than it helps. Don't. Use. It.)
Scrub the feet. Don't bother trying for the smell- there is a good portion of time where there isn't any aroma. (It's either none or it will invade your sinus cavity and stay for WEEKS.) Treat daily at the very least. Do NOT expect this to resolve overnight- it did not get this way overnight, you can not FIX it overnight. Tissue regenerates quickly, but give your horse a break and do all you can to help healthy tissue grow.
Happy St. Patricks Day too. For more on what we've been up to at The Asylum, pop on over to NOTE TO SELF. There is soon to be a pretty intense post up there.
~MM
Ouch, right?
Right.
When you notice your horse moving not quite right, take a good, hard look at those frogs and heels. Watch to see if he is moving landing toe first, protecting the heels. Wash the foot THOROUGHLY with a scrub brush and dish soap if need be, and really LOOK. Probe- if there is a soft spot in the frog or heels, I advise treating for thrush in any method you may wish EXCEPT formaldehyde or straight bleach. (Why not those? For one, formaldehyde is a carcinogen. It is used to preserve dead flesh. Dead. Flesh. What can it possibly do to LIVING flesh? And Bleach-- ever spilled bleach on an open cut? Burns. Like. HELL, right? Imagine that in the highly sensitive tissue. Can we say PAIN for your horse? Also bleach creates more necrotic tissue - by burning- than it helps. Don't. Use. It.)
Scrub the feet. Don't bother trying for the smell- there is a good portion of time where there isn't any aroma. (It's either none or it will invade your sinus cavity and stay for WEEKS.) Treat daily at the very least. Do NOT expect this to resolve overnight- it did not get this way overnight, you can not FIX it overnight. Tissue regenerates quickly, but give your horse a break and do all you can to help healthy tissue grow.
Happy St. Patricks Day too. For more on what we've been up to at The Asylum, pop on over to NOTE TO SELF. There is soon to be a pretty intense post up there.
~MM
21 comments:
There is a horse where I board has been lame since his shoes were pulled last November is still not sound. If I understand the problem correctly, they initially thought the lameness was caused by splints but have since revised the diagnosis to thrush with a contracted heel aggravating the situation. I had no idea that thrush could be so far reaching up the leg and debilitating. Once a week I give my guy's hooves a rinse with salt water (1 tsp per 20 oz) as a preventative. He's never had thrush and I would like to keep it that way. :-)
Oh man, I've been treating my boy's awful thrush for four months now. It took a month to see any results at all and at four months his frogs STILL have a LONG way to go.
Thrush cannot be brought up enough in my opinion. Now that I know what to look for I see it all over the place and am completely bummed that hardly anyone knows it's there. So I vote you continue with the thrush education every chance you get!
Off the thrush topic - I have to thank you for your post on cankers a while back. One of my co-workers came to me two days ago asking about a "thing" she found on her horse's hoof, at the tip of the frog. When she described it to me, the first thing that came to mind was canker, so I pulled up your post (which about made her puke) and read her your description, which fit her horse to a 'T'. She called her farrier, who agreed that her big draft may have the beginning of a canker and will be out tomorrow to treat it.
Yay Mrs Mom! You made me sound so smart :)
I'm anxious to get Estes back in a couple of weeks to get her feet cleaned out and hopefully avoid the thrush thing this year. I want a sound pony all summer!
Yay!!! Bout time :) Good post. I'll be watching my horses closely :)
this was a great post , I am not terribley familiar with Thrush , and it is so nice to be getting this education hand delivered!
Wolfie- Deep tissue thrush can make people think all KINDS of things. We've seen a slew of horses over the years diagnosed with navicular issues when in fact it was deep tissue thrush, that caused contracted heels and non-existent frogs. Once that is cleaned up-- TA-DAA! Sound horse. Hope the boarder at your barn clears up and sounds up quick!!
SMA- It sure seems like it is almost all I talk about on here, and.... I'm willing to bet we'll talk about it a lot more too ;)
Diva- Sent your comment on to Cindy as well. Hope the farrier treating the draft can kick the canker to the curb!
Mikey- You know there will be more..LOL
FernValley- Thrush is something *I* think the south has huge issue with. HUGE. Up north in Tundra Country like yours, deep cold/ freezes drive a lot of crap into hibernation and give your horses a break. Down here? Yeah.. not so much. Dangit!
I read your post as I sit here wrinkling my nose. My farrier discovered a little thrush in Desi's front feet( small wonder we've been underwater for weeks) and so I put the Thrush X on them- it has a pump spray that works upside down- but the nozzle was turned- and I sprayed my own hand! So it is a ghastly green and smells like an old army tent! (I'm such a doofus!) I'll be more careful tomorrow- or maybe I'll try one of your other remedies.
I'm glad I've never seen trush in deep tissue. With the kind of winters we have here, I guess that's a good thing.
Good post. We have 2 that I struggle to keep it at bay. I think I have it licked only to later discover it again. I guess I need to stick with it longer or do some horses just have more of a propensity for it. BTW- Buddy has been all winter without the bar shoes and crack is almost grown out and his contracted heels have expanded and he has healthier frogs. Not quite there yet, but much, much better. Another question, what kind of protective boots would you recommend for rocky, sometimes muddy mountain riding? I want to try some this year. Thanks.
I've become more aware of thrush and how pervasive it is over the past few years. I just can't believe my ears when I hear a popular local vet (not mine!) proclaim that thrush doesn't cause lameness! She has about 15% of the horses at a boarding barn near me diagnosed with navicular syndrome and in all sorts of shoe/pad packages, and I'm pretty sure from what is left to see that a lot of them simply have thrush. The whole barn smells like thrush! Thanks for the timely post!
Oh, yes, I finally found that hunk of sole I took off my old Angel mare (spring snow melt reveals so much *stuff*). It was softer from lying out in the snow all winter and we were able to hack it apart with an axe (an adventure worthy of a video all by itself). It appears to have been a walled-off abscess. It was dark brown at the center, progressed to lighter amber towards the edge and ended with a definite border. How weird is that? I've sure never seen anything like that, but she does wear her hooves oddly due to her old injuries.
~spotz58
you inspired me and my horse had to indulge me in another deep cleaning session of his feet today. and some trimming.
i want to ask about the definition of deep tissue thrush. to me it means a crack/fissure in the CS caused by thrush, usually on the heel side; you cannot clearly see the bottom of the CS, nor feel it with your finger. your hoofpick/qtip can be inserted, though.
is this a correct definition?
You know....You really got me to thinking...
Technically, there is no reason for my black horse to be as sensitive on his feet as he is and boy does he ever land toe first, unless he is on the softest of ground. Obviously, this time of year, everyone is shedding their frogs and they all look a little ragged, but Spooks doesn't seem to have near enough frog for as big a foot as he has.
I did have to treat my sorrel horse for thrush when I started messing with him again. He is an obvious candidate for it since he grows so much heel and gunk just packs in his bars and over his frog. He came out of his rank...don't touch my feet...attitude within just a couple of days of me scrubbing his frogs and soles with Provadine (and water) and spraying the frogs with a bleach/water mix. I went the el cheapo route because the prices on everything here are ridiculous and I didn't want to wait for something to arrive via the mail.
I'm going to aggressively treat the black horse for deep tissue thrush and see if that doesn't help him. I'll probably use the White Lightening Gel.
In the meantime, everyone is going to start getting their feet scrubbed with Provadine and water and sprayed with bleach/water to make sure their new frog grows in nice and healthy.
Hahahaha-WV = bringon...Bring On the healthy feet!
Mom,
I have a question about using White Lightening. Can you call me?
Love,
OS
PS Dog show on Sunday, so I won't be around then.
Very interesting--nice to know what I can use if they get it. So far, I haven't had a horse ever get thrush...knock on wood.
Thanks to your help I treated Princess for thrush (which I only discovered she had from the other helpful posts you've done on the subject). I used White Lightening and was impressed with the results which made it tempting to not put in the work of daily cleaning (with a scrub brush)... I did keep up the cleaning for a few weeks and as such she still looks great.
Thanks Mrs. Mom, you're the best:)
Timely post! I have been treating my mare for deep tissue thrush with ToMorrow mastitis treament for about a week now. So far, I've been disappointed in the lack of improvement. I'm considering ordering some White Lightening while continueing to treat with ToMorrow in the meantime. And, I'm going to go back and read your other thrush posts.
Thanks again!
Good post as usual.....I always appreciate the lessons as they come in handy! So far, so good here on the hoof front, however, I will be extra vigilant as it is now turning into a giant pile of poo and mud as things melt.......BTW, Love the new red head! What a stocky little horse!Nice legs!
Great post. I normally just use the nasty green crap on Thrush. The preventive washes with dish soap don't sound like they'd be all that much trouble, and it it helps prevent a problem, I'm willing to give it a shot.
Is it safe to trim ergots? If so, how can I do it safely?
I've been so disappointed to see how stubborn thrush can be! Thanks for the tips... will be scrubbing her out again. As soon as the stupid idiots next door stop shooting their guns. GAH!
So far no thrush her this year. I like your analogy of the cracked fingers- because I have two of them right now!
What I've found to be great for treating and preventing thrush and is also cheap and easy is salt water. I put about a quarter to half a cup of salt in a spray bottle, fill with water, shake it up and spray it all over the bottom of the hoof and down in the grooves. It cleared up Chrome's thrush very quickly and he hasn't gotten it since. :) I just spray it every time I clean his hooves. I think it's a lot easier than the dishwashing soap. Never tried that though so it's a guess. :)
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