When I first got my horse she had nice feet and no signs of thrush. We cleaned her stall everyday and her feet were cleaned at least once a day. The first time she was due for a trim and new shoes my farrier complained and said we need to clean her feet and stall a lot more than we were doing! He said she had thrush. This was all the way back in january!!! She still has thrush and her feet get cleaned and medicine (Thrush rid OR Thrush buster) once or twice a week. Does anyone have any solutions or remedies? I don’t know what to do anymore! Her feet seem to always be moist and stinky.
Does she have contracted heels? If so, they can end up with really deep sulci that are impossible to keep clear and are a haven for thrush.
Try Farrier’s Fix Hoof Oil, it’s worked wonders for my horse
Soak in White Lightening once per month, treat with No Thrush Dry powder daily.
I rode at a barn where all the horses had thrush to some degree - their stalls were “cleaned” every day, but they were still not clean to my standards. Bedding is expensive, but when skimped on, stalls end up being continuously wet.
How clean are your stalls? Are they truly clean and dry? If not, then you can keep treating thrush, but (in my opinion) it won’t be easy. Also, what about turnout areas? Are they wet or muddy?
If remedies don’t help, I might also consider buying some additional bedding, and/or wood pellets to put under her bedding (if you use shavings) to really get the moisture away from her feet.
I had a horse arrive from Germany with thrush in three feet. We fought it for well over a year, using every standard remedy - Thrush Buster, White Lightening, Copertox, ThrushX, Hooflex, bleach, ect. We could get it mostly cleared up, but not 100%.
Someone on this forum recommended the Today and Tomorrow cow mastitis products for difficult thrush infections, so I got some from Tractor Supply. (I think all they had in stock was Tomorrow, so I tried that one first). We could see improvement the next day, and the thrush was totally gone within a week. It tried to come back in one foot a couple of months later - the organism actually gets into the soil, so horses might pick it up again - but I had ordered Today to have on hand, and we cleared it up completely in less than a week. That was 5 years ago, and we have had no instances of it since.
[QUOTE=DownYonder;7665162]
I had a horse arrive from Germany with thrush in three feet. We fought it for well over a year, using every standard remedy - Thrush Buster, White Lightening, Copertox, ThrushX, Hooflex, bleach, ect. We could get it mostly cleared up, but not 100%.
Someone on this forum recommended the Today and Tomorrow cow mastitis products for difficult thrush infections, so I got some from Tractor Supply. (I think all they had in stock was Tomorrow, so I tried that one first). We could see improvement the next day, and the thrush was totally gone within a week. It tried to come back in one foot a couple of months later - the organism actually gets into the soil, so horses might pick it up again - but I had ordered Today to have on hand, and we cleared it up completely in less than a week. That was 5 years ago, and we have had no instances of it since.[/QUOTE]
I had a very similar experience. I’ve only used Tomorrow but have had great results with thrush in the central sulcus due to contracted heels. It was a miracle worker.
Environment, shoeing, and diet can all be a factor in causing thrush and preventing it from clearing up… you often need to look at the big picture to get it under control.
With that said, former University of Pennsylvania farrier Rob Sigafoos once told me to treat thrush like an open wound on the skin. Clean it thoroughly every day with a mild antiseptic and apply a topical antimicrobial. Do not use anything harsh you wouldn’t use on your own skin.
His advice has never let me down! (Although people never want to hear it…)
I never found Thrushbuster worked for deep sulcus thrush. In the past, I’ve used a 50/50 mix of athlete’s foot cream and antibiotic cream with good results. I just pack the mix into the cleft with some j-cloth or cotton.
However, in the winter, I was battling thrush with the 50/50 mix and it wasn’t working. I diluted Dettol with water and squirted it into the cracks with a syringe and it worked, albeit slowly.
Eventually I was able to get some Special Formula (also a cow mastitis treatment) and it was like magic - with a week there was a huge difference as the clefts grew out. When the wound got to the point where it was too shallow to pack, I sprayed it with the diluted Dettol again, saving the Special Formula for another time. I don’t think I’d use anything else! It’s completely healed.
In 16 years I never had a horse with thrush on my place. Mildly metabolic mare moved in at the end of April. Had shoes pulled in May. Was doing OK. Farrier was horrified at her hoof balance and under run heels, but hoof quality is good and soles are thick, so he’s confident that with correct trimming, the barefoot transition will go smoothly. Mare is retired, not being ridden, so we’re good with her mincing around the first few days - she’s not lame, just being careful on hard, rocky ground.
A month later, hot humid, but dry weather with rock hard ground, started night turnout.
It was triple whammy that resulted in contracted heels and deep sulcus thrush in 3 feet. Stopped night turnout and treated with Tomorrow. Thanks to improved hoof balance, heels are spreading and she’s walking on her frog again. Still treating with a combination of Tomorrow, anti fungal cream, and triple antibiotic ointment until I see even more space between her heels.
It can be tough to correct without a wonderful arena and/or great, dry footing. You’ve got to address hoof balance, environment, and treatment all at once, and, as in my case, it meant a total change in management as cool, humid nights meant dewey grass - so no night turnout even though the weather is perfect for it in every other way. You’ve also got to get them moving around, which is hard, because as the thrush develops, they’re sore and don’t want to be walking on their frogs and heels, but they need to do that to stimulate quality hoof growth. Mare just moseys around eating her head off, her weight is great, but I think we’re going to have to start making her do some type of work to keep those feet healthy.
Make sure the trim is good and the horse is moving regularly (i.e. regular turnout, not just being ridden and standing in the stall the rest of the day). I don’t care how clean the stall is, the hoof is meant to “clean” itself with movement.
Today/tomorrow also work well.
I don’t have any issue with thrush, but I used to work for an Olympic eventer who had a technique.
Use Koppertox, or whatever and cotton. Clean out the sulcus in the frog well and soak it, then stuff as much cotton as you can in, soaked in Koppertox. Change every day. Do it until you cannot get cotton in the sulcus.
