Thrush and contracted heels: cause and effect?

[Scribbler]

Thrush and badly contracted heels are clearly associated. You get thrush growing down that narrow deep thrush sulcus and it’s very hard to eradicate.

I haven’t dealt directly with thrush but have been watching a barn friend struggle with thrush in her horse’s clubby contracted foot (with shoes).

However in my surfing around hoof care videos I’ve now seen two different barefoot enthusiast folk essentially blame the contraction on the thrush.

In one the blogger shows us basic thrush treatment on a clearly contracted foot. Points to the deep narrow frog sulcus and says it’s a “butt crack” caused by thrush.

I’m sure thrush would make it worse but I saw primary problem as contracted heels. Heel butresses curved in, frog very narrow. Blogger didn’t mention trim or contraction.

Other blogger just said in passing that thrush makes heels contract.

Other than that all the vlog info was standard enough.

Question: are these vloggers onto something, is this a school of thought, or did they just conflate cause and effect?

[betsyk]

I’m no expert other than my sample size of 3 over the past couple years. My theory: thrush starts, for whatever reason, and it’s uncomfortable. Horse doesn’t want to put full weight on the uncomfortable foot, so by favoring it ever so slightly the frog doesn’t touch ground the same way, heels that might have had a tendency to be narrow move toward being contracted, which makes it harder to get rid of the thrush, etc. etc. Vicious cycle. Lucky for us, it seems to start mid-fall and clear up with or without intervention when the ground gets frozen and the snow comes.

I’ll add that two of ours who have had it recently are barefoot and have been for many years. Both are IR, same turnout group, same stabling situation. Last year both had scratches on the same feet that got thrushy, this year neither had scratches. One gets fairly consistent work, the other doesn’t. Conclusion: none!

[luvmyhackney]

Just based on my experience a well balanced trimmed foot doesn’t get thrush. A well-balanced foot self-cleans and unless it’s in an extremely wet mucky environment they can’t get away from, they will not develop thrush. There are always exceptions to every rule. Farriers leave too much foot and too many deep crevices in the foot where the wet dirt builds and sits.

[JB]

I think well-trimmed feet only get thrush when there is an underlying metabolic issue (or just inadequate management), and if the trimmer/farrier isn’t paying attention, thrush can slowly take hold and cause contraction, which then makes each feed off each other.

I do think that is the smaller % of thrush cases though. IME most cases of thrush take hold because of increasingly contracting heels. Contracted heels means a deeper collateral groove for more crap to get trapped, and thrush gets hold and gets all happy and stuff.

[Scribbler]

@JB

I think well-trimmed feet only get thrush when there is an underlying metabolic issue (or just inadequate management), and if the trimmer/farrier isn’t paying attention, thrush can slowly take hold and cause contraction, which then makes each feed off each other.

I do think that is the smaller % of thrush cases though. IME most cases of thrush take hold because of increasingly contracting heels. Contracted heels means a deeper collateral groove for more crap to get trapped, and thrush gets hold and gets all happy and stuff.

Yes, that’s my understanding. The contracted heels provide the environment and it will be a battle to cure thrush if you don’t address the trim.

The deep heel sulcus is not caused by the thrush. Though presumably as thrush eats away it could get even deeper.