Hoof and Foot Health

Hi Dala!

Yup I know exactly what you are talking about!

Thrush seems to be rampant here in coastal Florida. Even though I consistantly tell my clients that rusty hoof picks cause thrush and NOT wet weather- they just don't seem to understand. Some folks even went out and bought plastic hoofpicks! Then I explained that if they used the pick often enough to keep the tip shiny, their horses won't get thrush!

But for the unfortunate horse that stands around with MANURE (not mud) packed into his feet it doesn't take long for the thrush bacteria to make a smorgasbord of the frog!

I've even had the misfortune of penetrating through the foot when picking out a really severe thrush case. Not knowing the foot had thrush I used the "normal" amount of hoofpick pressure to dig out a packed wad of manure and POW! ZOOM! I picked myself up AND the offending hoofpick and looked at the horse's foot which was now gushing blood! Gingerly picking out the rest of the mess I found that his entire frog had been eaten away and just the thin soft white frog corium was left! I was literally looking inside that horses foot! Two of his other feet were just as bad! As were most of the feet on the rest of the horses in that barn!

I often see just the type of thrush pockets you describe on feet that are very cupped. Usually the hind feet. Most likely because the horseowner is afraid to bear down on the hoof pick and actually scrape the foot clean. And also because most horse owners are afraid of the hind end.

I tell my folks to pick the foot then scrape it with the side of the pick until the sole is chalky; then use a nylon floor scrubbing brush to completely clean the foot. Of course not many of them do - only the best ones. I like the nylon bristles because the wire ones seem to fray and will pop out (into your eye) or will stick in to the horse's foot.

My favorite thrush remedy is hydrogen peroxide applied forcefully via a spray tip. Severe cases like the ones above require a diaper & duct tape wrap of the foot. If the frog corium is exposed or bleeding I poof on some of Farnam's "Wonder Dust" before wrapping. (Which also has been effective for canker)

For cases of thrush which sit snugly deep in the frog's center cleft( Usually on contracted heel horses) I irrigate with peroxide after gently picking clean the cleft. Then I stuff a Dry "Cotton round" into the crevice. These are the same little round flat cotton disc pads that women use to wipe off their makeup. I don't use cotton balls because they shred when removed. The cotton rounds pull out nicely the next day. The cotton round acts like a breathable physical barrier against manure and still allows air to the frog to allow it to heal.

Thrush in the center crevice of the frog like that can lead to very painful footfalls for the horse. Lots of times it goes unnoticed by the horse owner and the horse gets a raw deal for poor performance.

I stay away from "Kopertox" because that watertight seal it dries to is airtight also and unless that hoof is totally antiseptic then the Kopertox seal has just created an anaerobic feast for the bacteria!

I use "Thrush Buster" on occassion and caution my folks to only use it every 3rd day. The Gentian Violet in it can burn some of that extremely sensitive new tissue.

I also stay away from the Vet's typical Formaldehyde/iodine mixture because it is VERY dangerous to use and VERY caustic. It also permeates into the sensitive tissues of the foot and dessicates those tissues.

Thrush is anaerobic so just the introduction of oxygen will kill it. I explain to my clients that water has oxygen in it so it is not the wet that causes thrush; it is because it is raining and they don't use the horse in the rain, so his feet don't get picked out as often, he spends more time in his stall standing in the manure and urine; and THAT is why thrush is more prevalent in the rainy season!

Hydrogen peroxide is cheap, non invasive and effective. Dentists use it to whiten teeth, it is in most toothpastes, and you can use it as a mouth wash! I don't want to do that with formaldehyde, iodine or bleach(no matter how diluted). I know that it doesn't destroy new tissue, yet it works great fighting bacteria.

On severe cases of thrush I will inform the client that thrush can go systemic once it eats through to the frog corium and once it goes systemic it CAN kill the horse! Swollen legs on horses with severe thrush are good indicators of possible systemic insult.(Besides just a reluctance to move on sore feet). This means a call to the vet to get medicinal support .

If the client is diligent with my simple daily procedures the thrush is usually cleared up by my next visit. Then I give them a "Gold Star" for effort! I encourage them to keep up with the daily irrigations using hydrogen peroxide just to keep the thrush at bay. Most times just seeing the horse's attitude and performance improve after the thrush is cleared is enough to keep the client motivated.

Personally I think there are a lot of horses suffering from lamenesses as a result of thrush which are diagnosed as other problems.

Thrush bacteria are tenacious and adept at hiding. I have often found thrush pockets in what appeared to be healthy frogs. Apparently the horse stepped on something that punctured or split a few layers of frog but not enough to lame him, then the bacteria set up house and feasted. While trimming back the rough edges of frog I have located covered thrush pockets!

I know there is a new(?) trend among farriers to leave the frog entirely alone but I disagree. I will clean up a frog by snicking back the apex, drawing my knife up each cleft and smoothing out the center sulcus. If the frog is particularly shaggy I will trim all loose flaps and smooth out and wrinkly crevices that may be good seats for thrush.

Do have a VET look at it-especially if there is a "HOLE" in the sole! Had one yesterday that had went a very long time without any type of foot cleaning! There was a "SLOT" about 3/4 inch deep just on the sole side of the foot at the bottom there was evidence of THRUSH! I began to pare with my knife and found it to be FALSE sole! The Mare was very tenderfooted! I removed only about half of the false sole-so I could give her time to dajust! She already walks better and limps almost not at all! But be careful and beware of horses bought in Arkansas-the second one that I have worked on from that area with the same malady!

Hello,

I purchased a horse with a club foot, he had thrush in that foot when I got him.  It was really more of an adoption case because he hadn't had his feet trimmed in probably 10+ weeks, still had shoes on.  I got new shoes on, but shortly after he went lame.  Vet came out and thought it was an abscessed, we cleaned it up.

Now when I look at his hoof (which has a hosptial plate on it).  I see a soft tissue looking buldge, its warm.  Is this the frog corium?  The first time I saw it, it bled when I picked it.  The vet has me packing the hospital plate with iodine but is there something else I can do to help it?  Its starting to freak me out!<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>

When I have to deal with horses with thrush, I have 3 things I tell my clients.  First is to keep the feet picked out (that's the easy, cheap solution).  Second, if you have occasional or mild thrush issues, Thrushbuster once a week should do.  But if it's really bad - to the point that the frog has been damaged and there is sensative tissue exposed (the horse jerks when you pick out the feet), I'm surprised that no one has suggested the best thing out there for these bad cases of thrush - Dry Cow.  When I learned about this, I had a few chronic cases that didn't seem to go away, even when the customer used caustic things like bleach (which I NEVER recommend - don't use it on them if you wouldn't use it on you).  I tried the Dry Cow and turned every one of those cases around in one shoeing cycle.  It's cheap (3-4 dollars a tube), and when you apply it once a day for one or two tubes, it does the trick.  You don't have to use a lot, just enough to get in the commissure(sp) and the central sulcus/cleft of the frog. 

I encountered the identical problem in a clients horse.  Triie koppertox and thrush buster, nothing worked really.  Once I got the advice to use the hydrogen peroxide regularly and then the cotton rounds in the sulcus the thrush is gone.!!!! Try that advice....it works!