Help - Thrush

Julie · Help - Thrush

I have a horse who is now starting thrush, he is living out and the ground is damp in some parts of their field. i have been bringing him in and hosing out his hooves daily, using thrush relief n them then standing him in all day. he hates this and wants to be out, especially as he is not too good with hay - the grass is much better for him!

I need to treat him, and keep him out as much as possible. i can cleantrax him, but what best for an onoing solution?

karmikacres

CleanTrax is the best solution. It will break the cycle. For maintenance, I like to use colloidal silver and or a 50/50 mix of triple antibiotic cream and Clotrimazole cream (for athlete's foot). Put the cream in a syringe (no needle) and squirt it into any deep cracks.

Mike

Julie

I will cleantrax him as have some here. Can you translate that into Uk for me Mike, as we can't get antibiotic cream esily here!

DaisyMae

My EP recommends this for treating thrush:

http://www.red-horse.co.uk/index....w=article&id=53&Itemid=70

whisperingwindfarms

Mike can speak to this better than I can but what I found kept the issue away after I treated it (with Tea Tree Oil & Listerine - go figure) & it healed is making sure I scrape all the black mess off the hooves daily if it begins to start again.

Mike?

samfern

Milton steriliser mixed with water is a more diluted option that cleantrax, we keep it in a garden sprayer and use when picking feet out.

Hoof stuff from Red Horse Products is great, I also use spray stockholm tar which seems to keep frogs fresh as a daisy! (Julie, Rokers sell it)

Julie

I have a cleantrax and a soaking boot I can use, so will start with that, then need to keep the thrush away as frog very holey!

Will get Sara to have a look at rokers tomorrow as she is at Merrist wood so seems to go there daily!

Gillies_mom

Julie
As you are in the UK - get some caneston cream from the chemist, make sure all the thrush is cut out first then apply a little cream to the frogs each day, you'll be amazed how quick the frogs grow back with it. (In the US, I think you have an equivalent product called vagisil??). Once the thrush has gone I do a weekly disinfection to try to prevent it coming back.
Kate

Julie

Thanks Kate - thats easy to try!

Newfman

the 2% Resourcinol content of Vagisil may be a little on the weak side. From what I have read, 2% is the percentage used in topical cremes for mild acne. If you are going to have it compounded, talk to the pharmacist about the possibilities of 5% Resourcinol. You may need an Rx from your Vet., depending on your laws.

I find the restrictions on topical antibiotic ointments in various countries to be a bit bizzare. I certainly can understand oral antibiotics...but topical? Sheesh! For that matter, as recommended above, have your Vet. write you a script for triple-antibiotic ointment. Then you can mix your own thrush creme as mentioned in previous posts.

Vagisil may work, but thrush tends to be a little resillient, so I think a lot of factors would have to be in play for it to be successful. Like maybe the thrush was having a tough go of it to begin with.

Just random musings swirling around in my gray matter.

Newfman

Here is another product that I keep saying to myself that I am going to order....

http://www.well-horse.com/index.php

I am soooo, NOT, of the homeopathic mindset, yet I do believe that there are natural remedies. I'm not going to get into all that right now, but, I do like what I read on this product.

Maybe you can get it where you are?

Has anyone tried these products personally?

I have a new client with a new rescue Qtr. horse with some really crap feet. Maybe use Pete's creme on one and thrush off on the other......hmmmm *rubs chin thoughtfully

Leah

I know it sounds like a broken record but I just do NOT see thrush in healthy hoof form.

Fix the hoof form and the thrush seems to go away.

Almost all of my clients seem to be rehabs-and pretty severe ones

(even those trimmed for years by 'top notch' trimmers

)-and foot gunk is just there.

I have never treated one or had a client treat them-this is through some very horribly wet weather (including flooding).

As the trims go by and hooves improve, the thrush just disappears.

SO...if a hoof is suffering from infection, *I* would take a double look at the hoof form.

Newfman

Leah, I agree for the most part, but it is a bit of a catch 22.

I am working on a newly adopted rescue Qtr horse as of a couple days ago. A clients horse, not mine. The hooves are in horrendous condition. I have never actually seen a horse walk on its' tip toes like a balerina before. I have seen them toe land countless times. This is different. It is like when we were kids running through a field and got stickers in our heels. You hobbled to a stop on your toes and pulled them out. This guy is like this as a main means of locomotion. His frogs are rotten and disgusting. The new immature transleucent frog growing under the old flap is painful to the slightest touch.

The thrush has to be put under control to get the horse comfortable enough to start using his feet properly. He can greatly distort his hoof form which in turn, wrecks your trimming effort.

As far as maintaining a healthy foot, hoof form is absolutely key, and you cannot have that by trims alone. Environment, diet and movement are all going to play a part.

Mandy'sMarty

I don't believe you'll see thrush in a horse with a healthy, robust immune system. In a body with proper pH balance and sufficient good gut flora.
Bacterial, viral, fungal and yeast infections do not thrive in a body with proper pH. It's a different matter in a body that is too acidic.

I have had great success supplementing my mare's diet with pro-biotics and pre-biotics to ensure good gut flora (thanks to Leah for recommending Equipride). And by periodically removing the toxins from her body and balancing her pH with my favorite liquid zeolite. During the past very wet spring and summer, with flooding in her pasture, Mandy has been free of rain rot and thrush. Not so with most of her herd mates.

karmikacres

Pyrgirl

Leah, A question for you - I agree with your premise that you wont get thrush with a decent trim and healthy immune system. I neglected my horse's feet for 3 months due to an accident I had. When I got back to them, they were in lousy shape - too long, off balance, and constant rain and mud caused thrush. As soon as I started trimming, the thrush went away in one. The other one has taken longer to get back into balance and the thrush was more persistent. I used Cleantrax on her to give her a boost against the situation. Now the thrush is gone and the hoof actually seems to be growing a little faster. She also seems more comfortable. Do you think this was the right approach? Would you have waited it out for the trim to do it all? Any other suggestions? - diet changes, etc.

Leah

I have done CleanTrax-but to be honest *I* have not seen in *my* environment with *my* diet and *my trim* it made a hoot's difference.

I clarify all of those things because they all play a part.

Would I do it? Sure, why not.

Do I hang my hat on it? Not from my experience.

I can only speak from that-I have several horses with really really bad frogs and gunk. The owners are not always in a position to do anything-some are and some aren't

I have not seen any faster changes using any of the 'standard' soaking, spray, pack treatments.

Now, that said, there may be cases were it does help-it can't hurt!

I just don't find these miracle transformations from it.

I hate to sound smug-but honestly I see more issues from trims that people think are correct when there are subtle issues that just hold the hooves back.

Others will swear by treatments-I just don't see it.

Again-it can't hurt and may help so if you are willing go ahead!

Pyrgirl

Julie

This is a shod horse who has thrush in two feet only. One is his white leg. I have only had him for a year. All the other horses, shod and barefoot are on identical regimes, and he is the only one with thrush, and has only had this since the ground got wetter. At the moment the land is very wet, its rained every day and they are on an area which can be marshy in places, but its 18 acres so they tend to keep out of the wetter areas. He can come in for a couple of hours a day though.

Newfman

karmikacres

You need balance, or no infection to make any progress on the hoof, one cannot improve without the other.

Mike

Newfman

oh, I see;

...atleast one of those things....

Like, Duh! Sometimes my reading comprehension nose dives before 9AM and i may not recover until the evening.

I couldn't possibly explain where my mind was going....of coures she was present, how else would she know the horse has thrush....

*heavy sigh* I need a vacation....

Lynn

Here is a cheap and easy treatment from Pete. I know from experience that it works, and Blaine recommends this to clients needing to clear up thrush problems. Clean Trax does work too but is pricey and this is not :

http://www.hoofrehab.com/Thrush_treatment.htm

What is really scary as we have seen horses that vets have diagnosed as navicular cases, charged the clients $$$$'s, plus had farriers do the whole shoes and wedges thing, and the horses actually just had a deep heel infection and were just fine after treating the thrush and addressing some diet and environment issues.Stunning !!

Mandy'sMarty

Lynn

So true, but even after being in this business for quite sometime it still amazes me. Hopefully things will progress with the vets after the Auburn University study is complete and published.One can hope !

Julie

I have some antibiotic cream given to me recently by the vet for mud fever, could this work if mixed with 1% Clotrimazole, which I can get.

Pyrgirl

Mandy'sMarty

Autumn

I have battled thrush in my mule for so long, and now finally, we are on the road to recovery. I used Cleantrax, white lightning, copper sulphate, colloidal silver, blah blah blah. What finally worked? Proper trim, cleaning the hooves EVERY DAY, and treating with one of the above. I actually used Cowboy Magics thrush treatment. it was bringing his heels down that finally brought about the change. Leah's mega roll is helping grow out the separation. The thing is, you have to be very diligent, and commit to keeping on top of it and not getting lazy about it.

Julie

I tried to get the vet to give me antibiotic cream and he just sent me oxytetracycline spray, which is antibiotic spray, instead.

kristie

whisperingwindfarms

Kristie,

I would think a good 30 or 60 day detox then good pre- or pro-biotics together with anti-oxidants. The more I learn, the more I believe that a health immune system is the key to almost every issue.

karmikacres

Autumn

The Cleantrax rep at Cowboy Christmas last year told me as the fungus involved creates spores, it is imperative that you clean all the surfaces the hoof comes in contact with that is not hit with direct sunlight. Inside of the stalls clean with the Lysol solution and perhaps the trimming instruments (rasps, nippers etc) need to be cleaned as well? Be careful getting the rasps wet, they rust easily. I use the air compressor to get them good and dry. This is a major PITA but could be that a horse who is susceptible is getting re-infected with dirty stalls & farrier equipment...
Just a thought.

Pyrgirl

bag lady

Julie

Not sure but I am trying the field treatment from red horse which comes highly recommended, as does the nettex frog health.

Julie

Farrier came today and we are taking off his back shoes in 3 weeks, after the christmas holidays, he can have a few weeks off. He is not convinced it is thrush altogether though.

Newfman

Any chance you can post a photo or two of the sole and frogs? It is much easier than guessing what they look like. Overall hoof photos are helpful as well (taken from hoof level, not photographers eye level).

I think you can get better help that way.