Thrush

[lauracwd2]

What should I be looking for and what should I do if I suspect it?

I thought last night that Gande's feet didn't look as clean and nice as they used to.

[Teeni & Galaxy]

Hope you find these links helpful

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/best/art ... ?aid=47567

http://www.globalherbs.co.uk/horse/diseases_thrush.htm

http://www.liphookequinehosp.co.uk/llthrush.htm

I normally pick out the foot as normal, use something little Milton (or supermarkets own brand) steriliser to clean the feet out with, use some kitchen towl to dry them out and then apply sudocream for as many days as needed. That seems to do the trick with mine.

[Sheila]

I read on another forum that Apple Cider Vinegar with some Tea Tree oil added to it is very good for thrush.

I have made some up in an old spray bottle and have been using it on Marco's feet. He has been in his stable more than usual recently and I thought his feet were a bit smelly. I think it was just that he had beeen standing in a pile of poo, but I'm not too sure what to look for either, so I thought I'd give it a try.

[Alyson]

I use stockholme tar if necessary. I always ask my farrier about foot condition as I am always suspecting a problem - and there is none

[jaimep]

Thrush is a general term used to describe either a fungal or bacterial (or often both) infection, primarily of the frog. What type depends on the environmentof the horse and the type of 'bugs' that it encounters. In a nutshell, think athletes foot for horses abd like athletes foot it is very common place so much so that it is often overlooked and or considered 'normal'. Most often it is not a major problem but be warned that once established it can lead to lameness, abscesses and if left untreated and the infection penetrates deep into the foot ultimately the horse could become useless...

What to look for:- A healthy frog should be the consistency of hard rubber (like on a tyre), it should be fat and full and is very rarely seen... there shoudl be no bits hanging off or any pits, holes, mushy soft bits, slimey black bits, or indeed any discernable smell when the feet are washed off and dry... really. Most horses have thrush and the smell is easily discernable once you know it, ti is not like poo or pee but is a sickly sweet pungent back of the nose make you pull your head back smell... If in doubt, pick out and clean the feet, stick your nose right next to the frog and take a deep sniff... if your horse has thrush... you will know it!

What causes it? :- bacteria and fungi... basically they are eating the frog tissue and multiplying, burrowing deeper and deeper into the foot... it is exacerbaated by damp conditions, lack of cleanliness, standing around in pee and poo, not being able to clean under where the shoe is etc.

How do I treat it:- clean and pick out the foot. Remove all dead and infected tissue (NB best done by an EP, vet, farrier, person who knows what they are doing, in that order) we are not talking surgery or invasive trimming and to avoid this it is imperative that you know how far you can go (to the milimeter) as under the insensitive frog is a sensitive frog with nerves, blood etc and you certainly do not want to open that up especially when there is already infection around...
Scrub with one of the following (nb I tend to try the cheaper products first and find that different horses in different situations respond better or not at all to each so try one and if it doesnt work try another... Milton solution, borax, salt water (especially sea water), hibiscrub, betadine, sugardine, vinegar, once dry a good coating of sudcreme (yes like for under babies nappies, does exactly the same thing) wont hurt. Repeat every day for a week or until fixed... If the thrush is persistant you coudl try cleantrax (some times very effective, some times not at all) colloidal silver, or some tea tree oil products all of which I have known to work.

Prevention:- Keep the foot clean and dry idealy with out allowing bugs poo damp soil to be held against it. Allow the foot to move and to be healthy as a healthy foot is very resistant to such infection.

Hope that helps..

[jools]

Informative and helpful post Jamie, thanks for that


what about Hydrogen Peroxide, I was told that this is a good treatment for thrush

[lauracwd2]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not hugely concerned about his feet but they do look different now that he is stabled than when I had him out all the time. I'm trying to keep them clean and see how it goes.

[jaimep]

Thanks, my pleasure...

Hydrogen pyroxide will pretty much stop thrush in its tracks as it will instantly kill anything it touches... and therein lies the problem...as it will also kill the tissue of the foot creating a lovely food source for any new bugs the foot comes in contact with, which will mean reinfection. How soon will the reinfection occur? ... depends how long you can keep your horses feet in a sterile environment... (a few steps maybe?). Same applies to many of the 'thrush buster' propriety products you can buy at the tack shop, sure they kill it, but then you get a reinfection, so you have to buy more buster and kill it again...etc...

Kill the bugs (but not the tissue) Get the feet healthy, and keep them as clean and dry as possible, that's the key ...again think athletes foot, if the foot is always warm and damp and with plenty of dead skin on it (not easy not the have as there is always a layer or two) the environment is ideal for the bugs to multiply...

Oh... was looking at a horse today (with thrush and white line disease) and a thought occured to me... I forgot to mention that you often get white line disease in association with thrush...why... because it is essentially the same thing... eh? well...

WLD is a nisnomer... i.e it does not effect the white line and it is not a disease. It effects the hoof wall and it is an infection very similar to thrush in that it is often a combination of both bacterial and fungal (and often lots of different types at the same time depending on what is thriving in your locality).

How do I know if my horse has got it? : -Well, like thrush unless you are aware of it and have done something about it, it probably has (I'd say 90% of all the horses I go out to have both thrush and wld when I first go out to them and their owners dont even know it...) you can see it easier in a white foot (but just because the foot is black and you cant see it, doesn't mean it isnt there) there may be very fine 'cracks' on the surface of the hoof wall and/or the hoof wall may appear to be delaminating,... or it may look like vermichelli...or the hoof wall may be very soft and crymbly....or any combination of the above.

Treatment:- same a thrush...see above. initially... andif that doesn't work come back and ask me...