cherokeemyluv

So my friend and I were talking the other day, and she was mentioning that her mare's thrush had finally cleared up. We had a long period of rain and she developed thrush as a result and my friend had tried numerous things to help it out, but it was pretty stubborn. Is there anything you've done to help get rid of thrush that works well?

alexis

Okay here is my question, is thrush for a horse the same as thrush for a newborn? Sounds like an odd question, but I still know many parents that don't know what thrush is, and for anyone new on the site here, I'm sure I can state they might not know either. Thanks!

cherokeemyluv

Thrush in a horse is the result of anaerobic bacterium that eat necrotic (decayed) tissue, and thrush in humans are the result of Candida, or basically a yeast infection of the mouth. They basically share a name, not other characteristics.

Thrush in horses is an infection if the frog (the v shaped part of the hoof) and is characterized by a foul odor and white flaky stuff when you pick the hooves. It tends to crop up when horses are in wet conditions:muddy fields, pastures, or stalls that aren't cleaned out alot.

QuarterHorses

I wish that was the case. I clean my horse area twice a day in Arizona and when it rains, *bang* thrush. I think it just lives in the ground. Treating thrush depends on how bad it is. If it is just on the surface that you can use coppertox or thrushbuster. If it is bad, don't use coppertox because it will burn. Get some antibiotic cream and pack it into the hoof.

Yes, try to get the hooves of your horse dry. This probably means a stall with fresh shavings. When I lived in Seattle, is was a constant struggle to keep thrush out!

Willow

In mild cases (no infection in the "living parts" of the frog) I use chlorine, you can buy as a household cleaner. It dries out the material and kills bacteria. Works better than any stuff the vets are selling (with betadine or similar)

cherokeemyluv

Her pasture is pretty marshy, the first sign of moisture it starts getting mushy but she's not always around to bring the horses in. Her geldings do pretty well but the mare seems to get thrush every time she turns around. I think she had been using the betadine, Ill have to ask if she tried bleach (I'm assuming thats the chlorine you mention willow). Its supposed to rain this weekend so she might be able to try it out. Can she use bleach as a preventative as well? Should she use straight bleach or a bleach/water mixture?

Willow

The long the heals are not open, reddish or infected she can use pure bleach, cherokeemyluv. The soon there is an opening, be careful with the bleach. I hold the hoofs for a few minutes with the tip pointing downward, that excess can run off. In real bad cases I do it twice a day. Best would be to pour the bleach into a bottle with a fine tip opening (some hot chili sauce plastic bottles have such tips ) It will bubble quite a bit. If no change after approx 2 weeks the problem is too big. We have a horse here, that is prone for thrush due to a very narrow hoof shape. I begin with this care before the wet seasons start, to kill established bacteria. Important is, too, to cut away all loose material with a sharp knife, otherwise foulness has more spots to hide.

(I wish we would have a spellcheck here )