lucy2
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 167
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Thrush
Sept 12, 2005 23:34:37 GMT 1
Post by lucy2 on Sept 12, 2005 23:34:37 GMT 1
Any Ideas.
My horse has had thrush for five months. After being hospitalized for 3 days at the beginning of August, he is still being seen by the vet weekly. Despite being absolutely scrupulously clean and dry we are making no head way. We have used a variety of products as suggested by the vet, including peroxide and 10% iodine solution. The vet comes weekly to remove dead tissue from the frogs which at the moment he has to be done under sedation (understandably).
Has anyone had similar experiences and what did you do?
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Thrush
Sept 12, 2005 23:57:17 GMT 1
Post by Wendy IHTS on Sept 12, 2005 23:57:17 GMT 1
If you ask on the barefoot section of enlightenedequitation.com they have a lot of know how on tackling thrush and fungal infections. Not saying you need to go BF by the way, just that the guys over there have been there and tested all manner of anti-infection regimes for thrush and fungus.
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 7:41:52 GMT 1
Post by Casper on Sept 13, 2005 7:41:52 GMT 1
Borax can be really good for thrush. You dissolve 2 tablespoons in one gallon of lukewarm water. If possible, soak your horse's feet in the solution for 20 minutes at a time, but if this is not possible, brush the solution into the crevaces beside the frog each time you pick feet out.
A friend of mine used tea tree oil successfully to treat thrush. She used to let it run into the crevices and hold the foot up for a minute or two to let it soak in.
I know other people use CleanTrax for foot infections, but don't know much about this. As Wendy said some of the Barefoot Forums are good for information, and should have some info about Clean Trax.
Hope you get it sorted soon
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LouiseM
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 166
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 9:40:21 GMT 1
Post by LouiseM on Sept 13, 2005 9:40:21 GMT 1
Hi
We've been through something very similar with Joe.
What we ended up doing was getting the vet to take swabs from his feet, which were then grown in the lab so that we could find out exactly what was causing the problem and treat it with something targetted for it.
We've been using terramycin spray for about three months and his feet are showing a massive improvement.
The other comment our vet made was that the iodine is actually much more efective if used very dilute - a small amount of the iodine solution to half a mug of water.
If you want to chat more, feel free to pm me.
Louise
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erarab
Advanced Poster
Ping!
Posts: 382
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 9:48:09 GMT 1
Post by erarab on Sept 13, 2005 9:48:09 GMT 1
My sister is an Aromatherapist - The best thing I have ever used is Tea Tree and Lavender pure essential oils. You can get them from Holland & Barrett - they are both REALLY good strong but gentle disinfectants/antibacterials. The lavender also helps with cell renewal. If you get some vodka and put the whole bottle lavender oil, tea tree oil and about 100ml of vodka into a bottle (MUST BE A GLASS BOTTLE other wise the chemicals in the plastic leach into the oils) - shake well. Give the hoof a good wash out with salt water then apply the mixture using a spray or brush 2 - 3 times a day - you'll be amazed
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 11:07:57 GMT 1
Post by her on Sept 13, 2005 11:07:57 GMT 1
best thing would be a 45 min soak in cleantrax the peroxide is unlikly to work as it also kills the surronding tissue in the foot creating a better enxironment for the bacteria to live(its a necrotizing solution). After the Cleantrax(non-necrotizing) i would then scrub with borax or equine elite products which are both non-necrotizing to keep the feet clean.
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 11:41:14 GMT 1
Post by PD on Sept 13, 2005 11:41:14 GMT 1
I do sympathise. Cleantrax is the answer, however you probably have a deep central sulcus in the frogs if your problem is persisting this long. This provides the perfect living conditions for the bacteria. In my experience, the only way to get this sulcus to open up and become shallower is to remove the shoes and allow the heels to expand given a barefoot trim. It might be something you should consider - given the downtime you're already going through - what have you got to lose? Like others advise, go to Enlightened Equitation and find out more.
I'm not advocating you should go barefoot forever, but a few months might work wonders to assist in getting over this painful/annoying condition for your horse.
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Thrush
Sept 13, 2005 12:25:31 GMT 1
Post by gwenoakes on Sept 13, 2005 12:25:31 GMT 1
Please be careful re the thrush. We rescued a shire some years ago who had thrush on and off for approx 2 yrs. Admittedly the previous owner had not treated correctly. He ended up with full blown canker of all four feet, the end result being it had spread to the digital tendon and he had to be shot. Sorry didnt want to worry you, just to make you aware of the awful consequences if not sorted quickly. I wish you luck.
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Thrush
Sept 17, 2005 11:16:58 GMT 1
Post by Melanie on Sept 17, 2005 11:16:58 GMT 1
Borax or clean trax are great. If you have any crevices where thrush is lurking then pack them with MSM cream (or nappy rash cream would do). Either scrubbing or soacking with borax then putting MSM cream on after the feet have dried and cramming loads of it into any holes is the best thrush treatment I've found, and I've tried a few!
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rust
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 117
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Thrush
Sept 17, 2005 14:07:21 GMT 1
Post by rust on Sept 17, 2005 14:07:21 GMT 1
Lucy 2, Have you had any progress?
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lucy2
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 167
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Thrush
Sept 22, 2005 23:17:24 GMT 1
Post by lucy2 on Sept 22, 2005 23:17:24 GMT 1
Rust Absolutely none. We are still on weekly vets visits to remove dead tissue. I have also involved a homeopathic vet - so she has been treating for the last week also. But our conventional vet came again today - cut away the frogs again - scratched his head and said 'we definately haven't made any in roads into this situation - there's definately something else going on'. The senior partner is coming to see us tomorrow. We have just completed a 10 day course of Equiflavin (I think I've got that right). Also continuing to treat topically. 2 feet with 10% iodine 2 feet with calandular tincture from homeopath. I hope we see some improvement soon!
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fran
Novice Poster
Posts: 40
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Thrush
Sept 22, 2005 23:25:11 GMT 1
Post by fran on Sept 22, 2005 23:25:11 GMT 1
Get rid of as much of the black stuff as you can with a hoof knife ,then a good scrub with salt water ,leave to dry and then spray with purple spray. Do this daily, it worked with my mare. Good luck!
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jc
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 129
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Thrush
Sept 23, 2005 8:29:07 GMT 1
Post by jc on Sept 23, 2005 8:29:07 GMT 1
it may be worth adding a disinfectant powder, as used for livestock bedding to keep free of bugs, to your horses bedding to support all the foot cleaning you are doing?
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Thrush
Sept 23, 2005 10:51:44 GMT 1
Post by PD on Sept 23, 2005 10:51:44 GMT 1
Don't use iodene, its necrotising, it kills the bacteria but also kills the frog tissue. This leaves dead tissue for the remaining bacteria to feast on, so they gain in numbers again very quickly.
You say your vet is scratching his head, you're getting no progress. Its time to think of another way of treating this. Go to Boots the Chemist, get some Borax (basic laundry product). Make up a solution 2 tablespoons to a gallon of luke warm water. Soak the feet for 20 minutes in this, then scrub the soles twice daily with the solution.
Wait for feet to dry, then stuff sudocrem in the crevices and grooves of the foot. Then I'd recomend you let the horse move more, say access to a yard or small dry paddock.
As Gwenoakes said, you need to take action on this now and your vets don't seem to have any better ideas do they? What have you got to lose by trying this approach?
If you try and you get some good results, I'd really urge you to get the shoes off and clean trax the feet to get a total cure.
Go on, be brave, take charge of this situation for your horse's sake.
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Thrush
Sept 23, 2005 11:56:29 GMT 1
Post by lynsummers on Sept 23, 2005 11:56:29 GMT 1
lynsummers Hello Lucy2 horrible to have such an ongoing problem, but has anyone thought that perhaps your horse may also benefit from some help with his immune system as well as helping him with his thrush? I have successfully used some American products for my horses from laminitis to smelly foot as well as helping their immune system. It sounds like he may also be a bit low in himself. The products that I have tried have worked very well and are now availble here in the UK. If you would like to hear some more please send me a pm. I hope that you find something that works for you soon cheers!
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