Any tried and true cures for hoof thrush?

Question

We are constantly battling recurring thrush in our TB Hunter. Diet is amazing, stall was damp and we've relocated to a dry area now. Using Kopper(something) and have tried other similar remedies, to no avail. Any thoughts about apple cider vinegar and water with tea tree oil? We're willing to try anything at this point.

Answer 1

If thrush X doesn't do it, you still have some problem with the horse's environment.  Something is wrong in the paddock, stall, field, or whatever.  It isn't typical for thrush to keep recurring in a normal environment and with daily hoof care.

Answer 2

Ditto on the Thrush Buster.  I find Koppertox to be a little too harsh and over-drying, personally, but then again if you have a particularly stubborn case, it might work fine for you.  Looks like you are on the right track.

Answer 3

You're using Kopper Tox I believe.  There's also Thrush X, but the best out of all of them is Thrush Buster!  That little bitty bottle's expensive, but it works like CRAZY!

Answer 4

Yup, betadine and sugar made into a paste and placed deep in the area where the thrush is.

Answer 5

I also do the bleach water.

Answer 6

i like thrush buster, and the absorbine version of it. the absorbine version doesn't die anything purple, so i'd say go with that one.

http://smartpakequine.com/productclass.a...

Answer 7

Thrush Buster:

http://www.horse.com/Horse-Health-First-...

I have never had a problem with it except it dyes everything purple. Like REALLY purple.

Answer 8

First go out and buy a bottle of Thrush Buster.  It works MUCH better than Koppertox.  it should clear it up within a use or two.  After that I would buy a bottle of Lysol all-purpose spray in lemon scent (don't know why but that one works best) to use for maintenance.  As soon as you notice even a little bit of black in his hoof spray the frog and grooves with the lysol.  It should nip it in the bud.  Be sure that with both the thrush buster and the lysol you hold the hoof up to let it sink in for a minute before letting them step back down on it.

(cleaning out your horses feet 4x a day is silly, but you should clean them every time you go to the barn.)

Answer 9

I have owned horses for all my life-- Though i am just a teenager, my mother has taught me well. I believe there is some cures but organic methods are better for your horse and you to use. In this case my best advice to you is get your farrier out and have him trim your horse (+shoes if need be). Hoof Thrush is usually caused by neglected hooves. I would recommend cleaning your horses hooves out regularly and grooming him. A farrier should come out every 3-4 weeks to help. Other causes of hoof thrush can be standing in wet area's for to long, or even standing in there own manure. Usually Hoof thrush can be cured by just "taking care of" your horse. I hoped i helped, and good luck.

Answer 10

formaldehyde  in liquid form 4 parts water one part formaldehyde and paint it on with a paint brush, just remember to keep it locked away and labelled POISON, it clears it up though

Answer 11

WE USED BLEACH IN A SPRAY BOTTLE AFTER YOU PICKED THE HOOF.

WORKS FINE.

Answer 12

Tried and true is a fiction.  Every horse is different, and it is a totally different situation when you have "chronic" thrush.  If you have a superficial collateral sulcus thrush, you could use thrush buster with some success.  I would never use kopertox for anything.  It sets up the tacky plastic material when applied but it is not a continuous coating as they claim.  It bascially hold water and moisture and bacteria in the foot and makes it worse.    If you have a chronic thrush, it is probably deep in the hoof as indicated by the presence in the central cleft between the heel bulbs.  With chronic thrush, all of the traditional products are very harmful.  With deep, chronic thrush, it is not recommended to use kopertox, thrush buster, save-a-hoof, thrush-x, and ESPECIALLY NOT BLEACH.  All of these things kill normal tissue as well as infected tissue.  Even with a brief appearance of improvement, as soon as there is a bit of dampness, the fungus has lots of food (from the medications) just waiting to eat away at your horse's feet.  Bleach, I can't even begin as to how archaic and caustic this is.  Sorry, but it is amazing that anyone could even suggest bleach.  It is beyond back in the darkest of ages and so bad for your horse.   For soaks, you can use 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water for 30 minutes daily OR 2 oz. of lysol concentrate (amber bottle, yellow cap only-can be hard to find) in a gallon of water for 30 minutes daily.   There are some products made specifically for soaks 1) white lightening and 2) clean trax.  Many people have told me they have good success with these but they are expensive, you have to contain the gases, etc. and so they are difficult to use.  I, personally, have not found the professional products to be as successful as the vinegar or lysol solutions and I have a WB with chronic thrush.  We are having more success now than ever before and I have had him for 8 years.  I also use a topical application that I inject with a plastic tipped syringe into the central cleft.  It is a mixture of 50/50 neosporin and clotrimazole (human athlete's foot medication).  You can buy the "store brands".  They are much cheaper and chemically, the compounds are the same.  You need to put this on your horse's feet daily.   You know that a clean, dry environment is necessary.  Once thrush gets established and deep into your horse's feet, it can be a real problem and it is really painful for your horse.   If you are interested, there are some supportive articles from some of the latest research on hoof care at www.hoofrehab.com.  Hoof care has changed so much in the last 5-6 years.  It really alarms me that you still see all these harmful chemicals available at every feed store and recommended by vets, farriers, store personnel, and self-proclaimed "horse people".   However, as long as there is $$$ to be made, no one will disclose how harmful these things can be, and the effects are not seen as an overt or obvious consequence, so it is easy to parade these false "cures".   Also, you did not mention if your horse is shod.  Since he is a hunter, I presume he is wearing shoes.  With a central cleft thrush infection, it will be more difficult to heal the feet with shoes.  The movement, blood supply, and nerve supply is quite restricted with shoes.  There is no ground contact of the sole and frog for proper stimulation which is very helpful for healing.   It would be in the horse's best interest to pull the shoes and get a good barefoot trim, but the longer shoes have been worn, the longer it will take for the hooves to recover.  Good luck.  I know you face a daunting task with this.  The techniques and products I have described to you WILL NOT HARM your horse.

Answer 13

First of all, let's discuss prevention. Make sure it's stall is clean and dry. Secondly , if the frog is normal, ensure that only the part of the frog that is loose or shedding is removed.

If too much is removed , manure and fungus can invade the

sensitive part of the frog.

  Now for the cure. There are several remedies out there.

Koppertox ,thrush x and iodine crystals all come to mind.

The first two I have personally used. The last I have not.

  The last involves burning it out with iodine crystals , and then

applying turpentine. This is an older remedy that very few farriers use nowadays . Good luck.

Answer 14

There is Thrush Bomb that you can get from KV vet supply. An old fashion remedy is mix betadine or iodine with sugar to make a past and put that on it. It is important to keep the hoof dry. You can cover the hoof with a plastic bag(a 13 gallon trash bag is perfect) and some duct tape. Put the bag over the hoof and it must be big enough to get above the fetlock and up the leg. Take the duct tape and wrap it around the bag and hoof. Make sure you tape over all of the bag around the hoof. Wrap the tape around the pastern but not too tight so it cuts off circulation. Tape the bag on the leg just tight enough so it doesn't slip over the fetlock and hoof.

Answer 15

Ya! The only thing I can say is use you hoof pick a lot and often. My grandad used to use plain old bleach at least twice a day....It starts as a bacterial thing.

Answer 16

Keep the frog and sole, dry, clean, and out of the manure. I have Had great result with copper tox, or something like that in the wet seasons. For some treatments you stand you horse in water. But for thrush, you need to keep the feet dry. Do not let the frog over grow the sole, it will make a bed for thrush to grow under. A brush and hoof pick are a horse person best friend. Also keep the coronary band at the top of the hooves playable, to help grow a good hoof.

Answer 17

Tea tree oil

Answer 18

Hi straight ol' bleach

Answer 19

i've always heard of people using a dilute bleach solution and soaking the whole hoof (my vet even recommended this and says he does this to his own personal horses). the bleach solution will also dry and harden soft, mushy hooves. the vet said to use about 1 cup of bleach in a bucket of water (i'm geussing maybe 1-2 gallons.. you wouldnt really need much more just to soak feet) leave their feet in 5-10 minutes (or as long as they'll stand lol) once a week (or twice for really wet, soft hooves or really infected ones). try calling your vet and asking. advice is free! also, turpintine (like paint thinner) will kill thrush quickly. you need to be careful and not get it on the horse's skin or fur though. my farrier uses this remedy. he keeps turpintine in used hoof black bottle

Answer 20

I would just try cleaning out his feet atleast 4x a day and watch his bedding. But I know this is not always possible beacuse of the time it takes, so try some remedies. Just google Hoof thrush remedies. Hope this helps! Also, Thrush is an infection and rotts the hoof away, and needs to be treated immediatly.