In my last column, we looked at a couple of nasty problems in the equine world – thrush and scratches.
Thrush is quite common at this time of year due to our seasonal weather. Curing your horse of this nasty, smelly fungal infection requires a two-pronged approach – treatment of the existing problem and changing your equine management.
Treatments for thrush vary, but the bottom line is to ensure all the cracks and crevices of the hoof are thoroughly cleaned out and then apply your treatment of choice, preferably on a daily basis.
The simplest treatment is a daily, thorough spraying with apple cider vinegar (after thoroughly cleaning all the little cracks and crevices) as long as there is no open, damaged tissue. In the accompanying photo, you can see that thrush has damaged the frog, so a more aggressive treatment is required. In this case, a proper trim job was done, which included clearing away the dead tissue and preparing the foot for treatment.
Next, was a thorough cleaning then the application of a product called White Lightning. This product is mixed in equal parts with vinegar then liberally applied to the bottom of the foot, paying particular attention to the frog and surrounding tissue. I used a large syringe and put equal parts of vinegar and White Lightning in the syringe resulting in the production of chlorine dioxide (which is the ingredient that kills the thrush). The good thing about this product is there are no toxic chemicals of any kind and nothing produced to harm the environment (not all thrush treatments can make that claim). The syringe (without a needle) is easy to use to deliver the product to the bottom of the foot and facilitates getting the treatment into all the little nooks and crannies of the foot.
The second part is the equine management – thrush thrives in dirty conditions, such as mud containing urine and manure or stalls that are not thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis. Other potential sources include hoof pads that trap material against the foot for extended periods of time or lameness issues where the horse is not moving much.
Scratches (generally found on the back of the foot in the pastern area) require a similar approach. There are lots of different remedies out there and, because scratches can be caused by a collection of different organisms, you may have to try a couple of different products to find the one that works for your horse. The basic method is the same as thrush – treat and modify the equine environment. The first step is to clean the area gently using an antiseptic cleanser (e.g. Phisoderm with hexachlorophene, available over the counter, or a mild iodine scrub from your veterinarian).
Next, pat dry using a clean towel (don’t rub, as that could cause further irritation). The third step is to apply a topical solution (e.g. Desitin, a common diaper-rash medication available in drugstores or Furacin, an antibiotic ointment from your veterinarian). Try to keep the area clean and medicated without bandaging.
Good equine management can save your horse the discomfort of these nasty problems.
