Persistent Thrush
Posted by Anita Adams at 2006-12-29 18:44:04
I have a 2 1/2 year Perch filly. I have owned her since she was 15 mths. Her feet until that time had never been worked with and I do mean never.
Once I got her home I started her on Dr. Valentine's diet and with time, good care and feed her feet and the rest of her have improved markedly.
My farrier is good to work with, but I have the only draft horse in around 150 miles, so neither he or my vet are use to the large horses.
My problem is her rear hooves have persistent thrush. None of my others have it and I am careful with only using Sinny's hoof pick with her. She has regular trims about every 6 wks. I clean them daily, she is not stall kept and our pasture does not have standing water; as a matter of fact we are in the 5th year of drought. I have tried several commercial preparations, Thrush X, kopertox and bleach solutions, even some epsom salts. Nothing up to then has worked.
I feel that her feet are otherwise in good shape, no soreness, good horn, and they are nice shaped for her, and my farrier pays attention to angles as I ride dressage and my daughter jumps. None of my horses wear shoes. She and my TB both get a hoof supplement called Victory Hoof builder.
Any thoughts as to what I might try?
Thanks for your input
Response by Chris Gregory, MS, CJF, FWCF at 2006-12-30 22:29:34
I have found that the best commercial product is Thrush Buster from Mustad. However, I wonder if you are not dealing with a case of canker. It is most often found on the back feet of drafts, and you will notice a distinct ammonia smell, as well as abnormal growth out of the frog. Other than that, it sounds as if you are doing everything correctly.
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