What's the big deal?  So what's so worry some about this foot thing?  Why are you so worried it's just thrush?   Well get your horse out of the mud and put him in a stall! 


These are all things I am getting from the general public.  And truly I appreciate the bouncing of information, questions, and yes even the comments.

Let's make this one clear!  My horses are in a mud lot ... (as stated in almost every post) ONLY because Navarre has PPSM... in laymen terms it is ALMOST like us having diabetes but even worse add a muscular degenerative disorder into the mix and you ALMOST have an idea of what I deal with.    To JUST keep him alive he can never have apples, carrots, treats... much less GRASS.  So he has to stay on a dry lot.  a DRY lot turns into a mud lot when you get over 22inches of rain on average... BUT I have a 24x24 barn that is raised with DRY medical ready dry stall mats of which is open to my horses 24 / 7   Not only that I have another area of mats thrown down not attached ... but 4x6 mats 4 across and 5 deep... so another 20x24  out into the open sky not covered... not to forget the SHOWER MATS... that are before the non attached stall mats outside... just so the shower mats help knock mud out of their shoes etc... before they get onto or into dry area...

So all in all I've got a good 44 feet of stall mats open that are generally dry unless it is raining hard and further out at some points... So I do what I can!   and yes as life goes on... and IF the economy ever gets better I will.  a) purchase more mats b.) put them down permanently as in the barn as I can afford too.  c)  yes eventually I would LOVE to have the level areas bricked ... ? but life is not that easy right now so we do what we can!   Just like everyone else!

Thrush ...
It is going to occur at some point of having a horse. 
Normally ... You can control it by picking out the hooves, if not once twice a day.  I have two horses and while My mare is easily controlled with picking my gelding is not.  There are several factors.

IF my mare gets thrush it is normally in her front feet.  You know the feet that get the most usage, carry 2/3rd of the weight thus they get more of a pounding, packing, and suffer when conditions are wet. 

My little boy (gelding) is FAT! although I try to control his weight. 
He has LOTS of hair... so much I have to shave it from his coronet band in order for it to stay healthy, and too keep hair from the frog of his feet. 
His hair is another issue entirely BUT adds to a fungal issue which is what THRUSH is...

It is a fungus that thrives with OUT oxygen... so the best thing you can do it AIR IT OUT!
What ever means necessary keep the foot DRY at all cost! 

Thrush is not a big deal when controlled... but when it gets OUT of Control it will EAT THROUGH the hoof into the soft tissues and lame your horse.  ? sorta like a plantar wart that grows INTO the foot to the bone in your heal.  Or think of walking on a stone all day no matter what type of shoes you wear!   It is painful and can destroy a horse if it gets too bad.

Navarre had HORRIBLE thrush when he was a baby, he was stalled and I was not there to clean it twice a day.  The barn manager tended to him and allowed wet shavings in the stall as where I would not? BUT we each keep our children differently, and those with more than one know they are all different no matter how you want to keep them... SO... keep an open mind!  I have dealt with this with him already three times in his short 5 years... but I now have a plan of action which is what I was trying to share...

1. clean foot... HIGH PRESSURE WATER IF you have it... I don't  ( I have only gravity feed water)
so I pick, brush, and then I pour hydrogen peroxide into any openings in the foot, and allow it to sit on the hoof around the frog etc...

2. I allow that foot to dry... dry well...

3. Like today I had Navarre tied up for over an hour just to tend to his feet.  Yes I was doing other things with him... brushing his body, mane and tail... but those things could take all day.  I also have a short lesson and left him tied up!

While I waited for his feet to dry... I did drip some lavender and tea tree oil into the holes but mostly on the healthy soft tissues of the foot.  Yes may sound crazy but ... lavender, rosemary, and tea tree oils are natural antibacterials... cheap ... and are not going to hurt the horse.  The entire secret is NOT to damage any soft tissue... so rubbing the healthy with anti... properties can't hurt! besides doing so only increases the circulation to the area... thus helping the situation anyway!   If your going to do something you may as well do it well. 

4. This morning I packed the area very carefully and very easily with my hemostats everyone should have a some... WHY ? the tip is rounded the teeth are on the inside and make it easy to get the packing out.... WHAT do I use a packing? cotton balls!   Yep that cheap and that simple....

Some people pack with thrush powder... I like this stuff! but I find it is even easier for a beginner to pack too tightly so packing with a soaked cotton strip with thrush buster is best for beginners.  ONLY because if you pack too tightly the cotton is more likely to fall apart not pack the powder more like clay, and the powder gets wet over time and is hard to get out if you do not have good water pressure to force it out! Not to forget some of these holes are not going to allow something to move around enough to come back out unless pulled out the same way it went in! thus my cotton balls instead of powders...

5. At night... I went back to the barn... picked his feet AND pulled out the cotton I had packed... then I put thrush buster liquid IN the wholes... got clean cotton again and REPACKED it for the night.  Good thing is... cotton was almost perfectly clean  when I pulled it out, so the hydrogen peroxide had done it's job... and he wasn't just digging in mud with his feet today.    Tomorrow morning may be a different story, after all it will be a heavy dew in the morning. 

ok so this is his front left foot... Frnt ON...

Above is my horse....

ok... now this is what I do NOT want it to end up like!...

Below is Horrible case... but always possible....

So What's the big deal????

This stuff is more damaging on the INSIDE than what you see on the OUTSIDE... so while Thrush is not that big of a deal it opens the soft tissues to damage like a Canker...

While some think this is the heal of the horse it has actually grown up the heal into the bulbs... and beyond!