Coo, stinky feet - don't think thrush

[Jiouxles]

Mayoral has developed well stinky feet in the last few days. Now where I live the rain is not a problem (only that we haven't had any for months!) and he lives outside in a dry corral so his feet are never in standing liquid. His frogs are clean, dry and seem just the same as normal. No sensitivity when I pick his feet (daily, sometime twice!) but the soles are a bit 'crumbly'. I can scratch the surface of them with the hoof pick and they stink!! I was having a lesson yesterday and as we went over the trotting poles my RI said, 'Your horse's feet smell' (I had noticed) and she was standing about 3 metres away!

When he lived in a stable 24/7 just his left front used to occasionally be a bit whiffy but now it seems to be the two rears. We do ride on really rough stony ground and sometimes have to trot on hard surfaces (not for long) to get out of the traffic etc. He also gets much more exercise than he used to. He is not lame in the slightest. Any thoughts?

ETA: Have been using aqueous cream on external hoof and heels (4 x week)but never on soles or frog - could some have 'slipped in' and caused this?

[MelanieD]

The crumbly sole is exfoliating sole, the crumbly stuff that'd normally wear away can build up if its very dry or there are shoes in the way of it wearing off. The same bugs as thrush can also lurk under shoes, around old nail holes, in the white line and inner wall etc and just love that crumbly stuff so it can really stink. If you scrape the chalky stuff away with a hoofpick and use some kind of thrush treatment (hibiscrub, borax, milton, virkon all good, depends what you can get over there) then you should get rid of the worst of the stinky stuff.