thrush

[Allie]

My horses got their hooves trimmed today. when the farrier picked up Champagne's front feet, he said she had just a little bit of thrush. I had not noticed it becuase I have not been the one riding her lately, my friend's sister has been going with us and riding her. Anyways, my point was to get rid of it he put iodine crystals around the frog, and then poured a little turpentine on it. This caused some purple smoke and a smell even worse than the thrush. He said that would kill it in one application. I had never heard of this cure for thrush, and most certainly never seen it done, so my question is, has anyone else heard of treating thrush this way?

Allie

[Charlotte]

I've heard of this - but I believe it is quite an old remedy for thrush - but effective! Some of the old remedies are more effective than the new ones - look at homeopathic remedies, these were thought of as 'witch doctor' remedies many years ago, but nowadays, so many people are turning to them!

Don't be concerned - your farrier knows what he's doing. Keep an eye on your horse's feet - make sure they are clean - I often apply a bit of effol hoof cream inside my horses clean washed feet to prevent thrush, or stockholm tar is also good. There are a lot of spray applications you can use yourself which you can find in tack shops etc.

[Wally]

Spectacular ain't it?
Yes this is an old trick, the reasoning behind it is that the chemical reaction drives the iodine deep into the tissues. There are a lot of expensive thrush lotions available but the one your farrier used is cheap and effective on mild thrush, good fun too!

[Allie]

When I went riding today, I noticed that Champagne now has a mild case of thrush in her hind feet. You can't even really tell by looking, only by the smell if you put your nose right down by it (which I have been doing lately for this exact reason). I have tried to get the iodine crystals, but it turns out they are sort of a restricted substance around here because apparently they are used in meth labs. So, the iodine crystals-turpentine treatment is now out of the picture, unless I want to pay the farrier $15 to come back again! So, can anyone reccomend another treatment, store-bought or homemade? Any help greatly appreciated...

Allie

[Edited by Allie on 3rd Jul 2000 at 04:02 AM]

[Charlotte]

Allie, I am assuming you are not living in the UK?

I recommend a visit to your local tack shop - the people there will be able to advise you on a product suitable for home thrush treatment. My horse has thrush on an off every now and again, and only in one foot! There are many products out there for thrush, as I said in my response to your first message. You don't need to call out your farrier everytime!!

If you are keeping your horse at a yard with other horses, is there anyone there that you could ask? They may well have a tried and tested remedy of their own! We all share ideas and remedies at my yard - it saves a lot of money!!

[Wally]

In Britain you can get a bottle of what is called foot dressing. don't know its chemical make up. Or you could use copper sulphate solution. Or you could use permanganate of potash (potassium permanganate purple crystals diluted in water) The vet should be able to supply these over the counter.
Can you get what we in Britain call purple spray? it's used for sheep foot rot, thats good for thrush too. I've even heard of people getting good results from Jeys Fluid in dilute form. Can you get this in the States?

[Allie]

Thanks for your replies Wally. I found a farrier website on the internet that reccomended dilute bleach, tincture of iodine, or 10% formalin solution. As I already have the bleach, I decided to try that. I have been spraying bleach water on their hooves once a day, staring yesterday. Have you ever heard of using bleach water?

Allie

[Wally]

Yes, I have heard of the bleach treatment, I have used hydrogen peroxide, instead of chlorine based bleach. But it all does the same job.