Smelly Feet !!

[Duffle]

A week ago I moved my mare to another paddock which is quite soft and muddy in places (a river meanders through it) having spent all summer in a very dry paddock !

Yesterday I noticed that the frogs to both her fore feet are quite soft and the hoof seems smellier than usual. Does this sound like thrush and if so, could someone tell me how to treat it.

Thanks

[galadriel]

Yep, sounds exactly like thrush.

If you can find a way to let the feet dry at least once a day, it will help you tremendously.

I get good results treating thrush with about 50% bleach/50% water; just clean off the hoof and apply it once a day. It's a nice cheap solution, and it clears thrush up.

But it's the nice warm (from the hoof), damp (from the ground) conditions that encourage thrush. If you can keep the hoof dry as much as you can, and make sure it *gets* fully dry at some time during the day, you can probably slow it down and keep it from coming back.

[Duffle]

Thanks for the advice - I'll try it

[Equisgurl]

and in case that wont work there are some good thrush treatments on market, like koppertox for examle.

[Retty]

Frog fresh also seems to help.

[* Groomette *]

I've always heard spraying apple cider vinegar on the sole of the hoof helps prevent against thrush...especially when you can't help but put them in a muddy place. Treat the trush and then see what you can find out about the apple cider vinegar (I'm an obsessive with that stuff)

[Wally]

Unless there is a discharge and a really foul smell don't go overboard with treating it. The frog is 45% water at the best of times, in wet conditions it will become even more soaked, not a bad thing, in itself.

Remember Camargue horses and Shetlands live all thier lives n bogs, Exmoors, Dartmoors all live in boggy ground, it is not the wet in itself which causes thrush.

So long as the frog is healthy and free of an absolute stink don't worry too much.