VA.1009.HLSTPAD
the deep crevices. Have your farrier trim away any loose flaps of dead frog. Tis will allow more air contact and easier clean- ing. Take care not to poke and scrub too vigorously – infected frog tissue can be painful and can easily bleed. Use a squirt bottle of whatever solution you have chosen to ir- rigate the area and loosen debris (I re-purpose dish liquid bottles for this). An old cotton t-shirt cut into 4 or 5 inch squares is great for gently wiping through the sulci of the frog. Te clean soft squares can “floss” the deep central crevice. Remember - gently! Follow this cleaning treatment with an application of healing salve or ointment to nourish damaged tissue. If the infection is deep and the frog soft and painful, apply raw honey by saturating cotton balls and carefully place into the frog. Just leave the cotton balls there until the next treatment! After a few weeks of the raw honey, switch to any of the following: over-the-counter fungal creams, cow
Usually apparent along the sides of the frog, thrush can also develop in a deep central sulcus. The presence of this deep crevice predisposes the horse to chronic thrush infection.
Cotton balls soaked in raw honey can be inserted into hoof crevices and left until the next hoof cleaning.
mastitis creams from your veterinarian, or calendula salves. If deep areas in the frog stay moist, try applying a paste made up of SORE NO-MORE®. Te Sauce and sugar to help with drying. Te key is to focus on healing the frog from deep to shallow, inside out. It is important to balance killing the bad stuff while supporting the good.
Once thrush rears its smelly head, expect treatment to be long term. Attention to diet, exercise, environment and regular hoof trimming are critical, in addition to topical application of cleaning and healing agents.
Gentle cleaning of crevices can both prevent and treat thrush. Photos courtesy Laura Florence.
Resources: Te Principles of Horseshoeing (P3), D. Butler and J. Butler. Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary, 6th Ed., D. Anderson, J. Keith, P. Novak.
Laura Florence is an American Farrier’s Association Certified Farrier serving clients in southeastern Pennsylvania. A former Resident Farrier with the University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center Farrier Service, Laura began private practice in 2007, rehabilitating and maintaining horses’ hooves through a holistic approach. www.holistichoofcare. com, 484-868-3715.
Bryan S. Farcus MA, CJF, is the creator of a select line of “Farrier-Friendly™” products and author of the “Farrier-Friendly™” series of articles that appear in horse magazines throughout the US. Bryan currently works with horses and their owners in Ohio and West Virginia.
www.farrierfriendly.com
Vettec Inc.
Comfort and support your horse’s feet with Vettec pad materials.
Holistic Horse™ • August/September 2010 • Vol.16, Issue 68
600 East Hueneme Road Oxnard, CA 93033 USA 1.800.483.8832
Zonnebaan 14 NL-3542 EC Utrecht The Netherlands +(31) 30 241 1823
www.vettec.com www.holistichorse.com | 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32