• Scrub and clean the affected feet daily or twice daily with clean water and/or a suitable disinfectant such as chlorhexidine or iodine.
• Spray the clean, freshly exposed hoof with an appropriate disinfectant such as the above, or some prefer to use diluted hydrogen peroxide (3% diluted 50:50 with water) to kill off any infection and penetrate down into the cleſts and crevices.
• Use a hoof hardening agent, such as an iodine solution- surgical spirit mix (1:3 ratio solution), or a formaldehyde-based product (e.g. Keratex or Thrush Buster), daily.
• If a significant amount of hoof has been removed, exposing sensitive tissue, the foot may require a dry, well-padded dressing to be applied (change daily).
• Keep feet dry and clean, repeating the above treatment regime daily and ask your farrier to attend regularly (may need to come every 2-3 weeks initially) until the infection is under control.
• Pick out your horse’s feet daily and inspect them for any early signs of defects and infection.
• Muck out stables daily, removing all wet and soiled bedding. • Use an absorbent bedding (such as wood shavings) instead of straw. Bedding should also be added to rubber matting to prevent urine pooling.
• Turn out in well-drained paddocks, where possible, or if necessary limit time spent in wet, muddy fields.
Remember that prevention is better than cure...
• Remove horses from unhygienic stable or paddock environments
• Clean and pick out hooves daily – it can take up to a year for a healthy frog to regrow aſter severe infection.
• Maintain a good relationship with your farrier! Routine foot care is paramount and feet should be trimmed at regular intervals of no more than 8 weeks (oſten removing little and oſten is better than trying to stretch out farriery intervals).
If you think your horse has a thrush infection, and particularly if they are also lame, liaise with both your veterinary surgeon and your farrier – it is important to prevent the infection from spreading into other structures or causing irreversible damage to the foot.
Regular trimming by a good farrier is of paramount importance to keep hooves healthy. Image: Abby Bunyard AWCF
For more information about
Thrush with maggots. Caption: A frog that has been pared by the farrier, revealing maggots living in the frog. Image: Robert Shave FWCF
Vet Profile Lucy Grieve MA, VetMB, MRCVS
Lucy Grieve is an ambulatory vet at Rossdales Equine Practice in Newmarket. She qualified from Cambridge University in 2007 and then completed a diagnostic imaging internship at Rossdales Equine Diagnostic Centre, aſter which she spent seven years as an in-house vet for a large flat racing operation in Newmarket. She returned to Rossdales in 2015, working mainly with pleasure horses and Thoroughbred horses in training. Her main areas of interest are lameness, diagnostic imaging and poor performance. Lucy has been a member of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Council since 2012, serving as chair of the Ethics and Welfare Committee and sitting on the Equestrian Sports Committee, liaising with regulatory bodies such as the BHA and FEI. She is BEVA President-elect in 2019-20. She is also co-opted onto the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) Thoroughbred Research Consultation Group, and the Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations Welfare Group.
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Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons, visit
www.rossdales.com.
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