How do you get rid of your horse's thrush?

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Permalink Reply by Bea Grinton on August 23, 2010 at 3:59pm

Thrush is treated very easily using ivory soap and water using a bowl and tooth brush. The rinse with clear water and pat dry with a clean towel. If it's really bad then treat the first time with javex in a spray bottle and pat dry then use the soap mix the next day.

Permalink Reply by Jan Jollymour on August 24, 2010 at 10:13am

After aggressively treating thrush in an imported horse for 5 (yes, five!) years, with every product available in tack stores as well as bleach and Irish iodine, and managing only to hold the line on the thrush, not eradicate it, I finally came across a product called "White Lightning", at a farrier supply store. That killed the thrush in 1 month, and it has never recurred.

We pick feet daily, our pastures are dry, our stalls are dry, our horses' feet are attended to by a very competent farrier every 5 weeks throughout the year, and we treated the thrush daily to NO AVAIL until we used White Lightning. I think that to say that thrush can be treated "simply" is misleading, as solidly entrenched cases can be anything but simple to treat. 25 years ago I had an imported stallion (you'd be amazed at how many horses arrive from Europe with thrush) whose thrush we never did clear up, in spite of heroic efforts on our parts and our farrier's. At that time our farrier was Bob Marshall, the 5 time World Champion, and he eventually declared himself beaten by that case of thrush...in everyone's defense, I have to say that at the time we lived in the Lower Mainland of BC, in the rain forest, and the concept of "dry" was just that, a concept, not a reality or a possibility.

Permalink Reply by Kim on August 24, 2010 at 1:24pm

I've had tons of luck this summer with Apple Cider Vinegar. I keep it in a spray bottle from the dollar store and apply after picking out and brushing off the soles with a hard dandy brush. I noticed an improvement in 24 hours.

Permalink Reply by Diana Murphy on August 25, 2010 at 10:22am

One of my mares came with terrible hoof issues (smelly, crumbling white hoof plus thrush) due to lack of any hoof care. We tried the homeopathic remedies (vinegar, sugar and iodine) but ultimately switched to the reliable little bottle of Thrush Buster. After several months of excellent (regular) farrier care plus regular treatment with Thrush Buster, all thrush is completely gone (as is all the soft, crumbly white hoof). I never thought her feet would look normal but they are! I have had other horses with mild thrush and within one treatment of Thrush Buster, all thrush was gone. It works like no other brand so I won't buy any other brand.

Permalink Reply by Kinni P on August 25, 2010 at 3:38pm

Purple stuff! AKA Thrush Buster. In a pinch Blu-Kote helps out, but it's not a one time application.

Permalink Reply by Joanna Kirby on August 25, 2010 at 11:11pm

Tea Tree Oil. slightly costly, but effective, EVERY time. Never seen it fail. Ever. If the hooves are properly kept. if you can't keep your horse or pony's hooves clean and dry long enough for it to soak in, it doesn't matter what you put on it, it won't work.
I cleaned my pony's hooves out with a garden hose after I picked them out, and applied tea tree oil. Then I stuck them in a soaker boot (or old macs after I got him a set) for a day or so. (Obviously supervised the soaker boot... don't worry people!)
End of thrush.
:)

Permalink Reply by 4XChestnut on August 27, 2010 at 10:06pm

I use a mix of apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil (15-20 drops of TTO to about 1 litre of ACV) as a regular application on my horse's feet in damp weather. If he does develop deeper crevices I will stuff a cotton ball soaked in the mix into that crevice every day until it won't stay in anymore (because the crevice is filling in with new tissue).

For longer term deep crevice thrush I had great success with a 1:1 mix of triple antibiotic ointment and 1% clotrimazole (antifungal) cream applied right down at the bottom of the crevice with a catheter syringe.

I've done borax soaks, but it didn't get really deep areas. I've used Thrushbuster successfully, but find the ACV mix gentler on the tissues and the deep crevices seem to heal and fill in with fewer reoccurences of thrush in the process.