Thrush?

[quote=linaew]

Alright guys I'm a newbie here, but I need some help. I just got a mare who had super long feet, they obviously hadn't been trimmed in a long time, well my farrier took it all off at once, I wish he hadn't but can't change that now, but he said she has bacteria between her bulbs, and I'm thinking gap there at the heel side of the frog. I'm assuming he is talking about something along the lines of thrush when he says "bacteria" so I want to start treating it, he said apple cider vinegar, bleach solution, or a thrush treatment you can get at feed stores. But I have read this morning that bleach solution can actually inhibit grow of healthy frog tissue, and basically she has none left... but I just want to treat her with something that will help her feet get better as soon as they can, I also read about soaks and a treatment called white lightning. I guess I'm just confused as to which way to go about this. I know every horse is different, but for the majority I guess I'm just wondering what your experiences are and how you have gotten results. Thanks in advance. LinaeW

 
That area between the heel bulbs is the sulci.  Bacterial/fungal infections have a field down in there because it is difficult to treat if the infections are deep.
 
Cider vinegr isn't strong enough and even a diluted bleach is too invasive.
 
White Ligtening is exellent, but it requires a soaking boot.
 
What you can try quickly, is the cow mastititus treatment ToMorrow.  That is what I used.
 
I soaked the hoof in a warm water mix of iodine and a capful of clorox.
 
Pat dry, then shoot the ToMorrow in the sulci and pack it with diaper rash cream to help hold it in.
 
It is best if the horse can come in at night to a clean stall after the treatment has been done with ToMorrow.  I have never used White Lightening so can't speak to that.
 
Depending how far down the infection traveled in the sulci, it can weeks of daily treatment to clear it uo.
 
Hope thiss helps and makes sense.  My wireless mouse is dying

I put bleach and spray it in the area. I dont tone it down any just straight bleach.

I agree that bleach, iodine, etc are not a good idea *generally* because they do inhibit/damage growth of healthy cells. BUT especially if there is a particularly bad, stubborn infection there, applying betadine or bleach or such once or twice to actually kill the infection, rinsing it off after a few minutes, then reverting to ACV or such in subsequent days, to help prevent it from coming back is my preferred way of dealing with it.

If your horse can develop healthy, strong feet with good function - ie heel first impacts, etc - she shouldn't be as susceptible to thrush in the future. A good(low carb) diet & well balanced nutrition plays a big part too. With regard to your farrier 'taking it all off at once', it depends what he removed & why, as to whether that was good, bad or indifferent. If she had a lot of excess growth that was inhibiting function, leading to mechanical separation & infection, then I'd think removing a lot would be necessary. Leaving a lot of excess there just because you didn't want to do it suddenly may mean the problems are just perpetuated. Frog & sole trimming is not *generally* a good idea, but is often necessary, especially in cases of thrush, where it's best to remove infected material and open up the sulci, etc.

For more foot related info, hoofrehab.com is one great, well researched place to start.

My Texas friends use Listerine in a spray bottle and treat daily for a while.  It seems to work well.