Thrush in the central sulcus! - Health & Supplements - Health & Supplements - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 9/2/2009 7:01:35 PM

So, I've been dealing with this for about 2 weeks now. Max was lame as can be so I called the vet out who proceeded to do x-rays (which were clean) and then told me that Max had an abcsess. He said his feet were clean and did not mention thrush at all at the time. He instructed me to soak Max's feet in epsom salt and warm water daily and to brush ichtamol onto the bottom of his feet (both to draw out this "abcsess") and wrap the foot to keep any debri out. So I did that for about a week. Max was no longer lame however his foot seemed to be getting worse, I by the way thought it was thrush the whole time but the vet knows best right? So everyone at the barn is telling me that it's thrush and to do this and that to it, blah blah blah. So at this point no abscess has broken through and I'm not trying to treat for thrush by putting xenodine on the feet and still doing the wrapping. I'm putting gauze on the xenodine at the bottom of the foot and putting a baby diaper over that and then wrapping the foot with duct tape to keep it from getting debri in it. He currently has 3 channels in the bulb of the foot and I'm at a loss as to what to do. The vet says abscess and the farrier says thrush. Both have different ways of treating them. I'm posting a pic that was taken a few days ago. Any opinions of advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

hunterseat

Posted : 9/2/2009 9:11:53 PM

Honestly? I think it could be both. The reason I say that is because my Zag had an abscess in the bulb of his heel starting about Thanksgiving and taking a looong time to heal. It was nasty and it stunk, too, as abscesses (and thrush) will. It was much like what's in the picture only on one side. Until then I'd only seen abscesses break through the hard hoof wall, never in the heel bulb. Zag grew proudflesh that my trimmer said looked like sarcoma...[ ':o'

] so I took him in and had the growth tested. WHEW! No cancer. I feel like abscesses just need time to grow out. Looks like yours has broken and there's not really a need to draw it out. BUT if you keep sealing in moisture you may not get rid of the thrush. My Texas friends keep gold Listerine in a spray bottle and spray the sole down several times a day. Good preventative. It's antiseptic so it won't hurt the abscess. Hope he heals fast for you! Looks like the worst is over to me. Zag was lame, too. I think because it was in such soft tissue that gets plenty of pressure.
A former poster here always advocated Triple Antibiotic Ointment and you can get that at Walmart pretty cheap. Actually, I DID wrap it to keep it clean. Yours looks really good, though. Zag's was nastier. He lived in wet and muddy ground much of the time. It was really hard to get him out of the wet since mine are out 24/7 w/a run-in.

jen7724

Posted : 9/3/2009 4:26:33 PM

I really appreciate the response! I never saw the abscess blow though, from what I've been told it's unmistakable. The tissue at his bulb is extremely soft and I didn't wrap it yesterday hoping that air getting to it will help. Only concern is the dirt, etc that will get trapped as well.

hunterseat

Posted : 9/4/2009 12:41:12 AM

It occured to me that's why it looks so good is because you DO wrap it. I took Zag to ride at a friend's and her farrier was trimming hers. He's done mine before and Zag needed a trim so I was going to have Zag trimmed. Before Rick arrived I cleaned out Zag's feet and I saw what I thought was a gash, like something had ripped into his heel. I was pretty upset - plus I couldn't ride. ':('

(she has a horse playground on her property - trail obstacles) Well, Rick trimmed anyway and said right there it looked like an abscess and it smelled like one, too. I didn't really notice Zag being lame before that - I don't think I'd done much riding - maybe he was a little off. He sure was sore after and the proud flesh that grew was painful, too, cuz it would catch on something and bleed. I think landing square on something (or whatever causes abscesses) could give you an abscess in both heels. Looks really good, though.