Page 175 - February 2021

VETERINARY VIEWS
SOME WAYS TO PREVENT THRUSH INCLUDE:
Regular turnout
Cleaning hooves daily
Regular visits from your farrier
Keeping stalls and turn out areas clean and dry
If a horse’s foot develops a bad smell or the frog feels “funky” and/or if the horse exhibits lameness, involve a veterinarian as soon as possible.
can penetrate closer to sensitive tissues with potential involvement of the digital cushion or other critical tissues. Then, lameness develops and the horse is likely to resent probing or squeezing of the tender heel and frog areas affected by thrush.
A severe form of thrush with substantial tissue damage may be confused with
another condition called canker, which is
an explosive form of granulation tissue that tends to outgrow its blood supply, leading to
a particularly noxious odor. The vegetative, frond-looking tissue is fragile, and bleeds easily with finger pressure.
PREVENTION
An ounce of prevention truly serves as
a cure when it comes to hoof cleanliness
and health – regular turnout or exercise
is essential. Thrush is a disease that is less common in horses that are outside and moving. Physiologically, horses are dependent on motion to circulate blood through their limbs; confined living conditions set them up for problems like thrush.
With daily picking out of horse hooves, inspect carefully for abnormal changes. Early recognition by owner, trainer or farrier of a foot that may be susceptible to thrush helps to avoid infection. The frogs should be trimmed
so they aren’t allowed to grow to a point of overlap – this keeps the clefts open for self- cleaning as the horse walks and frolics in turnout or during exercise.
Some cases of thrush may develop by overly zealous use of a hoof pick. Rough cleaning can reach to fairly sensitive tissue, even to the point of bleeding. While daily use of a hoof pick is encouraged to keep the frog sulci open and clean, apply common sense and judicious care when using a hoof pick.
Another main healthful strategy is to keep a horse’s environment clean – daily mucking of stalls and paddocks is important. Ensure good drainage in all living areas, including pastures used for turnout. Also, keep horse living areas dry and clean to avoid areas with simmering soups of bacteria.
TREATMENT
The specific organisms that create such damage to the feet are not particularly easy to identify. The problem with trying to culture horse feet is that you end up culturing the barn. A main objective is to achieve early recognition so certain steps can be taken to eradicate the infection and to prevent recurrence.
House the horse in a clean, dry area. Daily inspection and cleaning of the hooves is critical to successful resolution of infection. Effective
While poor hygiene sets the stage for development of thrush, even with the best of care, infection can develop in the frog or its sulci (crevices) in excessively moist conditions.
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