of thrush. Stabled horses should have their feet cleaned at
least once daily. For pastured horses, weekly foot cleaning
should be a minimum, and more frequently is preferable.
Timely farrier care is also an essential factor in preventing
thrush, as it is the farrier who first discovers the traces of
early thrush.
There are many factors that can predispose a horse to
thrush. Individual conformation can play a role as horses
with deep, narrow, sulci and/or narrow/contracted heels are
more likely to develop thrush because the deeper cavities
don’t self-clean with horse movement as well as shallower,
wider ones. Water and manure are also factors in the
environment that can predispose a horse to thrush.
Management practices that keep horses’ daily living
areas as dry and manure-free as possible will minimize
these risk factors. Frequent stall cleaning, pasture cleaning,
and ensuring good pasture drainage will also help prevent
horses from developing thrush.
In mild to moderate cases of thrush, there is no lameness
because the tissue affected is not living. However, as the
infection progresses into the deeper tissues, the bacteria
begin to involve the sensitive corium and cause pain. If the
thrush has gone unnoticed until this point, the first signs
might be lameness, increased digital pulses, and even leg
swelling up to and above the fetlock. These signs could be
caused by a foot abscess or other inflammatory conditions,
but the possibility of thrush should always be explored.
One of the most important aspects of treating thrush is
having as much infected tissue trimmed away as possible by
your veterinarian or farrier. No anti-bacterial will work in an
environment contaminated with organic material and dead
tissue. In addition, opening up the areas will allow greater
penetration of air/oxygen. Many of the bacteria responsible
for these infections require a low-oxygen environment, so
providing air circulation is an important part of treatment.
After debridement of the foot, one of the products for
treating thrush should be used, strictly following directions.
Your veterinarian should guide you on this choice, as some
chemicals might be too harsh for your particular case and
actually cause damage.
It’s tough to evaluate when treatment is working. Thrush
doesn’t clear up instantly. The best indicator of improvement
is the disappearance of the characteristic stench and black
discharge. It is recommended to treat thrush with chemicals
for no longer than seven days, then have your veterinarian
re-evaluate the foot after a one or two-day treatment break.
The more invasive the infection, the more invasive the
treatment will need to be. For most routine cases, systemic
antibiotics are not indicated and would be of little clinical
value. In more advanced cases of thrush, your veterinarian
might recommend soaking the foot in various medicated
solutions. Take care to avoid excessive contact of the
coronary band with these medications/soaks, as they can
irritate the skin. In addition, packing the sulci with medicated
cotton and covering them with a bandage is necessary for
more advanced cases. This will keep some medication in
contact with the affected tissue and keep the foot clean
between treatments. Care must be taken not to apply any
treatment that could irritate the skin in the heel bulb area.
• Small
8283 FM 920 • Weatherford, Texas • 817-458-3355
Animal
• Equine
• Livestock
• Ambulatory Services
87