My farrier came out to trim yesterday and noticed some mild whiteline in one of my geldings hooves. It happens to be the one hoof that is always thrushy and always has a small crack. He recommended white lightning but it is out of stock in my local tack shops.
Does anyone know of other treatment options that would have some good results?
Did he notice white line disease, seedy toe, or a stretched white line? Because all horses have white lines in all four hooves, it is part of the anatomy.
I believe many of the thrush remedies also help with seedy toe. Thrush xx, Coppertox, even a betadine solution should help.
Also keeping the horse's immune system up is good, since you mentioned he is having thrush issues in a hoof as well. A good vitamin/mineral supplement can help.
Sorry if I came off rude in my first comment. It made me laugh, then I got distracted by a phone call while I was responding.
In saying whiteline I was just referring to white line disease assuming that everyone would get the point lol.
He gets a complete feed (Triple Crown Growth) with an added ration balancer. He also gets a cup of ground flax seed daily. He does like to stand in the pond at the back of the property which certainly is not helping but the other horses do as well and don't seem to have any problems.
White lightning works differently then just the usual treatments available for thrush.
When white lightning is mixed with an equal part of a weak acid (vinegar ) it forms a gas that will kill the organisms that cause white line disease, able to penetrate up the hoof wall, thus an alternative to re section
After you mix the WL up, you use something like an IV bag, put the foot in, and then seal it with a leg wrap, so the gas can work for half an hour or so
The other product that works the same is Cleantrax
Depending how far up the wall that white line disease is, just applying topical stuff is not as effective as White Lightning or Clean trax. Yes, the oragnisms are anaerobic, thus the standard treatment of re section for cases that go up the wall quite a ways
Thus, the creation of the gas chlorine Dioxide is able to go after those anaerobic organisms, and by pass the need to re section
Iodine is too strong to apply to the Lamini, as is koppertox
Standing in clean water, with a tight white line, is not implicated in white line disease
Depending how far up the wall that white line disease is, just applying topical stuff is not as effective...Thus, the creation of the gas chlorine Dioxide is able to go after those anaerobic organisms, and by pass the need to re section
I looked into this stuff years ago, when I think it was relatively new. Sounds quite amazing, near miraculous even... from the manufacturer's info. Wanted to try it, but no one here had it & importing it from US was exorbitant. So... still none the wiser apart from the marketing hype & some good reports I've heard.
It would be fantastic if it could eliminate the need for resecting! If for no other reason than it would make my job so much quicker & easier, here in Seedy Central! And I can see if there were separated or open cracked areas of hoof wall with actual holes(even if filled with goo or powdered necrotic tissue), that it could penetrate a fair way up/in(as does H2O2). But I just don't see how just because it's a gas - unless it was jet propelled or under pressure maybe:lol: could penetrate into near solid wall material?? As it can often be the case that all there is at the ground surface are sometimes tiny hairline cracks of seedy, but that sometimes these very insubstantial looking cracks in solid wall, which you think will do with a light scrape out, turn out to be quite insidious & as you dig shallowly, it gets worse the deeper you get.
Interested to hear your 'report' on that kind of seedy Smile, and Patty if you happen to be reading...
I'll have to drive around a little further and see if I can find some white lightning. Seems like that will be the best option.
Loosie, The recommendation for the flaxseed (Omega Max) is 6 oz. to 1 lb. per 1000 pounds. He gets about 7 to 8 oz. I had his diet evaluated by an equine nutritionist and she said everything seems to be balanced so far.
I am very pleased with his body condition and he has a beautiful mane and tail. It's just that one hoof. I haven't had any problems with his hind feet or the other front.
The hoof is noticeably wider than the others. Not sure if that makes a difference. I'm not really experienced with hoof problems. I'll get some pics tomorrow
As for the pond, he doesn't spend a ton of time standing in it but just enough to pick on the wet grass. There's over 40 acres of high and dry land. This is the only wet spot.
Sigh, I do the same old job, day in, day out. All anyone ever wants me to do is be around when infection is raging. I'm going to look for a new & exciting job.
Signed
Bored antiseptic.
...Maybe I'm actually male - I seem to be inheriting my Dad's hilarious sense of humour & 'Dad jokes'! :-/
Far as white line disease, in my experience, it is an opportunistic infection, thus needs some point of entry, be it a crack or a defective white line, so I have never seen white line on hooves with complete integrity, and my horses stand in puddles all the time, esp in summer, when they also enjoy a good roll in that water
I do have the corral for my IR horse, now scrapped and filled with crushed gravel, so no more mud, but I do bring in my other horse during the day, into the opposite corral, and in rainy weather, she is in significant mud during the day, yet never gets white line disease
To the op
That problem foot, that is bigger, does it flare and thus have a stretched white line?
Far as white line disease, in my experience, it is an opportunistic infection, thus needs some point of entry, be it a crack or a defective white line, so I have never seen white line on hooves with complete integrity, and my horses stand in puddles all the time, esp in summer, when they also enjoy a good roll in that water
I do have the corral for my IR horse, now scrapped and filled with crushed gravel, so no more mud, but I do bring in my other horse during the day, into the opposite corral, and in rainy weather, she is in significant mud during the day, yet never gets white line disease
Reading through this thread as my horse was diagnosed with white line disease while he was at my trainer's barn. He has been barefoot for the past year, and since his hooves were fine until he spent two months away, I have to assume the diet/environment there are the cause.
Pete Ramey's advice on treating the disease: White Line Disease
He says the trim is the least important part of a three part approach to dealing with this problem, the first two being nutrition and environment:
"I see amazing results for horses when owners put a four inch bed of pea gravel (literally the size of a pea or slightly larger) in their stalls and small paddocks. It actually is very easy to keep clean (as long as you keep on top of it) and is comfortable bedding. It dries out and toughens hooves like nothing else. Another great wet weather option is to provide a dirt paddock that is scraped often with a tractor. The hooves will tamp it into a concrete-like surface if the manure is routinely removed, and soon after it stops raining, the hooves will be dry. This is also a wonderful alternative when dew is soaking the grass and causing the hooves to be wet all night."
Pete says treatment with White Lightning or Clean Trax (his recommendations) are often not needed if the enviroment and nutrition are managed properly. Looks like I'll be spreading gravel and creating a dry lot, too.
So for my question, if my horse is showing no lameness, is it okay to ride him? In eight days, we were headed to Big South Fork Recreation Area for a week of trail riding, but I won't do it if it compromises his hoof.
Yeah Smilie, as said, can see how this & other stuff can work on separation, but I guess it depends what you call 'complete integrity'.... I too can't recall ever seeing seedy in walls that weren't compromised... but unfortunately don't see too many that are perfect, and they can definitely get it far short of actual separation - quite frequently all there is is a small hairline crack visible in the ground surface. I just can't see any topical working on these if they're not superficial.
That's the point- a plain topical won't, but the idea is that the gas generated, can obviously seep up that imperfection.
The hoof is placed in an IV bag, while that gas is active, and that bag is sealed with a wrap, to keep the gas from escaping.
Now that I see the pic, that hoof is compromised,(stretched white line ) and looks like at least two metabolic incidents have occurred
What is the diet like for this horse?
Looks like the infection is probably mainly in the stretched wall, and with the toe - and that outside quarter flare - bevelled appropriately there probably won't be much to it.
That is a tough situation, standing in water like that. (where are you if it is summer in March? Australia?
The best you can do is
1) insure the farrier is resecting ALL the hoof wall from the infected area
2) insure the foot is trimmed in a manner to prevent toe toe from stretching or the heels from driving the toe forward, (long heels are also a common cause of thrush)
3) apply a good topical treatment EVERY day to the entire resected area.
PS, if a large resection is needed, sometimes a shoe is needed to support the foot until the resected ara grows our.
The biggest problem I see in the feet is that the heels are too tall and forward, which is driving the toe forward and the quarters outward.
That creates separation in the hoof wall/sole connection and gives any fungus or bacteria a place to party.
Removing the toe flare, and bringing those heels back more will help a lot.
Since this thread was brought up again, I'll get more pics of his feet to see if we have made any progress. I've been doing weekly soaks with white lightning. As for environment, he lives in a pasture that is high and dry all year round despite the heavy rain we get in the summer (I am in Florida). It is mostly grass with a few sandy spots and 2 ponds. I have recently changed his diet and had things re-evaluated by my vet along with a nutritionist and everything seems to be on track. He is getting 4lbs of Legends CarbCare Performance, 1 cup Flaxseed, 1tbsp Salt and 1 flake T/A hay. This is what he looks like right now.
He looks quite due for a trim, especially those heels. As mentioned with the earlier pics, getting hooves into functional, well balanced form will help them avoid cracks & seedy. Once the heels are down/back, you will better see how stretched/flared forward the toe(I sus most of the foot really) is. Looks like he's got quite thin soles too.
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