Hoof Questions?

Recently I've been seeing alot of posts about Thrush, and as far as I know it is something that turns the area around and on the frog black...and that's really all that I know.

After some bouts of paranoia, I am beginning to think that one of my geldings has it. The crevices (not sure if this is the right word usage) on both sides of the Frog have black deep down. This is only in his front feet.

I his hind feet, whenever I pick out his feet, ships of dried sole chip off, but they looked "overgrown" all summer. Is this just his sole shedding? Or is this thrush affecting it? What causes Thrush and what will it cause? And What can I do to get rid of/prevent it? Thank you.

And by the way, I am hopefully having the farrier come out within the next month...

***AND I am going to soak his hooves in Epsom saltwater tomorrow, just because my Grandpa always told me "when in doubt, soak it"...

Flaking sole is normal. Thrush stinks and eats away at the frog. The best way to keep it at bay is keeping the hooves clean and allowing air to them. Standing in mud, poo ect allows thrush to thrive. If they get thrush which is very common it needs to be treated, their are many ways to treat the fungas, I just can't remember any of the names right now. If you contact Loosie on this forum, I think she can give you some really good advice.

Okay. That helps calm my nerves a little. It would make sense that it could be the beginning of Thrush, and they stand in mud around the water tank. This summer their hooves got so dried and cracked due to the drought that we haven't been too worried about them standing in the mud, but we need to start cleaning feet better apparently. And Will the Frog grow back once eaten away? And Hopefully the new farrier will be helpful too. Old farrier is long gone.

Yes I believe once it is treated it will grow back. Your farrier will help you lots :)

I sure hope so. He has several recommendations. My last farrier was a HUGE mistake. He turned out to be lazy, did nothing but quick fixes, and couldn't nail a shoe on to save his life...and the worst part, he was family.

Thats too bad. Did I mention Pete Ramey I have his book and do his trims the best I can. I have a had alot of success .check him out on the interenet, you may like it as well.

Thrush grows where there is no air so it can be bone dry and they can get thrush. All it takes is some poo packed in there for a few days. You can't always smell thrush, it depends where it is. Look in the hoof section. Tons of info there.
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I have been looking intothe Mustand Roll, but no one around here teaches/performs it, and I'm not comfortable doing that kind of work by myself haha

Hi Ethan,

Hopefully you're on the road to recovery about the frogs, but just saw this thread & your last post... Essentially, a 'mustang roll' is just taking the outer sharp edges off the hoof walls, bevelling them slightly. Nothing to it really.