I found out my boy has thrush in his back feet last week and have been cleaning them out and putting Kopper Kare on them once a day. Over the past few days though, his feet are starting to get very sore, to the point where it hurts him when I go to clean them out. I'm not sure where to go from here. I know his feet need to be cleaned so the KopperKare can do its job, but I really don't want to hurt him, or for him to start associating me cleaning his feet with pain.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do?
Are we talking garden variety thrush or deep sulcus thrush? Either way, a nice soak in warm water with some epsom salt would get them nice and clean and probably feel good. If the thrush is really deep into the frog, there is a product called dry cow. It's a topical penecillin. I think you can get it at tractor supply. Apply it to the affected areas every other day. Keep the feet dry with boots if you have them.
Everyone has their own remedy for thrush, myself included. If you search this forum under the Health section you'll find lots of ideas. Take your pick. But it is very important for regular trimming as well. When is the last time the farrier was out? Are his feet in good shape? Recovering from anything? I know I have read posts from you before, but I can't remember right now.
I would highly recommend calling your farrier and vet ASAP. You don't want the problem to escalate. He's at greater risk of developing an abscess or something worse if his feet are that bad.
In the meantime, I second the epsom salt/warm water soak (maybe 10-15 min).
If he has visible thrush cracks in his frog like my horse used to get, I recommend getting some gauze pads, dipping one in something like kopertox or really any thrush meds, and shoving it into the crack with your hoof pick. He won't like it, but it'll keep dirt out and the meds in.
Once, when my horse had some REALLY bad thrush, I used one of these. I put about a third of an inch of epsom salt covering the inside bottom of the boot, added maybe a tbs of iodine, and stuck his foot in there. If I recall correctly, I changed it 2x a day and used it for a week or two.
Also, make sure you are controlling the environment around his feet. If he's stalled, clean it 2x a day and keep lots of clean dry shavings in there. If he gets turned out, try to avoid soggy fields, or limit his turnout if it's wet everywhere.
Thanks for the replies. Its sulcus thrush. The farrier was just out last week to trim his feet, and thats who noticed the thrush. She said it looks like its just starting, so is not too bad yet. His feet are in pretty good shape with the exception of being back at the heel. He is currently recovering from rain rot- which is almost gone now.
He's stalled at night, and during rainy weather, and turned out in a paddock during the day. The paddock is a little mucky in the front at the moment as we've had a bit of rain, but there are lots of places with dry footing.
The gauze idea sounds good as then I won't have to keep sticking something in there to clean it out (which is whats hurting him). Only problem will be to get it clean first:lol:. Would the epson salts get the crap all up in there from just soaking?
Another thing you can do is soak cotton balls in Apple cider vinager with mother, and jam them into the cracks along the frog and in between the heel bulbs, if you have some sort of boots, put them on and leave the soaked cotton balls on his feet.
Good suggestion. I have been cleaning them out with the vinegar before applying the KopperKare, as well as adding some apple cider vinegar to his water every day (he loves it!) Maybe I should alternate the KopperKare and the vinegar each day and pack it into his feet after soaking them? I have been cleaning them out every evening after he comes in for the night so he's not walking around in muck until the medication soaks in(even though the paddock is dry in areas, he loves playing in the dirty sections. Lol Posted via Mobile Device
Clean those feet out, get all the crap trimmed out as possible, and use Tomorrow Dry Cow mastitis treatment on the infected areas. Keep the feet as dry as possible. If the problem persists, then it may be time to call in a vet.
Since it is sulcus thrush, definitely put cotton balls into the affected areas after treating with the dry cow to keep air flowing to the affected areas. Thrush cannot live where there is air.
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