White Line Treatments?

Hello!

A barn friend's (newish! She purchased her in May) horse has been recently diagnosed with White Line by the farrier. I don't know much about it, but have been doing some Googling, and it appears that similar to thrush, it's fungal and can have varying degrees of severity.

She has the guidance of the farrier and our super-knowledgeable barn owner. Though the vet has not been out (however I'm sure that's imminent) I'd love to hear what topical treatments, in addition to working with the farrier and attending to the other aspects that seem to help (such as supplements) you have had success with.


Thanks in advance!

If it's legitimate white line, do not mess around with "kitchen" treatments.

Go straight for the throat and buy White Lightening or Clean Traxx and follow the instructions to the letter. Or she needs to call the vet "five minutes ago" and have the vet tell her what to use. True White Line is nothing to mess around with.

If your friend's horse really is dealing with white line, going to visit the horse once a week isn't going to help the healing process either. She, or somebody she can trust, needs to be checking those hooves once a day and administering whatever medications the vet or farrier recommends; clorox is not one them and Apple Cider Vinegar to wimpy for something like white line.

Hopefully the farrier caught it in the early stages as this stuff can go thru the hoof like wildfire as you already know because you have been Googling

Walkinthewalk, thank you for your response! White Lightning was knocking around in my memory as something hard core to use when there's Fungus Among Us. After Googling, the White Line diagnosis has me alarmed. I was not sure if I should then also alarm my friend rather than calmly suggesting (no rush!) vet calling. But hearing from you...I am thinking I will encourage her to ring the vet, STAT. It's worth the week-day fee for the vet come out and confirm it is indeed White Line.

My friend comes to the barn regularly, but so do I, and often on different days. So I'd be glad to help make sure Sera gets what she needs!

Thanks again!

Was the wall removed from the area? In most cases, it needs to be.

Sav a hoof works pretty well with less hassle.

Sav-A-Hoof Liquid

I've heard really good things about Clean Traxx and White Lightening. It's an easy and aggressive treatment that is fairly inexpensive and you should be able to get it at your local feed/supply store. If they don't have it, they should be able to order it for you quickly. Clean Traxx needs to be kept in the fridge until used - but definitely don't wait. Your friend needs to nip this in the butt ASAP!

Thanks everyone! I so appreciate all your advice. I've emailed my friend about White Lightning, Clean Traxx and Sav A Hoof, along with calling her vet! Thanks again!

Hi,

I don't believe a vet is a necessity, unless - god forbid - it has progressed to infection of P3, lateral cartilages or such, or it is so deep and broad that it needs major resection. You're correct that it's like thrush, just that it affects unhealthy wall material where thrush affects unhealthy frogs. It is a name for opportunistic infection & can be fungal or bacterial.

As Trinity said, it is usually necessary to cut away infected wall material(resecting), unless it's obviously shallow/superficial, so hopefully the farrier already did that when he 'diagnosed' it. He should have also advised your friend about follow up treatment to kill any remaining infection.

Being 'opportunistic' meaning it only infects already compromised capsules, along with the 'first aid', overall hoof health, mechanics, diet & environment need to be addressed too.

Thank you for such a concise definition of what White Line is! All the Googling has been rather alarming.

I don't think it's progressed that far (I really, really hope not) Sera is not lame, and the farrier (to my knowledge anyway - I wasn't there) did not say it was at that level of infection. Heaven forbid.

As for the vet, I'll leave that up to her, but share what I've learned. This is her first horse and she's already had quite a scare with a pretty bad colic! Although, even if it were not, I can understand her alarm.

Sera is sound and shod on all four feet, but does have a minor club foot, which is the hoof in question. She relatively recently developed a small hole on the outside wall (the quarter I think it's called?) where the hoof meets the ground of said back right hoof. Last visit, the farrier had attended to it, but the hole has not gotten better (even a smidge bigger). Pre-farrier arrival, on a ride, we noticed Sera occasionally hit one hoof with the other. The hole, we thought, now may have an explanation which we hoped would be confirmed by the farrier. Bell boots added to my friend's shopping list. Then the farrier came the other day and the White Line was found. I've not been out to the barn since (pouring rain here in LA! Drizzle I don't mind..) but plan to go today even if there is a monsoon. Not used to no horse time for two days in a row! When I do go, I'll have a look at Sera's hoof to see if they cut away any of the infected wall material. I hope not! I hope it's superficial!

Thanks so much!

If the farrier thought it worth mentioning & the horse is shod, chances are it's not superficial. I think it's worth 'exploring' lightly with a knife even if it looks superficial, because unfortunately it's an insidious thing that can sometimes look like nothing until you scrape the outside off.

Horses commonly have overlong & flared quarters especially if shod, because they're trimmed flat on the ground surface for the shoes & then the walls carry the full load with rim shoes. If a foot's a bit clubby, while it may not be appropriate/possible to lower the heel, the toe will need regular management to keep from flaring, due to the extra pressure on it.

Thanks Loosie!
I've passed what you've said on to my friend. She's got her horse on a White Lightning regimen, and it looks like the Farrier did some cutting away of the affected area. Hopefully everything will be ok!