Thrush is an anaerobic bacteria that dines on healthy horse hoof tissue. It grows best in low oxygen environments. Horses contract the bacteria when they stand in muddy pastures or wet stalls for hours at a time. If a horse has contracted heels, a deep cleft (central sulcus) or a frog peppered with fissures and tags, he’s at risk for developing thrush.
You can smell thrush before you can see it.
Bad cases of thrush are characterized by black goo oozing from the frog. However, if the thrush bacteria take up residence in a nice deep crack in the frog, they can live there for years undetected. Only bad cases of thrush ooze goo, but even mild cases can be painful for your horse. Watch for these three things to identify thrush:
- Conditions that leave your horse’s feet wet for hours at a time.
- Cracks between the heel bulbs, in the frog along the collateral grooves or in the cleft.
- The horse’s hoof smells like a poopy paddock even after you’ve picked it out.
Thrush is a stubborn bacteria to treat.
Once it attacks the frog, thrush works its way deeper into the hoof to protect itself from air exposure. The bacteria can live in a tight sulcus crack through the driest summer and the coldest winter. Some people recommend using household cleaners and chemicals to treat thrush, but they are only temporary solutions. Lysol soaks and peroxide will kill the thrush but also damage the hoof tissue, leaving the frog vulnerable to a new bacterial infections.
Dominion Vet makes a product called Kopper Kare, which is a fungicide-antiseptic-astringent solution. It will kill thrush bacteria without damaging healthy hoof tissue. Here’s how to apply it: After picking out your horse’s feet, scrub the soles of the hoof and the frog with a stiff brush to remove as much dirt and debris as possible. Don’t wash the hoof – we don’t want to add any more moisture to the area. Then, squirt the solution directly onto the frog and heel bulbs. Use a cotton swap or small paint brush to work it into the clefts and cracks. Kopper Kare is water resistant, but for best results, give the product a chance to soak in before turning your horse out to pasture.
Prevention is the best cure.
Here’s how you can win the upper hand on thrush or prevent it from attacking your horse’s feet:
- When the ground is mucky, pick your horse’s feet twice a day.
- Add sand or pea gravel to the spots in the paddock where your horse spends the most time. These types of fills have excellent drainage, so your horse won’t be standing in muck.
- Keep your horse’s stall clean and dry.
- Keep a pair of kitchen shears in your tack box, and use them to trim tags on the frog between farrier visits.
- During wet weather, apply a thrush product like Kopper Kare once or twice a week as a preventative measure.
How do you beat back thrush bacteria? I’d love to hear your tips and experience.