Horse Health: Thrush

After the flooding earlier in the month, my horse got a terrible case of thrush (he was 3-legged lame). The farrier checked him for any bruising or abscesses (none, just nasty, stinky black goo). When my trainer called, I knew I was just about out of Thrush Buster, and I wouldn't have time to go get any before I had to go get the kids from school. I did a quick Google and found that some people swear by bleach (half & half with water) and some by iodine. Both sides swear at each other. I found a variant of the iodine treatment – sugardine. Sugardine is Betadine or Povodine mixed with sugar until it forms a paste. I grabbed my mobile and called Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. They came down on the sugardine side of the debate. So what I did was to clean out his hoof, wash it with water and Epsom salts, dry it with a paper towel, pack it with sugardine and cotton balls, cover it with a diaper (size 6), then duct tape the diaper to his hoof. I did this for two days. The third day (Saturday), he was no longer lame. I soaked his frog in Betadine and turned him out. His regular vet checked him on Monday and he looked good. This treatment works great as long as it is only thrush. If your horse is lame, have your farrier or vet check to make sure there are no bruises or abscesses.