Treating thrush

Kitty's got thrush again in her front hooves. It seems as soon as I let up on treatment it comes back. So I obviously need a 'whole horse' treatment, any suggestions? She lives out all the time, and yes it's a bit wet this time of year but not muddy, we have good grass cover. Also PLEASE suggest something to get the faint but very pervasive smell of thrush off my hands after treatment, no matter how I scrub I can still smell it and my hands smell like a footballers feet!
Thanks

When Fanny had laminitis, I contacted someone who does homeopathy and has numerous horse health products. In addition to a general horse supplement, she also suggested probiotics as well as a digestion aid. Do you suppose any of those would benefit the battle against thrush? I would think that a probiotic might help from the inside, but I'm no expert.

Fanny had a bit of thrush after her laminitis treatment, which didn't surprise me, and all I did was spray her clean feet with apple cider vinegar (I found that suggestion on-line). Then I remembered that I had some monatomic silver in my grooming kit, so I sprayed that on her feet instead of the acv. Her feet are good now - of course it also helps that the wet field is now frozen, and she goes in at night.

I recently started Fanny on a couple of supplements that will help her feet...just in case.

Wish I knew what to say about getting rid of the smell on your hands. Rubbing lemon on your hands? Washing with a "skunk" shampoo for dogs? I'm trying to think of something that might neutralize the smell. Vinegar?

Try using lemon like suggested.

Something I use that works wonders to prevent thrush is liquid all purpose Lysol. It's not harsh like bleach on their feet or your hands. I've not had one case of thrush that it hasn't solved. When I first got Naigen (severe neglect case) she had the worst case of thrush I have ever seen and my farrier has ever seen. It took about a week but the thrush was gone.

Naigens feet seem to be prone to thrush. She gets her feet picked out about 5 days a week but every winter just before spring she seems to get a little. When she gets it I get my farrier to trim her. Sometimes a cleaning of the sole and frog can do the trick. Oh theres also a little bottle of this blue stuff called thrush bomb that works AMAZING my farrier uses it all the time.

Two good threads on thrush here:

http://www.richard-maxwell.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5305

http://www.richard-maxwell.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5361

the EP who comments is very good.

For the hands: try pouring some lemon juice and sugar onto one palm. Rub it all over your hands, rub and rub until you get a sort of 'glaze'. Leave it for five minutes (don't touch anything. Tastes nice though if you can't resist a lick ). Rinse well and use some hand cream. Leaves hands silky soft too..

Ha, yes, get to the office, sit at desk covered in lemon and sugar doing no work and try to look sane...sounds good, they all think I'm a nutter anyway. Cyndi you might be right, maybe a probiotic will help argh more money to spend. I've tried ALL the things you put on the frog, they all work until I stop using them. The best I find is Sudacrem because it sticks and keeps the mud out. She's already on a foot supplement to harden the feet, I'm beginning to think there's nothing wrong with her foot wall, she's getting footsore because she has chronic low grade thrush? Wotcher think

If you are trying to strengthen feet make sure your hoof supplement has a high doseage of biotin. Biotin is one of the key ingredients in strengthening feet.
Did you get that thrush bomb stuff and try it? It's expensive (usually 19.99 in tack stores around here) but it's always cured any case I have heard of. http://www.horse.com/Horse-Health-First-Aid/Health-Hoof-Care/Thrush-Bomb-BCA22.html

Perhaps if the horse keeps getting it the living space/cleaning arrangements need to be re-evaluated like adding more bedding or an absorbent product such as stall dry to wet areas or even putting stone dust in high traffic areas to prevent mud and mucky conditions.
Whenever it's wet I use lysol and have never had a case with Indigo and shes out 24/7. Rather treat the cause than the symptoms

That's the trouble Sydney I don't KNOW the cause. She lives out. She never gets it in her hind feet. Her mother never gets it and lives with her. I can get rid of it with any treatment but it comes back when I stop treating.

Hi Floray,
I had terrible terrible trouble with thrush last year when Trelawny was on particularly wet ground. But he was in a very deep clean bed at night and I religiously picked his feet out every day - the farrier came to the conclusion that the ground he was on was contaminated in some way because it definately wasnt down to poor foot management.
Since he moved home, to an 18 acre steep field his thrush has all but gone BUT i have cared for his feet like an old mother hen - I use antibac (recommended by my farrier) which can be purchased over the internet in the uk and it is great - really great £12.50 plus p&p - has eucalyptus in it. I have one frog, the one that was most badly damaged that still has a stubborn spot but all his other frogs are healthy and 'textbook' as the farrier said on his last visit. I probably use the antibac more than I should - but the result is a thrush prone heavy horse with BIG deep frogs - with no thrush. (I hope I am not tempting fate!)

and as for the smell on the hands - a scrubbing brush? (not much good if you have soft hands mind)!

i'm pretty sure it's not bad foot management - she gets treated the same as all the others, and only ever has it in the front hooves. It's gone again now after 10 days treatment, but now I have to wait for her frogs to grow back. I need to treat regardless like you do I think. But it irks me that I can't get rid of it.

gets some antibac - its really good - I get mine from http://www.stromsholm.co.uk/pages/home/
its not bad foot management - its unlucky thats all - and a wet summer and a wet autumn. my farrier said it could take a year - and it has prety much - I think if we had had a really dry summer I would have knocked it on the head completely.... keep at it!