Household/Homemade Thrush Treatments?

[sublimequine]

So, now that the temps are hovering around freezing or so and we're getting some mud and slush mixed in with out ice and snow, my mare's front feet are hinting at a bit of thrush. On either side of her frog, the "creases" seem a little deeper than usual, and the coloration is a bit darker, but no funky smells or anything like that yet. But just to be safe, I've used my Durasole on those spots.

Anyways, in order to save/hoard my Durasole ( :D ), I'd like to maybe learn about some easy homemade or use of household items thrust treatments, if there are any viable ones. Obviously this isn't for hardcore, oh for the love of all things holy the hoof is ROTTING OFF! thrush :lol:, it's for the maybe she's beginning to get a twinge of it thrush. ;)

I've heard something about using vinegar, and sugardine. Sugardine is a little messy for daily use, and I'd like something fairly gentle that I can use every day, if possible. :)

(Oh, and if you're of the opinion that there are no good homemade treatments, and I should head for a store-bought concotion, you can add that to the conversation as well. :yes: )

[pj]

(Oh, and if you're of the opinion that there are no good homemade treatments, and I should head for a store-bought concotion, you can add that to the conversation as well. :yes: )
I won't say there are no good homemade treatments but why??? :) You should head to the store. I like Thrush Buster.

[sublimequine]

I won't say there are no good homemade treatments but why??? :) You should head to the store. I like Thrush Buster.

Because if I have something around the house that will work anyways for something that's more preventative than anything, why not? :)

[pj]

Cause...because...Hadn't you rather have something tried and true and that comes in a neat, easy to use and store little bottle? :)

[Auventera Two]

For preventative measures during wet season I use Desitin 40% zinc oxide cream, and Gold Bond (the original) medicated powder mixed together. I don't use any of the commercially available thrush treatments because they are caustic, staining, and just not effective.

But of course the #1 treatment should be keeping the horse's feet picked and cleaned regularly, and keeping the environment as dry as possible. But yeah, that's hard to do.

For REAL thrush treatment, there's nothing better than Clean Trax.

[AnnieM]

Bleach and water mixed in a spray bottle will do the trick, the vet told us to try it and it works better then anything

[tabula rashah]

Bleach and water mixed in a spray bottle will do the trick, the vet told us to try it and it works better then anything

That's all I ever use- I mix according to how strong I need it- If it's just a preventative, then I do about a 40 - 60 mix (bleach to water) and up the bleach if I need to. I also usually put mine in a bottle for dishwashing liquid because I can get the bleach into the creavices better

[merrygoround]

Bleach and water mixed in a spray bottle will do the trick, the vet told us to try it and it works better then anything

Yes! Cheap, available and easy, just don't get it on your clothes. I like it in a hook nosed syringe. you get it where you want it.

[Gayla]

For preventative measures during wet season I use Desitin 40% zinc oxide cream, and Gold Bond (the original) medicated powder mixed together. I don't use any of the commercially available thrush treatments because they are caustic, staining, and just not effective.

But of course the #1 treatment should be keeping the horse's feet picked and cleaned regularly, and keeping the environment as dry as possible. But yeah, that's hard to do.

For REAL thrush treatment, there's nothing better than Clean Trax.
Do you just paste it into the cracks?

[sublimequine]

Do you just paste it into the cracks?

I was wondering the same thing. :)

[luvmywalkers]

I was wondering the same thing. :)

No; you mix it with a gallon of water and soak the hooves in soaking boots. Usually, 45 minutes is enough. The solution will last for 90 minutes, so you can treat 2 feet with one bottle.

It's a bit of a hassle, but it works like a champ!

[BreezyB]

While it isn't a homemade remedy, it is the most effective treatment I've ever used....White Lightning. You mix it with vinegar and soak the foot in it for 30-40 minutes. It works VERY well and unlike other treatments, it only attacks the thrush, not healthy tissue. Hence, you can use it as frequently as you'd like without any ill effects...though you will only need to use it a couple times to do the trick :yes:

[Penthilisea]

Gold bond powder, Listerine, etc will help but the most effective is to go buy a 12 pack of the cow mastitis treatment "Tomorow" or is it Today? Anyway, it's cheap, you can use half a tube at a time, and it really does work.

[deltawave]

A little squirt of straight bleach has worked for me for 30 years. DOUBTLESS there are "better" products out there, but it's hard to argue with 100% success. :) I've never had a severe or even a moderate case of thrush (guess the bleach works!) so wouldn't know how to tackle that, but for the occasional little outbreak bleach is fine, it's already in the barn and at $0.69 a gallon you can't beat the price. :)

[Auventera Two]

Bleach is too caustic for emerging new tissue.

[Auventera Two]

Do you just paste it into the cracks?

Yep. I smear it on the whole sole too to protect against too much moisture absorption during periods of a lot of rain. It's not necessarily a "sealant" but it does help provide a bit of a barrier. Pete Ramey suggests it, and I started using it 3 or 4 years ago and really like it.

[ChocoMare]

If it's just the start of it, a dry/picked/brushed out hoof first and then spray Athlete's Foot Spray into all the cracks and crevices....follow up with a few good poofs of Gold Bond XS Medicated Powder.

If it's a little more deep-seated (in the sulcus, etc.), then soak in either 3 Tablespoons of Borax or 3 Tablespoons of Lysol Concentrate (the brown stuff) in 3 Inches of water, 3 times a week. Dry well and poof in the Gold Bond Powder ;)

[copper1]

I have an older mare who had a nasty case of chronic thrush and nothing seemed to help until I started squirting a syringe of salt water into it! Cleared it right up without damaging other tissue! Just melt some table or epsom salt in warm water.

[Madi]

Bleach is sooooo bad for feet.

[deltawave]

Bleach is sooooo bad for feet.

As evidenced by what, precisely? :confused:

[appychik]

I used hydrogen peroxide... applied via spray bottle. Worked well in GA when the thrush wasn't as bad as here in MN. For here... I use the cow stuff - Tomorrow I think. Works extremely well (heck, even my farrier is now recommending it, and I read it on here first).

I think I'll try Destin/Gold Bond mixture (awfully similiar to the EXCELLENT scratches remedy I got from CoTH too) in the future. Sounds like a good way to try to protect the area anyways.

[jn4jenny]

I agree with deltawave that bleach is fine, but I don't like having "unitaskers" in my first aid kit. If I owned my own barn (as DW does), it would make sense to have bleach on hand all the time. I only own one horse and board him, thus everything in my first aid kit needs to do multiple jobs and be relatively small.

So I keep 10% Povidone Iodine on hand. A 7% solution in a spray bottle is perfect for mild cases of thrush, a 2% dilution is delightful for disinfecting small spots on the horse (although I wouldn't use it on open wounds--ditto with bleach of course), and having the 10% solution means I can store a whole lotta iodine solution in one bottle. I got mine from SmartPak.

It's also a major ingredient in Durasole, along with isopropyl alcohol, formalin, potassium iodide, and tannic acid. I suppose if you wanted to be even closer to Durasole without breaking the bank, you could add some isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, then brew some extremely strong tea to get the tannic acid and use the tea/alcohol to dilute your 10% iodine. I've never gone quite that hardcore; like you said, if there's ever a "My God, the whole damn frog is falling off" case of thrush, I go to other products (like a mix of Neosporin and Athlete's Foot cream).

[sublimequine]

Hm, I have some Desitin on hand (it's the higher % of ZnO [that's Zinc Oxide, right? :lol]). How does it kill the thrush 'bugs' though, exactly? :confused:

Also, I have tea tree oil spray for wounds. I've heard of using tea tree oil for thrush. Any ideas about that? :)

[BEARCAT]

This was recommended by my trimmer while I await the White Lightning.

"Horse Care – Horse Hoof Care

Thrush and other foot fungus infections can be greatly reduced by a regular spray or soak application of apple cider vinegar to the sole and frog of your horse's feet. By making the hoof area more acidic, fungus is no longer able to grow well there.

A general horse hoof soaking solution can be prepared by adding 1/4 cup (60 ml) of apple cider vinegar to one gallon (3.8 liters) of water.

The vinegar application will, at the same time, speed up the healing of any other foot infections or bruises your horse might have."

[sublimequine]

This was recommended by my trimmer while I await the White Lightning.

"Horse Care – Horse Hoof Care

Thrush and other foot fungus infections can be greatly reduced by a regular spray or soak application of apple cider vinegar to the sole and frog of your horse's feet. By making the hoof area more acidic, fungus is no longer able to grow well there.

A general horse hoof soaking solution can be prepared by adding 1/4 cup (60 ml) of apple cider vinegar to one gallon (3.8 liters) of water.

The vinegar application will, at the same time, speed up the healing of any other foot infections or bruises your horse might have."

I've heard of that before. I wonder if you wanted to make a spray, would you dilute it like 50/50 with water, or? :confused:

[SuperSTB]

I use thrush buster.

You could go through all the motions of brewing your own formula of whatever is laying around the house but you still buy that stuff anyway so what's the difference.

Thrushbuster doesn't go on every day. A little squirt and maybe again towards the end of the week. I've got 5 horses that must get their feet picked a day- the less time spent fuddling around with home brews the better :)

BTW- it's cheap to buy online vs. tack shops. The cow stuff works fab too.

[Texarkana]

I use gauze 4x4s and scrub any thrushy areas with an antiseptic skin cleanser. I use Betasept, which is just a chlorhexidine-based scrub. You can use Nolvesan, Hibiclens, Betadine... whatever. Works like a charm for me.

If I'm just looking to prevent thrush, like this time of year when mud is unavoidable, I'll just hit all four hooves with an over-the-counter povidone iodine solution OR hydrogen peroxide every now and then. Maybe once a week at absolute most, no more than that. Both can irritate tissue if you use them too frequently.

And you can purchase all of the above up at Walgreens or the like. I don't seem to have too many thrush problems anymore, but I honestly don't remember the last time I purchased a commercial thrush treatment. None of them ever seemed to work for me.

[Huntertwo]

I use a mixture of bleach and water.
Only thing I find that clears up thrush and is quite cheap and you're most likely to have it at home.

[cloudyandcallie]

I've boarded where people and BOs used bleach cut with water with no problems but I didn't use it due to not wanting to get splashed with it.

I've used separately, not together, Listerine, original formula, or
tea tree oil, 100% bought off of ebay by the gallon, or
the cow udder treatment stuff out of Jefferslivestock catalogue, forget the name in the tubes, or
turpentine, 100% pure, or
7% iodine

eons ago, we used turpentine with the iodine crystals to get rid of thrush.
and not the little cans of venice turpentine, the big gallons of pure turpentine.

Apparently anything that comes out of a pine tree will kill bacteria and fungus and germs.

[D Murray]

So as it looks just about anything that has a drying effect will work. you need to dry the foot and apply whatever your going to useon a regular basis. years ago all we ever used was salt. and it worked very well.