Thrush

STEVE: Thrush is created in the horse’s foot by a bunch of organic material – filth, dirt, manure, and a moist environment. And not cleaning the foot essentially residing in the sulcus, usually on each side of the frog tends to become very, very nasty smelling because it’s a proliferation of a certain bacteria that creates quite a bit of dissecting necrosis of the tissue way, way down here in the sulcus. Obviously, the best way to treat this is a cleaner environment and obviously better care of the feet.

ALEX: Yeah, stable management is really important with this and it’s something that can become quite serious, but most importantly, cleaning a horse’s stall so there is not a buildup of urine in the bedding or any other manure that can attribute to or collect in the horse’s foot. Also, most importantly, is to pick the horse’s foot out every day. There are some topical solutions that you can put in the frog with some cotton to help curb that bacteria, but it’s very important to pick the horse’s foot every day, keep a clean stall. Make sure you have a stall with the proper bedding, but also proper drainage. Also, if they were to go outside in a muddy field that when the horse comes back in the horse’s feet are cleaned again, dried off and not a buildup of a lot of moisture.