Thrush in Hooves
- By Jenny Austin
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- 13 Oct, 2023
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Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Equine hoof thrush stinks and it’s a smell I have to deal with every day and I’d rather not!
There are claims that over 90% of domestic horses have an active infection in their feet. That may seem high but most horses I encounter have some form of thrush – some mild, some severe – and the daily smell on my hands and boots tends to agree with statistics.
Thrush is so common and yet seems to be accepted. Why is it an issue? It causes PAIN when it eats deep enough into the hoof. Once it becomes painful, horses will exhibit heel pain, tenderness and eventually lameness. Once it gets to this stage, it is much more difficult to clear. Prevention and maintenance are the key.
Does my horse have thrush?
Thrush is a very common anaerobic bacterium found in the soil and is everywhere horses are kept. It thrives in damp environments like stable floors, poorly kept outdoor yards, paddock shelters, gateways and resting areas. The land becomes saturated with high concentrations of urine and manure. Add in incorrect hoof form and high sugar feeds and you create the perfect environment in hooves for thrush to thrive.
How do you know it’s thrush?
Thrush does not always have a textbook presentation of black paste with a super bad smell. While this is an advanced form there are moderate forms that can cause poor hoof health and eventually affect the body due to pain posture and incorrect movement.
In early stages it begins with flaky sole with shiny black areas along the wall sole connection. Thrush can affect the frog in the collateral grooves and/or central sulcus, the bulbs, the white line and even the sole.
What do you see?
When cleaning and inspecting your horse’s feet, is the foot the picture of health with a clean distinction between parts: wide, thick, calloused uniform frogs that blend into wide, smooth heel bulbs – smooth, shiny soles – clear white line connections? Or maybe you see some warning signs of a foot susceptible to thrush: chalky, flakey sole – tattered, black frog – deep crevices that trap manure and bedding? There should be no flinching when you poke the hoof pick around the frog.
What do you feel?
Does the foot clean easily almost as if it’s self cleaning? Is the sole hard and shiny or chalky and sticky? Is there soft black material in deep cracks and grooves? When you press on the frog is it strong and super firm like a rubber mat or is it weak and soft?
What do you smell?
Healthy hooves don’t smell or perhaps smell like dirt. Does your hoof pick come away smelling foul? That’s bad thrush. Common, but NOT normal.
Factors to minimize thrush
There are factors predisposing your horse to thrush. A horse presenting thrush possibly has a compromised immune system. Elderly and ill horses will nearly always have thrush but the following are also factors:
- Overgrown and possibly shod feet are more likely to develop thrush due to the hoof shape and less circulation. A good barefoot trim creates a more self cleaning foot and promotes blood flow and hoof function which helps eradicate thrush.
- A high sugar or concentrate diet encourages the growth of thrush. Many horses are over-supplemented with processed feeds/grains and other ‘additives’. Feeding a simple diet of a multiple species low starch meadow hay improves health and strengthens the immune system. Mineral balance is important as well. You may need to supplement with a high amount of copper and zinc in the correct ratios.
Lack of movement.
Stabled horses or horses in small yards/paddocks are at a higher risk. Urine is very concentrated, the stable bedding or the yard dirt soaks up the caustic urine and of course then the horse stands on it. More movement (bigger living areas and herd mates to keep each other moving) with a correct barefoot trim ensures better circulation.
Environment
If you can create some areas where there is better drainage in paddocks i.e. installing crusher dust, road base, pea gravel or any rocks the hooves will self clean and dry out.
It’s not about how wet it is!
No matter how wet it is outside thrush will not thrive in a healthy functioning hoof in a horse with correct mineral balance and strong immune system. I see many horses living in extremely wet paddocks without thrush, including my own.
Cleaning
Picking out the hoof as often as possible will help a lot to prevent thrush. Heavy clay soils are the worst for staying in the hoof and creating a perfect environment for thrush to hide and flourish. Most people don’t pick out the hooves well. It actually takes a bit of effort! Pay close attention to the collateral grooves and get ALL the dirt out of them including under the flaps near the heels.
Treatment and Maintenance
To treat thrush, you can use a variety of
treatments.
For prevention, I like a strong apple cider vinegar based product. This should
be used daily at first and then every few days for maintenance. For kick
starting treatment of severe cases products that are zinc based work quite
well. There are many other products that
also work. I have heard that different areas
have different bacteria
in the soil. You may need to consider trying a product and if there is no
improvement with two weeks of diligent use, then you need to change to a
different active ingredient.
The ultimate goal is to prevent thrush. With treatment and a change in management practices, hopefully I won’t have to come home stinking ever again!
Are you aware of the Five Freedoms in the Animal Welfare Act? This Blog explains how we interpret these and put them into practice in our daily dealings with our own and clients’ horses. They are:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst: by providing enough fresh water and the right type and amount of food to keep them fit.
- Freedom from discomfort: by making sure that animals have the right type of environment, including shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease: by preventing them from getting ill or injured and by making sure animals are diagnosed and treated rapidly if they do. Animals should have access to veterinary care when needed.
- Freedom from fear and distress: by making sure their conditions and treatment avoid mental suffering.
- Freedom to behave normally: by making sure animals have enough space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.
Number 1 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from Hunger and Thirst : by providing enough fresh water and the right type and amount of food to keep them fit”. Now this can sound very straightforward but it’s easy to get it wrong and is a massive topic. Here at TTT :
· We ensure that horses in our care have 24/7 low ESC+starch grass hay, plus grazing. If they are losing weight we might add in some higher calorie hay such as lucerne or a cereal hay.
· The most important part is that it’s 24/7 low starch, high fibre “trickle feeding” as suits horses digestive systems.
· We have in our training contract that if owners wish their horse to have a bucket feed, that they must supply that as an extra, and we are happy to give them whatever is instructed.
· We will contact the owner and suggest a more energy dense bucket feed if the horse is losing weight on hay/grass.
· Our own horses have a small feed of rinsed and soaked beet pulp, lucerne chaff, salt, a custom mineral mix and some have other supplements as needed for joint and gut health.
· Our horses, if in work, will have soaked, cracked lupins added and we give whole oats after hard work.
· Of course, we always have fresh water available.
· We have heard recently of a trainer using feed/water restriction as a training tool – that is cruel and unnecessary and would never, ever happen here.
Number 2 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from Discomfort by making sure that animals have the right type of environment, including shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.”
This one is fairly simple- here at TTT:
· Horses are paddocked with a suitable companion, not yarded or stabled, with room to browse and move around. There’s soft sand to sleep on, trees for shelter and a lovely outlook.
Number 3 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from pain, injury and disease: by preventing them from getting ill or injured and by making sure animals are diagnosed and treated rapidly if they do. Animals should have access to veterinary care when needed.”
This one is not as straightforward as it seems and is closely linked to Number 1 and 4. Here at TTT:
· Equipment is tailored for the comfort of each horse, not for the trainers’ comfort, to eliminate pain from ill-fitting equipment.
· We never hit or beat a horse with anything.
· We never tie up their legs or similar acts which cause pain and injury.
· We don’t work horses to exhaustion or expect paces that they are not physically ready for.
· The environment is free from hazards and as safe as we can make it to minimise risk of injuries.
· We ask owners to have their horses in good condition upon arrival, with their teeth and worming recently attended to and with full disclosure of previous injuries, illness and disease.
· We only provide companions which are suitable for settling new horses, not those which will harass or are aggressive.
· We feed as per Freedom Number 1 to keep the horses healthy
· Owners are notified immediately of any health concerns and our contract states that we will call a Veterinarian anyway if we deem it necessary but we can’t reach the owner first.
Number 4 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom from fear and distress: by making sure their conditions and treatment avoid mental suffering”.
This one is also complicated and very much open to interpretation. Here at TTT:
· Our training method keeps the horses stress levels under their fear threshold. The physical signs of stress have been identified and well documented by the equestrian science community and because of our extensive experience we are able to immediately identify the symptoms of stress. Anything that escalates stress and adrenaline is counter-productive to good learning.
· We don’t implement some common and popular training methods that can cause fear and distress. For example, excessive use of the round pen; excessive circling/lunging; use of restraints e.g. hobbles, side reins and the like; excessive use of lateral movements, etc.
· We aim for calm at all times and achieve this by breaking down training outcomes into individual elements, then establishing one outcome at a time until it is thoroughly understood. Richard’s Passive Focus Exercise is one way to attain calm.
· We do not progress to faster gaits until we have established good responses to our aids in the slower paces and until the horse has developed good strength and balance. This ensures smooth transitions, communication and minimum stress at all paces.
Some points are copied from Freedom Number 3 as they overlap, i.e. physical and mental suffering can be caused by the same thing -
· Equipment is tailored for the comfort of each horse, not for the trainers’ comfort, to eliminate pain (and distress) from ill-fitting equipment.
· We never hit or beat a horse with anything (causes pain and distress)
· We never tie up their legs or similar acts which cause pain and injury (and distress)
· We don’t work horses to exhaustion or expect paces that they are not physically ready for.
· We only provide companions which are suitable for settling new horses, not those which will harass or are aggressive.
Number 5 Freedom of the Animal Welfare Act is “Freedom to behave normally: by making sure animals have enough space, proper facilities and the company of other animals of their own kind.”
This one overlaps and encompasses the first 4 Freedoms. So, as a summary, here at TTT:
· Horses have 24/7 spacious paddock living with grazing or ad-lib mixed species grass hay
· They have carefully matched companions
· They have trees and valleys for shelter
· They are very closely observed throughout the day (and we can hear them at night)
· We are extremely experienced and notice the tiniest issues before they escalate
· We are educated in nutrition, hoof care, conformation and riding disciplines
· Emotional, mental and physical health of the horses is our number 1 priority
Richard van Dijk & Jenny Austin
