Hoof thrush is a common bacterial infection that affects the frog of a horse's hoof, leading to foul-smelling discharge, discomfort, and potential lameness. It's crucial for horse owners to recognise the signs and take prompt action for effective treatment.
Hoof thrush is caused by fusobacterium necrophorum. This pathogen is anaerobic (no air) and thrives in wet and dirty conditions. It's more common in horses that receive little hoof hygiene. Hoof thrush can be found in all breeds and ages. Thrush is easy to identify. The hoof smells bad and there is often a black, tar-like discharge.
The reason that thrush is important to recognise and treat quickly is that it can cause severe chronic lameness. Early in our hoof care business we saw many horses that had been diagnosed with "navicular syndrome" - defined as:
A degenerative condition in horses that affects the navicular bone and surrounding structures in the horse's foot, typically causing chronic forelimb lameness and pain in the heel region, often presenting as a shortened stride and reluctance to turn sharply.
Vets in those cases, after failing to get results with various types of corrective shoeing, had recommended euthanasia. These horses had thrush. Those horse-owners treated their horses with our Good to Go Hoof Powder - at $29/bottle, and within about a month their horses returned to soundness, and were back in work.
Thrush may not be the culprit in all cases of navicular syndrome, but it's definitely worth ruling out.
Hoof Conformation
Horses with underrun heel, contracted heels, recessed or narrow frogs tend to collect more mud and debris than horses with better hoof conformation. Heel-landing results in a more natural expansion of the hoof in motion, where the hoof tends to clean itself. You might often see clods of dirt in your paddock with the imprint of your horse's hoof - "dirt plugs", where motion expels the dirt from the hoof. The hooves of horses that are shod don't expand, and so you will need to clean them more often than barefoot horses.
Effective Treatments
Proper hoof hygiene and regular cleaning are key to managing hoof thrush. If your horse's hoof smells bad - even before you see black material - we recommend getting out the scrubbing brush and cleaning the sole and frog area daily with any combination of:
a dilution of napisan
mouth wash
anti-bacterial dishwashing detergent
dettol, or other anti-septic
even just salty water
These are all things you are likely to already have in your house. The frog is skin, so we don't recommend using something you wouldn't be happy to put on your own skin.
Preventive Measures
Maintaining clean and dry living conditions for your horse, along with routine hoof care, can significantly reduce the risk of hoof thrush.
Good to Go can be used preventatively. Keep a bottle wherever you keep your hoof pick, and apply it after you clean out your hooves. A little bit goes a long way, and one bottle can last years.
Feedback from our customers:
"Great experience, my horse needs to wear special hoof boots so the powder is really good in helping with moisture. I also use on my horses hooves after cleaning them."
"Great stuff for thrush, cleared up my horse in no time."
"I’m so glad this product is still being made . It’s the only product I’ve found that helps with hoof rot."
"This is AMAZING even in winter in mud and rain it WORKS thk u"
"Fantastic product that works!"
"Fast shipping, quality product. Easy to use. Would buy from this seller again."
"Thank you super fast delivery and very reasonable prices."
"Omg love this so excited to get my horses feet done and put it in my hoof kit."
"Great transaction. Well packaged and arrived very quickly. Many thanks."
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