Horse World

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Thrush is a minor injury common amongst horses. However, if it is not recognized early enough or it is left untreated, it can cause major problems that will eventually affect your horses’ health.

Identifying thrush and knowing how to treat the problem will go a long way to helping with your horses’ health.  If you do not recognize it or treat thrush in time, it will cause pain and injury for your horse. 

Thrush breaks out on the horses hooves and is similar to grease heel.  Both of these conditions occur if the horse is exposed to bad weather. 

Because the hoof area has less oxygen, it is easy for bacteria or fungus to gain a hold.  If your horse has dirt on his hooves, and you are less than scrupulous about his foot care, he will have a higher chance of developing thrush or grease heel. If the weather is wet, it will cause the thrush to either become worse.

Thrush is easy to recognize on a horses’ hooves.  There is usually a foul smell from the bacteria growing inside his foot. 

You may also notice black areas on his hoof that seems to be moist. This is easier to recognize when you are cleaning out your horses’ hooves with a hoof pick. You are more likely to find thrush in deeper areas of the hoof, as this is not exposed to as much oxygen as other areas. 

At first, thrush will most likely not affect your horse.  If you treat it early enough, the horse will not feel any pain or have any problems. 

However, if you don’t treat the thrush, it will eventually cause difficulties for your horse when walking.  Eventually, you will find you horse will be limping or he may even go completely lame as the thrush continues to grow and spread underneath his hooves. 

You can easily prevent thrush from being a problem for your horse. If you continuously use a hoof pick to remove dirt and manure, it will help to prevent the problem or allow you to notice it right away. 

Cleaning your horses’ hooves also assists the hoof to receive oxygen into the area. This assists in ensuring the bacteria or fungus does not survive. 

If your horse is exposed to mud or bad weather, you must make sure his hooves, as well as the rest of his body are dry and clean. 

If their stable area is dirty, you should clean it out, as this may also cause thrush. You should also trim your horses’ hooves to make sure overgrown nails don’t give the thrush a place to hide, and you should always ensure your horse is seen by a farrier on very regular intervals.

If your horse already has thrush, you can use home remedies to heal it, or you can take your horse to a vet. 

You should ensure the hoof is completely clean by using a hoof pick, and has been scrubbed.  You can then put iodine on the back of their hoof for five days.  This should stop the thrush from being able to survive. 

Hoof care is important, and as a responsible horse owner you should ensure your horse’s hooves are kept in tip top condition

Previous Articles By This Author

• Buying Your First Horse
• Equipment for Horses
• Basics of Horse Care
• Grooming your Horse
• The History of Horses