Treating thrush in horses with apple cider vinegar is something that come up often on the blog. But what about bleach?
Narelle sent this in – thought I’d publish it as I’ve been sent it a fair few times now.
“Just a matter of intrest, did you know that using apple cider vinigar is also a treatment used on thrush as it not only disinfects, it doesn’t kill living tishue like other products do…….”
And P has this to say on treating thrush in horses with apple cider vinegar -or rather, using butt cream!
“Boudreaux’s Baby Butt Cream is great for the rain rot scald stuff. I clean it with ivory soap (which drys out too since its kinda oily anyway) and apply that and wash it out every other day until I see new hair growth.
Personally I have used apple cider vinegar for thrush, but nothing works like keeping moisture to a minimum, although the higher starchy grain fed horses do seem to get thrushy more easily
P”
And here’s a youtube on applying the bleach one:
As usual, you lovely lot has lots to say on treating thrush in horses with apple cider vinegar.
Here’s a comment Susan left below:
“Thrush is an infection like athlete’s foot in humans. Some horses get it, some don’t. I had 2 Paso Finos, same living conditions, same diet, same exercise. One got thrush routinely, one never did in the 20+ years we owned them. Shoes, or no shoes, didn’t matter. The thrush-y one had a narrow foot, with deep sulcus. The other one had a more open style foot. Genetics!
Here is another way to treat thrush: Clean the foot thoroughly then apply peroxide. It reacts with all organic matter until it hits live tissue. It does not hurt the horse. It is safe-you can use it on your own cuts.
Susan”
Please do add a comment below on treating thrush in horses with apple cider vinegar – or whatever works for you.
I’d really love to know your thoughts, potions and lotions.
That’s all for today.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And don’t forget, the only way you can you can see all the posts on the blog is by jumping on the newsletter.
And now onto Karen.
“Treating thrush in horses can be a challenging task, but many horse owners have found success using natural remedies, such as apple cider vinegar (ACV). Thrush is a common hoof condition caused by bacterial and fungal infections, often affecting the frog area of the hoof. It typically manifests as a foul-smelling black discharge and can lead to discomfort or lameness if not addressed promptly. “
“Apple cider vinegar has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties, making it a useful treatment option for thrush. To use ACV, start by cleaning the affected hoof thoroughly. This involves picking out any dirt, debris, or necrotic tissue from the hoof, which can exacerbate the condition. Use a hoof pick and a stiff brush to ensure the area is clean. “
“Once the hoof is clean, apply apple cider vinegar directly to the affected area. This can be done by soaking a cotton ball or clean cloth in the vinegar and placing it against the thrush-affected frog, or by using a spray bottle for a more general application. Allow the vinegar to sit for several minutes to let its properties work on the infection. Repeat this process daily, monitoring the hoof for improvement. “
“In addition to direct application, consider incorporating apple cider vinegar into the horse’s diet. Adding a small amount to their feed may help boost their immune system, supporting overall hoof health. However, always consult with a veterinarian before making dietary changes.”
“While apple cider vinegar can be effective, it’s crucial to ensure that the horse’s environment is clean and dry, as thrush thrives in wet conditions. Regular hoof care, including trimming and cleaning, along with proper management of the horse’s living conditions, will help prevent thrush from recurring. By combining these practices, horse owners can effectively treat thrush and promote healthier hooves for their equine companions. Karen”
Next up
Getting rid of those metal shoes will go a long way in healing those feet.
The bleach trick has been out for over 50 years. Personally, there are better products on the market specifically for thrush.
Couldn’t agree more! (about the shoes)
And bleach is nasty stuff. Shouldn’t be used on a horse’s foot. Plus, it will ruin your clothes if only one drop finds its way onto you.
This is something else i have learnt, but Selsun gold is good for rain scold. I have used it on a thoroughbred mare i had up in the Northern Territory in Australia and it worked really well. but it may not work for every horse.
All you need to do is put it on the affected area and leaveon for 10 min or so, then wash it off real good, and repeat again after a couple of days if it hadn’t cleaned it.
We use baby oil on rain scald. Rub it onto the rain scald, leave it. Repeat as necessary. The baby oil normally kills the rain scald and then it comes off with brushing and scratching.
The rain scould on my horse back was bad one winter and a man told me to use baby’s bottom cream, called sudocream. It worked well
Thanks Tritty, I live in the Top End and have 20 horses who are in the Riding for the Disabled Program and every wet season we struggle with rain scald, I will certainly give this suggestion a go!!!! 😛
Have found the No name brand Baby oil (no fragrance that could cause a reaction) great for rain scald. And for helping to treat mud fever.
Hey Lesley, I have found the oils do work but in our climate (I live in Bundaberg) the heat cooks the poor horse. A nurse friend suggested a sprinkle of copper sulphate in a bucket of water. Soak the area, massage and lift damaged skin away, then sunscreen. Inexpensive and works a treat!
Great tip thanks
I have found that thrush has a lot to do with diet, keep sugars to a minimum. A correct barefoot trim and the thrush will disappear.
I have tried and tried bare foot but my mare cant seem to cope. Brought her 2 year ago and i’ve been trying for that long. She was a laminitic when i brought her and very over weight. I now shoe her in the summer and bare foot in the winter. That means i wont be riding in the winter though. Can anyone help please. Thanks Jacque. p.s. She is bitless and treeless.
Hey Jacque, have you tried ‘boots’ like the ones that are becoming popular with endurance riders who like to go barefoot? They can be removed during times when your mare is paddocked and put on when you ride-out in winter. They aren’t cheap and need to be fitted well; but with the front feet taking the brunt of the force, if $$ are tight you could try getting just two (they are sold in pairs). More and more farriers are specialising in boots and barefoot. Get them fitted once and they should last years – best of both worlds! Good luck!
my horse has never had shoes on and is susceptible to thrush, it’s just a combination of modern management and genetics – the same as some people are more prone to needing teeth filled than others. some horses simply can’t cope barefoot. don’t fret about it. in fact, having shoes on has actually improved the overall condition of my laminitic pony’s feet. each horse is individual and should be treated as such. you know your horse far better than any over-opinionated do-gooder on the internet 😉
Once Laminitis – good chance always. Keep her shoed in the winter if you cannot keep her in dry conditions.
No harm in trying other suggestions though.
a good barefoot trim, and a low sugar/starch diet, plus lots of exercise will do your horse good — you will quickly see the difference in his mood and performance! no more iron!
Jacque, why don,t you buy her some hoof boots? They protect her feet like metal shoes & you can take them off after you ride. I got the Cavallo Simple Boot for my mare. She was ouchy when I took her shoes off, but I want to keep her barefoot, so I got the boots. Check them out.
cider vineger is a great addition to any stable.In the northern US every spring when 2 yr olds ship to the racetracks influensa appears even in inoculated horses. Cold water wraps soacked in it will drop a horses fever very nicely, even at room temp in july the evaporation cools the blood . Spongeing it on also will help and no alcohol fumes
I think all those ideas are great,but i find using zinc as well keeps the oil or vinegar sealed and doesn’t wash off very easily when it rains.A great barrier for sunburn,itchy bites and paspalin bites on the face.
condies crystals is the best for thrush.Soak hoof for a few minutes everyday till its gone.Doesn’t take long at all,you can even make up a spray to spray on the hoof each day,Easy.
Getting hard to find Condie’s Chrytals
in Australia – like sulphur powder to heal a wound.
Thank goodness you can still get Stockholm tar!(which I use with animal fat and vege oil – best hoof oil ever!)
I’ve used diaper rash cream (20% zinc) to treat rain scald and mucd fever. Clean area well and apply on dried area. Works really great.
I use the same cream on sunburn areas (nose-tail)it does a great job. However, the smell is really strong and it gets everywhere (clothes-side of barn). Went back to sport sunblock.
Boudreaux’s Baby Butt Cream is great for the rain rot scald stuff. I clean it with ivory soap (which drys out too since its kinda oily anyway) and apply that and wash it out every other day until I see new hair growth. Personally I have used apple cider vinegar for thrush, but nothing works like keeping moisture to a minimum, although the higher starchy grain fed horses do seem to get thrushy more easily, jmho
When confronted with a tail in a neglected mess, I have a really quick and kind way to transform it into a bushy, tangle free tail to be proud of.
1. Thoroughly wash any sticky dirt out of tail
2. Liberally apply pantene conditioner.
3. Starting from the bottom of the tail work upwards with a metal mane comb easing out all the knots and tangles.
4. Rinse out the conditioner and leave tail to dry.
Better way! Wash dirt out. When dry spray oil from a spray bottle – and then the rest of your idea.
Why pay money for Pantene when clean vege or no brand baby oil a lot cheaper – and does the same job?
The oil stays in for a couple of days, but you just do step 4!
I am dealing w/a severe 3/4 matted tail from a rescue. It is as thick as my forearm, no joke. I have tried Cowboy magic; natural oil hair relaxer (specifically for black-americans)that has tea oil in it. The tail is still a major project in the making. HOWEVER,the tea oil I put on a dermatitis (warts?Vet.)issue and it is reducing the area/warts. The smell is very neutral. Go figure.
I swear by Solution4Feet made by the laminitis research centre. It’s a bit pricey but it clears up thrush and pretty much anything else you can think of in a couple of days. It is also the only thing you ever need to put on the hooves, so you save on buying hoof grease etc.
My Tb is unable to go bare foot or she will develop really sore feet she was bare foot on rear when I got her 18mths ago but soon developed severe bruising and hoof abcesses on her soles, her hooves were in a terrible state when I got her 18mths ago and it took my farrier and vets 12mths to get her sound again due to her hoof issues. she has had no hoof issues since Nov 2012 and she is now shod all round with no problems. 😆
❓ have a 13 yr old QT gelding 2 yr when feeding lifts front leg paws the air and when grooming lifts leg paws or puts hoof on fence rail or strikes it worried he may catch his leg in fence rail and panic. Why does he do this? How can I stop this?
Hi Steve, my TB gelding lifts his right paw when feeding time. Not sure what it is, would like to find out too. Is he excited to eat or is there something else??? Have you googled?
All horse naturally eat from the floor. This is good for their backs and keeps their teeth in line, and there is no risk of getting caught in the fence.
it is a behavior that developed from when horses were in the wild and would paw the ground to get grass in the snow and through thick brambles to get tender shoots.
Hi I find a lot of horses do this when feeding have been told that it’s a sort of thank you for the food it makes sence as it’s always when they get fed
Hi Steve: My new QH mare did this in the beginning with both front and back legs. It was very dangerous while trying to reach underneath and try to cinch up my saddle. My trainer came over and when she did that corrected her by jerking down on her halter every time she did it and said, “NO!” in a strong voice. And then she took the long end of the lead and gently swirled it around her legs until she stopped dancing and striking out her with legs. It didn’t hurt her anyway just made her aware nothing was going to hurt her, Anyway after one day my horse stopped doing both actions of pawing, I hope this helped. 😛
A friend of mine used a tea tree and water solution spray and the rain rot healed up perfectly.
Zinc diaper rash cream works really well for fetlock rot too, after scrubbing with betadine and water.
Jacque…for the lamanitic horse i used timothy cubes and very little low starch grain. On her feet..i love the easyboot glove. They just slip right on and she loves them too because her feet don’t hurt.
How do you cure horse with severe skin rash due to sun burn, sand burn and dove weed.
Horsemen and women have done this for 100 years
Thank you for the valuable information.
Regards
Hi all,
Ive been following your forum for a couple weeks now and always find it facinating to read.
I must ask what is rain fever.
Ive had my horse about a year and a half, who now has a 6 week foal.
: ❓
Several yrs ago lost almost whole frog & tried every remedy $ & time could buy. Finally vet student putting self thru school as farrier saved by recommending: soak CleanTrax (can buy from Centaur Forge website) 3xs week for 6 weeks; then squirt tea tree oil 3xs week from then on. WORKS!!!! Now use TEA TREE OIL all horses all feet all time, & NO THRUSH or abscesses.
I agree – get rid of the shoes. I’ve been using apple cider vinegar for a long time. Throw out the caustic substances.
Linda- yes! Timothy cubes are great horses which require lo starch/sugar even lo fiber. I use Ontario as each batch is completely balanced by Dr. Kellon. Not sure they are available outside of US and Canada. My horse’s laminitic hooves are healing well with these along with free choice hay,NO grain,trims every 4 weeks, and exercise as tolerated . My horse has also worn Cavallo boots but now goes over cement/gravel with no soreness.
hi can anyone tell me best thing for mud fever please im going to try equi stable med wraps/boots as they have a good read up has anyone used these before
thank you
I like the idea of using apple cider vinegar for thrush instead of bleach. And found all the helpful suggestions very useful. Thank you for sharing. 😛
❗ I live on a farm and I have NEVER put shoes on my horse i am afrikaans so i am not sure what apple cider vinigar is, but i have seen with my own eyes that old engine oil works like a bomb for hoofs with cracks in them,it is old “boere raad” that my grand-pa gave me, i haven’t seen ANYTHING working better than that ❗
Thrush is an infection like athlete’s foot in humans. Some horses get it, some don’t. I had 2 Paso Finos, same living conditions, same diet, same exercise. One got thrush routinely, one never did in the 20+ years we owned them. Shoes, or no shoes, didn’t matter. The thrush-y one had a narrow foot, with deep sulcus. The other one had a more open style foot. Genetics!
Here is another way to treat thrush: Clean the foot thoroughly then apply peroxide. It reacts with all organic matter until it hits live tissue. It does not hurt the horse. It is safe-you can use it on your own cuts.
What are the signs of thrush in horses, and how can they be managed effectively?
Signs of thrush in horses include a foul-smelling black discharge, tenderness or sensitivity in the frog area, and potential lameness. To manage thrush effectively, start by thoroughly cleaning the affected hoof to remove dirt and debris. Apply treatments like apple cider vinegar or antiseptic solutions directly to the infected area. It’s also essential to keep the horse’s environment clean and dry, as thrush thrives in moist conditions. Regular hoof care, including trimming and daily inspections, can help prevent recurrences. Consulting a veterinarian is advisable for persistent or severe cases.