I think the thrush battle is ending with me as winner. The last two months I used Pete's Goo exclusively in this frog cleft. Finally, the cleft is about half as deep as it was. (The first two photos are Oct 5, the third is today. You can click to enlarge.)
Disgusting, but I used to be able to stick a qtip in the central sulcus opening at the heels and it would disappear and come out the other end of the cleft. Getting the medicine that deep was really tough. It took me a while to figure out how deep it was, and how to get the goo in there. 
I used qtips to clean it, cuz obviously a brush can't get in there. Then I'd squirt the goo deep inside with a syringe, and then I'd stick a strip of cotton as deep as possible in to keep the medicine there.
Now, I don't "lose" my qtip - in fact, I can feel the bottom of the cleft. Soon I won't be able to get the cotton strip to stick in there anymore. I look forward to that!The frog is getting some substance back to it, and my goodness, look at what the icy frozen ground is doing! I was shocked to see this toe callous today, and the bars are putting out crazy new growth too. We'll see what happens.
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7 comments:
You do seem to be winning! Today's picture looks a whole lot better. Growth of the bars is good, and I don't think that the sole callus is a problem. Hooves will adapt their shape by wearing differently on hard ground vs soft. You might find the following link useful: http://www.thoughtfulhorseman.com/treatingthrush.htm
Hey Lytha- looks like there is a lot of retained sole there that is getting ready to exfoliate. Underneath that, you will see some LOVELY fresh sole, all ready to travel Baasha's world with you guys!
If you want to remove that sole- you can with no harm done. Use your hoof knife, and take only what the hoof is ready to give you. Bars need to be kept level with the existing sole, so that they do not grow over, and cover the rest of the sole. This traps bad stuff under the layer, and can set up for abscess down the line. Bars will "pool" at the apex of the frog too, and can compromise frog growth.
All in all though, it looks great there! You are doing a good job with that handsome fellow of yours!
Those photos are very clear. The hoof certainly looks better. I've never noticed a hoof callous before. Will you explain it?
WHP - Thanks for the link. Those pics are great. I was like, "Hey, that's my life!" (the syringe one) I found that you really have to use a syringe, and then your finger to mush it around. The cotton to hold it in helps too I'm sure.
Mrs Mom - When I scratch his soles with the hoofpick really hard, nothing happens. This makes me think the soles do not need to be trimmed. I think this rock-solid frozen ground is going to do the exfoliating for me. I'll keep an eye on the bars though - I trim them as soon as they stand up enough that I can get the tip of my rasp to them. That's my guide.
I'm gonna get my barefoot trimmer out this month to fix/check my work and I am going to ask her to bring me a really good rasp, knife, and knife sharpener. I wouldn't know where to begin looking for good trimming supplies in this land.
FV - I'm just learning, as you can see, and twice now I've noticed callouses on Baasha's toe area. It looked like a growth ridge along the edge of the sole, following the white line. Now this one looks very extreme to me, a little half-moon at the apex of the frog. I can only guess his feet are really taking a pounding on the ice, and putting out compensations. In my mind, callouses are a good thing. I'd want them if I were barefoot: )
I've spent most of my life not even looking twice at his feet - just scrape them clean, squirt koppetox in, and let the farrier do the rest. Now I'm seeing things for the first time. I also know the smell of thrush or a potential thrush problem right away as I clean his feet. I really, really, really clean them now, with a brush, and cut out any loose frog bits. I'm sure Baasha thinks, "Why the new obsession with my feet?!" but thankfully he's patient with me. One day I'll even have a hoof jack and that will help tremendously.
SO much to learn!
Looking good. Cold/dry ground certainly makes it easier to maintain a nice hoof, doesn't it? Jim's horse Hana has the same tendencies as Baasha (thrush + scratches), so I'm following your learning curve closely. Where do you get your Pete's Goo?
The thing that has helped Hana the past few years is being locked in a dry stall (no paddock, just clean dry shavings) at night, and pasture turnout during the day. But...she is VERY tidy in a stall, and you've said that Baasha is a pig, so maybe that wouldn't help as much for him.
Me, I'm blessed (knock wood) with a dark-skinned mare with feet so tough that the farrier actually broke his nippers on them. In two (wet) years, no sign of thrush or scratches (I am totally knocking wood). She has very tender soles, though, so she needs shoes or boots to go faster than a walk on trails. I'd love to be a barefooter with her, but it's just not appropriate. Too bad.
That's an interesting point, Mrs Mom, regarding retained sole. It takes me back to a Huzul stallion who had great thick soles. Our farrier hadn't the nerve to trim him. I ended up looking at the foot, thinking about anatomy, and using nippers to take away what seemed like a huge amount of sole. Underneath there was a chalky layer and a nice clean new sole. It was interesting, however I'd much rather have left this task to a qualified trimmer.
Lytha: you might see whether you can buy trimming tools from Kerckhaert in Holland. They have a website, their sales staff speak English, and no doubt they can refer you to a sales agent locally. But don't buy their own brand stuff (which comes from China), buy decent brand knives and rasps. (I liked Heller Legend rasps best.)
Aarene,
Lucky for me, Pete's Goo is something you make, not buy, so I can actually get it here, unlike most good stuff I read about online. It's a mix of Neosporin and athlete's foot cream. Well, to be honest, I couldn't get Neosporin here (three antibiotics in one tube? no way that's legal!), but I found one of the three ingredients. (I posted about this about 2 months ago, and showed how I mixed it up.)
Pete is Pete Ramey, barefoot trimming instructor. http://www.hoofrehab.com/ is his site, a very good reference for me as I learn.
If I were in America, I'd try other anti-fungals too, like Teatree oil and Usnea. The problem with most thrush medicines is they kill everything really well, but also damage the frog itself as it's trying to recover. Some say Teatree oil is even too strong, and dries out the frog. *shrug* I use a vinegar/water mix for the regular cleaning. I feel pretty safe with that.
I'm not going for the various soaks that are recommended for thrush, because I don't want to damage his skin down there, when he's got scratches.
Nice that Hana can be a nighttime stall princess to keep her skin and feet healthy. That usually doesn't work as you know.
I will do my best to never buy another white-footed horse again.
I hate to admit it, but I'm one of those "feet" people now, always noticing horses' feet. Yah, those people. *shakes head*
~lytha
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