‘SHE HAD THRUSH IN ALL FOUR FEET’
When Clover’s new owners first brought their four-year-old Irish Sport Horse home, they struggled to get the mare to lift her legs and it became clear she wasn’t used to lifting her legs to have her feet picked out. All four hooves were impacted with dirt and droppings, and once the feet and frog area had been picked out they realised that she had thrush.
The farrier came to trim Clover’s feet and tried various topical treatments over the next few months, including copper sulphate mixed with petroleum jelly, hydrogen peroxide and Stockholm tar, alongside regular trimming. However, after four months there was no improvement, so her owners called the vet.
On examination it was confirmed that
Clover had thrush affecting all four frogs. All clefts were very deep and she had sheared heels behind. There was no distal limb swelling and no lameness noted when she was trotted up, but she showed sensitivity when the area deep within her central clefts was probed.
First steps
Stable hygiene and foot trimming were both considered more than adequate, so the vet recommended topical oxytetracycline spray (applied twice daily) and shoeing all round.
After 10 days, however, there was only minimal improvement, so topical application of metronidazole was prescribed. This was packed into Clover’s frogs and bandaged into place, and then changed every day for seven days. Thankfully this resolved the infection.
Had it not, the next step would have been to take swabs from deep within the clefts of frog and send them to the lab for culture and analysis. This would have enabled the vet to determine the best antibiotic to use.
Given Clover’s deep central clefts of frog and sheared heels, she will be predisposed to thrush infections so diligent hoof care and stable hygiene will be of paramount importance. Despite this, flare-ups may still occur.