Horse with "frog rot"

Q: I have been working with a horse for the last several months that has a severe case of "frog rot" in all 4 feet.  I wanted to send you some pictures, but my computer is down and I do not have access to downloading my pictures at this time.  I would like to tell you a little about this horse, and see if you have any further ideas for treatments.

Hannah is a Warmblood in her teens.  One of my clients purchased her recently from a supposed reputable trainer.  She wanted a horse that had a good amount of training under her belt, and was level headed.  When she initially went to see the horse, she was barefoot, and just picked her feet up and took a quick look, but it was in an indoor arena with poor lighting.  She seemed to travel well on the soft arena so my client didn't look at her feet any further.  After she got her home, she took her on an easy trail ride, and noticed that she was very sore when she got back home.  She called me frantically after she inspected her feet further.

I was able to get to her the next day, and when I picked her feet up and examined the frogs further, I was impressed/ horrified.  I've had my problems with thrush and deteriorating frogs, especially with all of the wet weather we had over the winter and spring, but I had never seen anything to this extent.  My hoof pick would just sink into the central sulcus, and underneath the edges of the frog, and I would just come out with a cottage cheese like substance. This was on all 4 feet.  When I further examined the hooves, there were multiple toe and quarter cracks, and the fronts were clubby.  You could tell by reading the growth rings that she had just recently had a pasture trim (for selling purposes I'm sure), but you could also tell that she had probably had extended time standing in muck or manure.  She had supposedly been abandoned by a previous owner, and then the trainer had purchased her.  He had kept her for 3 years though, but only used her occasionally as a lesson horse, and then was out the rest of the time.

I have been trimming her feet every week for 3 trims, and then every 2 weeks for the last several trims.  I continue to remove all of the loose and decaying frog material, and trimming her foot to the live sole, and rasping flares.  As of last week, her hooves are responding to the hoof wall trimming well, and her heels are almost where they should be, and she is not clubby any more.  Her heels have also widened well.  We have tried several things to "dry up" the frogs, such as The Lysol solution that Pete Ramey suggests, and some betadine paint initially, and also hosings to the frog to clear out all of the mud and manure.  She is on 24/7 turnout, and her owner has not allowed them access to the barn.  Our weather is dry at present, but we do have dew on the ground in the morning.  The frogs look better, but there are still several areas that are "cottage cheesy" and friable to touch, and will bleed when cleansed.  On the side of one frog, you can pull it back with the hoof pick, and see almost to the corium.  There is no tight frog sole juncture there.  The last 2 times I have trimmed, I have placed a Polysporin powder product that I get from work, to see if that would help dry and kill off the bacteria.  I know it will not kill the fungus, but I am trying just about anything I can think of.

Do you have any suggestions?  The poor girl is getting very testy about having her feet worked on, because of the discomfort in her frogs.  I feel that the improved hoof form is starting to help, but would like her to start being able to produce some healthy frog.

I will send pictures as soon as I can.

A: Sounds suspicious of some canker-type changes.  Certainly deep infection of some sort.  Lysol is good but I've heard the clean-trax is good for tough cases.  Dry environment would seem to be a necessity, but can the horse be moved to a dry climate?  Will look forward to pictures.  Sounds like you've made some progress but still battling deep infection--and since you can see corium on occasion that means it's infected, too.  Not easy to remedy these from what I've heard.  I don't have to deal with it much in my environment.

-Tom

Comments

[Pascale Hartmann]

Hello

I'm sorry for my bad English.

I have, or better I had (I hope so!!) exactly the same problem! Almost I see now that I'm not alone with that bad thing!

After trying many different medications I'm doing now with Clean Trax, and it seems to work!

At now I didn't find out, where it's coming from! The last five or six weeks we had very dry weather. Now it's raining. I think, the problem was here for longer time, but we couldn't see it because the dry weather. Now we could see very well!

I have some photos, but I didn't succeed to put them here. May be somebody can explain me how to do...

Our horses are barefoot and a part of them had problems to walk with the fungus at the frogs. By looking for the reason I find out, that in our region there are many (shoed) horses with "pieces of cheese" at the place of the frog (the owners don't care about...).
They are living in different places in different stables.

A new epidemie??????

Regards from Switzerland
Pascale

[Lori]

Hi,
I am learning about bare trimming and hoof disease from Cheryl Hendersen at www.abchoofcare.com. She is soaking disease out of the feet with a product called White Lightening with rapid results. Check her website and she is writing a book on disease to be out in 2009.
Good luck, Lori

[Wendy Wagner]

I was told to use Iodine for rot by the old timer who mentored me.
I also herd about someone who had their horses on pasture that had previously had hogs on it. Her horses were loosing frog and the vet said to lime the pasture. She went a little overboard from what I herd, but it worked.
The lime treatment should destroy the environment in the pasture that is hosting the disease, and it will be good for the grass as well. The only problem is if the pasture is too large or rough, in which case, you could put down a lot of lime under resting trees and at the water tank (anyplace the horse spends enough time to get rid of all the grass).

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[Brenda Lee]

my horses frog on his front right hoof is completely gone.there are no signs of thrush,but it appears that a new frog may be regrowing.does anyone have any suggestions?

[Lacey Arnold]

My horse lost his frog from thrush. Will he grow his frog back?

[CC]

yes Brenda.... try "Tomorrow" better known as "dry cow" it takes awhile ......but its the best stuff I have ever used. my horse had NO frogs just a hole, on all 4's. it comes in a syringe, put it down in between the bulbs. they make "Tomorrow " and "Today " same price but the Tomorrow has more antibiotics in it.

[wendi]

Where would I purchase this product called Tomorrow from? thanks

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[Marlo Fussell]

I have been having the same problem with one of my horses front feet. I have 3 other horses on the same pasture and they have had no problems, and one of the horses came with the one w/ the frog problem. I have been using tee tree oil and epsom salt in a wash and it seems to help. She is also geting tired of feet trimming and clean. I have also heard that tee tree oil and applecider vingar work well also. Her frog is gone on her front foot and she limps (walks on her toe). Since I have started the teatment she has started to walk on entire hoof more but with a limp that is more noticable after she had stood for a period of time.

[lorraine furlong]

i am having the same problem with my shetland the vet diagnosed as laminitus as he was crippled but i was trying to say its his frogs, they fall off his groves down the frogs are very deep....... I keep trying different products and keep his bed clean.......its soul destryoing ant advice greatfully rcvd

[Selma Galev]

I acquired a horse with no frog at all. I started putting the Tomorrow on it and 2 days later, it appeared that he suddenly had a frog. The ferrier said it is enflamed. Am I doing the right thing? Every night I soak it by putting ecthimol on the frog area, sprinkle ebsome salt on it, them put it in a soaking bucket with more salts and iodine in the warm water. After 20 minutes, I clean everything off and dry it as best as I can. I put the tomorrow in all the creveses and wrap it with vet wrap. I don't see the inflamation going down but now it looks more and more like it frog. Could it be that it grew back that fast and now it needs to harden?

[Shive Hutcheson]

I haven't a horse that is why I am not aware about this. But I advice you to see it to the experts. I'm sure they'll know about this.