A speedier way to heal thrush in hooves!

So what is thrush? Its a bacterial infection in the cleft of the frog, that is characterized by a putrid black discharge, and it stinks, it causes poor growth and degeneration of the horn. Its painful and left untreated can render a horse lame for life. Its caused by not keeping the hooves picked out and manure and mud are left in the hoof to fester. It happens more frequently when theres been alot of rain, causeing more mud then usual that gets mixed in with manure. Now any horse can get thrush and when caught early can be cleared up pretty quick. There are several remedies on the market to day any of which will work just fine.


Over the years I've seen people just pick a hoof out and squirt the thrush meds in and just leave it, and not doing anything else. How anyone thinks this is going to work is beyond me. My dad taught me that it requires a bit more work then that.

What your going to need is, 2 small buckets, with warm water in them one with a squirt of mild soap in it and stir it up, just water in the other, hoof pick, a small fingernail brush, 3% peroxide (only 3% nothing stronger), a micro towel, and your thrush medication.

With your horse tied and maybe munching on a hay bag,(keep him busy) pick out all dirt and debris from the hoof. next with the brush dip it into the soapy water and begin scrubbing the hoof, getting into the cleft, dip the brush into the other bucket of water to rinse it and then go back to the soapy bucket to continue cleaning, keep doing this till the hoof looks clean, dry it a bit with the towel. Pour just a bit of peroxide into the cleft, hold the hoof up so it pools there and bubbles, tip hoof to let it drain off, and repeat 2 more times, you'll begin to notice that the putrid black crap is getting "eaten" away, leaving fresh hoof behind, now use your towel and dry off the hoof, getting into the cleft so its dry too, apply the thrush medication into the cleft hold the hoof so it pools for a moment and then let the hoof down. Cleaning the hoof this way will help speed the healing process, and the medication can get down into the cleft where it has to do its job of killing off the thrush bacteria.
Happy Horse Keeping