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  Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
   
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | Because I thought I was good at this, but apparently I am not.
Three horses. All at the same property. Two shod all around, one barefoot. Off and on minor thrush that gets treated on a regular basis (meaning I treat regularly to prevent, not that they have thrush all the time). If I don't treat weekly they will develop thrush because of where we live. All three horses have access to dry stalls that stay cleaned and dry.
Only one horse is a problem. He gets way more treatment then the other two. It's like a non stop battle with this horse. He also happens to have extremely contracted heels from the way he was being shod. He is currently barefoot at the moment until I figure out what I want to do.
This horse has his frogs split completely in half in the center. Even with treatment. He currently does not have thrush, yet two of his frogs are still split. Farrier says it's from the thrush. I'm not convinced. For two reasons...first, his thrush never got out of control, it has always been treated as soon as it started, or even prevented with weekly maintenance. Second, I've never seen the frogs split like this even on a horse that had horribly thrush.
Are there any other reasons a horses frogs will split like this? I can try to get photos later.
I'm not entirely happy with the trim job either as he cut this horses frogs out until they bled (not really sure why he did, but I was aggravated because I'm trying to get his frogs to grow and heal, unless cutting them that far back could help them heal???).
Thoughts? Reasons his frogs are split? Anything to do with a shoe job, contracted heels? Any suggestions on tricks/meds/etc to get them to heal? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Did he cut the entire frog or the side, if he cut the sides till they bled (where frog and sole connect) this will actually help release the contracted heels.
It could be thrush, have a mare who was contracted, horrible thrush along with other problems, it took me 6 months to get ahead of the thrush, sulcus thrush.
Contracted heels can exacerbate thrush.
I used sauerkraut and a diaper, changed on the third day for 2 weeks a and it worked, as I tried a everything prior. |
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | He cut all of it. I'm thinking he did it to make for darn sure there wasn't any hidden thrush pockets because the cracks have been an issue for a long time. I didn't like it BUT it is making it easier for me to clean out the cracks. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| You are probably right, he pared away till he got to healthy frog. I would start working on changing the ph of the foot to eradicate the thrush.
Edited by cheryl makofka 2014-11-07 12:51 PM
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | cheryl makofka - 2014-11-07 1:50 PM You are probably right, he pared away till he got to healthy frog. I would start working on changing the ph of the foot to eradicate the thrush.
There isn't any thrush. Not right now. Just the cracks that I keep clean. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| My understanding is the deep cracks is caused by thrush, it may not smell, my horse never did, I noticed black, flaky frog, this is why I treated mine |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | P.M. farrier lady. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 164
Location: Oregon | Im very curious about this as well. My geldings foot heel split up to the hair line about and just wont heal but he doesnt act like it hurts and there is no thrush any more. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 639
Location: God's country...aka TEXAS | It sounds like the frogs are ulcerated (infected) from the contracted heels and not being able to grow properly. Just keep treating for thrush and soak everyday if you can with betadine or something antibacterial to help get rid of the infection. Make sure he also cut out the bars so the feet can spread properly. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I had one with that problem and he didn't get better until we pulled his shoes and got his heels spread back out. Took about 9 months to get the split frog grown out and looking healthy. |
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 Popped
Posts: 20421
Location: LuluLand~along I64 Indiana | over the years as i have battled thrush i have seen severly cracked frogs along with it. |
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | He hasn't had thrush for a while, and the cracks still got worse. They aren't as bad now but are just as deep. I've been treating them every day to keep dirt and debris out. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | I have never heard of a reason for a farrier to hack at a frog until it was bleeding. I Have heard of frogs damaged to the point the split cannot grow back whole. I also have never heard of an active dry thrush... If it is active thrush, it is wet and you can smell it. (if your nose works) I can ask among some horse owing people I know in your area and try to get you a good farrier if you like. |
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