![]() ![]() Most likely the affliction will be cleaned up by then. Wrapping with vetrap and ductape, the owner changes the dressing every day for a week. In most cases, I use cotton soaked with 7% Iodine, and pack it into the sulci. Your hands should be protected as well as these liquids can stain and aggravate your skin: wear gloves. Due to the caustic nature of many medications, great care should be taken to limit exposure to the frog and sole: the coronet band and skin would likely be chemically burned, or at least, very irritated. There are many topical treatments, but they all are products that potentially kill bacteria/fungi and dessicate (dry) the tissue. Your job is to clean the foot well, with soap and water and a toothbrush (or other appropriate scrubbing device), and dry it before applying medication. Your veterinarian or farrier can trim away infected and eroded tissue with a sharp hoof knife. The medial and lateral sulci need to be opened up and cleaned, as typically a lip has developed that shelters the infection in the bottom of the crevice. Any overlapping tissue needs to be removed until the depths of the blackness has been uncovered. The frog can have multiple undermining tracts that deeply penetrate. Treating the thrush infection is simple enough: expose it to air and remove the moisture. This can cause the heel to contract and the frog to recess, thereby making it more likely to retain debris and moisture. If there is only thrush in one foot, it may be because the horse has been bearing less weight on that hoof due to discomfort. This foot has thrush that has undermined deep into the central sulcus causing it to appear shredded, and it is working its' way up between the heel bulbs. Often these horses have been stall-bound and have not had the opportunity to run and send the "hoof packing" flying. This conformation doesn't allow the frog to make consistent contact with the ground, so the heel doesn't expand and contract to allow debris to fall from the foot. Afflicted horses typically have moist soles (likely from a wet environment) and frequently are narrow in the heel with a recessed frog. While not life threatening, this mixed infection with bacterial, yeast, and fungal components can cause chronic lameness and chronic aggravation. Orslover and Sparkles are the victims of an insidious, potentially lameness causing infection, commonly known as "THRUSH"! And guess what: that odor won't come off with even the most vigorous hand washing. UGH! That's nasty! Smells like rotten, infected, putridness. Orslover is pondering the latin root of the word "sulcus", and wondering if she will be able to impress her friends by using it in a sentence at the next PTA meeting, something terrible happens: she smells that black, oozy substance that came from Sparkles' foot. So Sparkles (and most other horses) has a lateral (outside), a medial (inside), and a central sulcus in each foot.Īs Ms. These deep crevices and the depression near the heel at the center of the frog are known as "SULCI" (plural): pronounced "sulk-eye". In addition, the area aggravated by the hoofpick is bleeding! The center pocket of the frog is soft, looks "chewed up", and the black goo continues down into the heel. On further examination, the creases that make the "V" shape around the frog are much deeper than normal and full of thick, black grunge. OUCH! As the pick goes deeper than Ms.O expected, Sparkles yanks the foot away and slams it to the ground, getting her britches dirty and barely missing her brand new paddock boots. Grabbing her handy-dandy hoofpick, she digs into the mass (which falls out in an oval puck of muck) and then pokes the tip of the pick into the crease alongside the frog. She can't see much: his foot is packed full of manure and urine-soaked sawdust, clear up to the level of the shoe. O clips Sparkles into the crossties and lifts his leg. Yes, he continues to get off that foot quickly. Even when he was turned out, since there was no grass, he typically waited at the gate to be brought back in, standing in the slush or mud.Īs Sparkles is lead into the aisleway from his stall, Ms. He's been stuck in his stall due to snow and rain, and it's been difficult to keep his "house" dry. After a long winter, a warm spring sun is shining, and she's going to be able to spend A LOT more time with her best equine buddy "Sparkles". SPARKLES' SULCUS STORY by Ken Keckler DVM ![]()
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