As horse care givers we know the damage that thrush can do. Or do we? There are so many horses out there who have back foot pain. It could be that slit up the back of the frog into the heel bulbs, maybe it’s the gooey, smelly junk in the collateral grooves, or perhaps it’s just a small frog that does not seem to grow. This pain causes the horse to land on the toes first creating all kinds of tearing and trouble for the hoof.
Much of the time this lameness is due to untreated bacterial and fungal infection. If let go, unnoticed for a long period, it creeps deeper into the hoof causing pain and more damage.
Needless to say, thrush is a big deal and we, as horse caregivers, need to be aware of it!
Because I am a huge proponent of a prevention philosophy when it comes to the care of my horses, I’m going to share the one big thing that you can do to help your horses to avoid thrush! The one thing that has the biggest impact on PREVENTING THRUSH is MOVEMENT!
Getting your horse out and moving on a track system is ideal for the health of their hooves. It offers stimulation to the hoof for growth, the ability to clean itself out and helps to wear the foot depending upon the terrain. If you’ve never heard of a track system or would like to learn more, I invite you to check in with our The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care community. Guide 2 is all about the benefits and features of a track system.
You can get started helping your horse to move simply by giving them multiple places to eat hay, whether its from piles of hay or hay bags. They will move from one area to another. Setting up other features such as their water and salt in other areas will encourage even more movement. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, its easy to set it up for the horses’ benefit!
Another key piece in the prevention of thrush puzzle is the importance of nutrition. Sugars are food for the bacteria so removing the sugar from the diet will benefit the health of the foot. If you’ve had a stubborn case of thrush, look to changing this piece and see what happens! Sugars will be in hay, grains, supplements, mineral licks and more! Take a look at the suggestions in this guide to get your horse started off with a good nutrition foundation.
Alongside the nutrition piece comes adequate minerals. They are key to hoof growth and quality. Minerals like zinc, copper and selenium are necessary for healthy growth. You’ll want to make sure your horse’s diet contains these. I have seen tremendous growth with my own horses hooves and hair when I started them on a supplement ! The supplement, Sulfurzyme, contains sulfur which is loaded with the vitamins and minerals needed for hair and hoof growth. I started giving it for joint support to my older guy, but needless to say I was pretty happy with the hair and healthy hoof growth as well!
Another piece you’ll want to be aware of, is making sure there is no added iron in your horses diet. This can come from a variety of places including hay, water and feeds. There are barns who have discovered high iron in their water sources when they couldn’t get rid of the thrush (and other hoof troubles) issue for the majority of horses at the barn. It’s easy enough to have your water tested to figure this out. You’ll also want to check your feed labels for the word ferrous (and another word after it). These are iron related and will add to the problem.
One of the most valuable products I learned about when I had my trimming practice was Thieves Household Cleaner. I started carrying it when trimming and used it to spray every clients hooves when I finished trimming. It is a great way to keep the hooves in great shape as it promotes healthy growth while keeping trouble at bay.
If you’re dealing with thrush and working toward removing it, put these other factors that I wrote about above into place. Then, use the Thieves Cleaner as a soak in a soaker boot. Mixed with an essential oil like Melrose, it does a terrific job of clearing things up! For the really bad feet that have that painful crack in the back of the foot, I have found Animal Scents Ointment to be incredibly soothing and helpful in making the horse more comfortable.
And isn’t that really what it’s all about…? Making them more comfortable so they can heal faster. That is definitely my goal!
Thanks for reading and I hope this information is helpful to you.
All the best,
Marta
Early on when my horse Calli came to me, I noticed that she was rubbing her tail a lot…on posts, trees and inside the run in area. In May, when the Noseeums come out, she would get bit up all on her underside from her chest down past her belly. There were oozing, crusty clumps all along her midline. It wasn’t until we started doing a few things differently that the itching stopped. Soon Calli was no longer bothered by any of these earlier problems. Don’t get me wrong, she will still run for cover when the bugs are around but her body no longer reacts to them as they did in the past. Without realizing it, the steps I took served to lay a foundation for building her immune system and making it less likely for her to have these problems!
It was during this time that I was learning about plant based products and using essential oils. I began trading out a lot of the “traditional” products that I had learned to use and started using cleaner options. The first one I started with was Thieves Household Cleaner. A capful mixed up with water in a 28 oz spray bottle went a long way for a small amount of money and seemed to soothe Calli’s itching right away. All I did was spray her tail head area and her midline daily. I continued to use it throughout the nice weather. There are many other products that I traded out and shared in a video. You can watch it HERE.
I was also learning about how important diet and nutrition is to the hooves and overall health of horses. Are you aware that about 80% of the immune system is in the gut? So it’s a good bet that feeding your horse clean, nourishing food is going to help support their immune system. As part of my nutrition education, I realized just how difficult processed feeds are on the body. Whether it’s the processing or the ingredients, these processed grains actually cause more damage to the gut (when combined with a confinement lifestyle)and subsequently the immune system.
I started feeding my horses flax as their base “grain” and added oils and oil infused supplements to that. Offering a whole food like flax and feeding them in a fashion more conducive to their nature (movement for their forage) is a huge benefit to their overall gut health and immune system.
Another powerhouse I use is NingXia Red. This juice is made up from the wolf berry, and other fruits and essential oils, and is considered to be a super food! It contains 15% protein, 21 essential minerals, 18 amino acids, is loaded with B vitamins and a high amount of Vitamin C! Adding this to the daily feed of a horse needing an immune boost works every time. And they like the taste!
If you’re looking for a solid foundation on nutrition to get started with your horses, here’s my FREE GUIDE.
As I was learning how to use my essential oils, Thieves Essential Oil became an instant favorite. Using it for myself in a daily tea to support my own immune system, I also turn to it for my horses. I add drops to their feed as needed or use a roll on to run over their body. Both ways help to get these powerful oils into their system to help provide balance and support to the immune system. My horses also like citrus oils added to their water in the warm summer months. Citrus oils are a great support to the immune system!
A very important piece of the wellness puzzle that had been missing, was supporting the energy healing of my horses. I finally started learning about Healing Touch for Animals®. I am currently practicing in Level 2 of the program and am so happy to be able to offer this key healing piece to my horses. The benefits of energy healing are many…it helps to regulate the immune system by offering a variety of physiological responses. Such responses as relaxation, release of endorphins, increased circulation, elevates oxygen, absorbs nutrients, influences every cell of the body, builds enzymes, regulates hormones, releases toxins, promotes healthy cell growth and promotes healing. If you’d like to learn more about HTA, watch HERE.
Working alongside these other areas of healing I’ve talked about, I also use light therapy. It has been so helpful to supporting my horses’ immune systems. The light therapy protocol called the Immune Boost is a way to proactively support your horse. The red light helps to stimulate the immune system and to regulate all meridian systems. Using the light on the 13 points for about 30 -60 seconds (each point) every other day for a few weeks sets up your horse for increased balance and wellness. Interested in light therapy? Here’s the one I use, Photonic Health.
Focusing your attention on supporting your horse’s immune system is key to their wellness. So many of the “problems” that horses have with skin, allergies, etc. just seem to go away when there is a healthy, well balanced immune system in place. I hope you’ll get started cleaning out your horse feed and products too as a first step on the way to a balanced immune system.
All the best,
Marta
The winter can be tough to spend time playing with or riding your horse, especially if you don’t have access to an indoor or good footing. But don’t fret, there are loads of things you can to with your horse! These activities will help to develop your relationship as well as improve your horse’s mental, emotional and physical wellness.
Here is a list of a few things I like to do with my horses when its cold or I’m short on time…
Just be with them. Put your hands on them and breathe. Let your breathing and hearts get in sync. Talk quietly with your horse. Tell them your secrets…
Do stretches. Lifting the front leg with a little stretch forward is great for their shoulders. Tickling the belly with your finger tips is great for getting them to lift their top line. A hind leg, cross in front hold is great for the hind end and balance (there’s a great video of this in Guide 9 of the Hearts Of Horses group).
Ask for yields. Using the lightest of touches, or maybe even just a thought. Ask your horse to move their hindquarters or crossover their front feet moving away from you. Have them back up or move sideways away from you. A challenge…ask them to move sideways toward you!
Pick up their feet and check them. Do a quick clean out and inspect each foot to make sure all is well. A quick spray with Thieves Cleaner goes a long way for keeping the frogs healthy too!
Assess their energy centers to see if all are open and flowing. Not sure how to do this? Watch this video and learn to use a pendulum.
Use energy healing techniques from Healing Touch for Animals to clear away congested energy and blockages from their system. To me this is the most overlooked part of our care for our animals. If you'd like to learn more about energy and vibration tools read my recent blog here.
Use light therapy (red, green and blue). Apply the light to wellness points on your horse for a preventive approach to their care. Use the light on the carotid for 10 minutes to cleanse their blood!
Apply essential oils. Do a RainDrop Kit session to promote relaxation, cleansing and immune system stimulation. Spend a month applying the Feelings Kit daily and you’ll be amazed at how much more harmonious you and your horse will be together! It will bring your partnership to a whole new level!
If some of these things are new to you, or you’ve never heard of them but are interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out the Guide section at the top of the page in our community, The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care.
Stay warm and enjoy your time with your horses,
Marta
My girl, Calli, came to me with a predisposition toward showing signs of colic when the barometric pressure changed. With any storm coming, she was giving the usual signs of a curled lip and looking at her sides. This was in the early days of my learning about horses and how best to care for them. It was a crash course!
I’ve learned so much over the years and we no longer deal with those bouts of stomach upset. It’s been pretty smooth sailing for all my horses simply by keeping these 5 habits as part of their healthy, holistic lifestyle...
- First and foremost, allow your horses the freedom of movement! The more they can move and forage for their food, whether it’s on the ground or in hay bags, the better their digestive system functions. A track system is ideal, but if you’re not there yet at least spread the hay out in their space to encourage them to move to new areas.
- Make sure your horses are drinking plenty of water. In the cold temperatures adding a heat source to keep the water drinkable is necessary. Even making the water more enticing by adding a favorite oil flavor like lemon or Citrus Fresh would help them to drink but would also support their immune system function.
- Free choice granulated salt or adding it directly to their food is necessary for many body functions but will also encourage drinking more water. The average horse needs at least 1 oz of salt per day in the winter. It is responsible for such things as intestinal movement and fluid balance, absorbing nutrients and muscle and nerve function.
- Get rid of the processed grains! They are often loaded with sugars and ingredients that are hard on the gut. Go to forage-based feeds and whole foods like flax, chia and hemp to add to your horse’s nutrition regimen. Adding water is a benefit year-round but adding a bit more, and making it warm, for the extra cold weather is a good thing. If you have a hard keeper, of course splitting meals into more and smaller proportions is the safer thing to do for them.
- Adding the essential oil blend of Digize, from Young Living, has been the saving grace for us. I use it daily in their feed, year-round. I believe this is a big part of why Calli no longer has stomach discomfort. The blend of oils serves to help the gut to achieve a homeostasis or balance. We are never without it!
Wishing you a safe and healthy winter with your horses. And if you’re looking for more holistic care information to help you care for your horses, join us in our community in the fb group The Hearts of Horses, Empowering Through Holistic Care.
