More severe thrush can take weeks or even months to clear up and can require soaking, booting and even diet/nutrition changes. Some ratty tags on the frog, or a small infection of the central sulcus can usually be treated with diligent hoof picking and 2-3 times a week topical treatments with Artimud and/or HoofStuff. Minor surface thrush is much easier to deal with. It is a vicious cycle and can be extremely hard to beat once it gets to this advanced stage. The deeper the crack, the better the hiding spot for the thrush to thrive and eat more healthy tissue. What happens is the the thrush eats away at the healthy tissue and creates a 'home' for itself within the sulcus of the frog. This is the first area that thrush usually starts to affect. You will notice that the central sulcus, the area at the rear of the frog in the middle, in the healthy hoof is just a small indent, but in the affected hoof it is a deep crack. In the image above you will see the healthy frog on the right, the thrush infected frog on the left.

These bacteria and fungus are more prominent in wet conditions and thrive in moist ground, but can also be a problem in dry conditions. Thrush is a combination of bacteria and fungus that can eat away at the frog tissue in the hoof. It is not a product of neglectful horse care, nor is it a product of unsanitary living environment etc. Thrush is something that at one time or another all horse owners will likely have to deal with.

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