The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: Kirsty f on December 15, 2013, 01:27:33 pm
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Hi there,
We have had a pony for a week, and we have noticed today that one of her frogs is shedding and there is a bit of a smell, does any one know the best way for us to treat this.
Any advice will be greatly received.
Thanks
Kirsty and Macey :horse:
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Frogs do shed but if there is a smell it could be thrush. Best plan is to get your farrier to trim back the frog to healthy base and if you can still get it I'd use a little hydrogen peroxide dribbled into the V and washed off/out with clean water. I'm sure there are now more commercial products and hydrogen peroxide is probably hard to get as a potential ingredient of terrorist weapons.. but it was also used as hair bleach and could be got from chemists over the counter (not off the shelf) on request in small amounts.
Maybe others will have the updated product names but I'd definitely call the farrier and get the frog trimmed back so infection doesn't fester in cracks and folds.
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Hi ellied
Thank you so much for your advice, greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
Kirsty
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EllieDs advice is spot on. If you can't get hyd peroxide then there are various products sold in horsey stores. Kevin Bacons hoof products include a hoof disinfectant that is well reviewed and could be bought online. However you could in the interim use a dilute (capful to jug of water) mix of Hibiscrub, or even (a lot more dilute, cap ful to bucket, Jeyes fluid)
NB hooves shed more at this time of year and in spring than at any other time and generally horses shed what they need to and keep what they need. farriers can get a little over enthusiastic with paring knives to make it all look neat sometimes so just get them to pare off any big flaps or areas which are narrow clefts and could harbour infection.
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Hi Lachlanandmarcus,
Thank you for your advice, superstars as usual :thumbsup:
Regards
Kirsty
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Great advice above, I tend to use Bactakill for thrush as it is handy in the spray bottle and we always have it about for sheep.
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Hi Mowhaugh,
Thanks for the info, I will get some of that tomorrow,
Thanks again
Kirsty
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When our big fella had persistent thrush when we first got him I tried all sorts but the thing that really worked was the herbal soap and balm from Pioneer http://www.pioneerpersonalcare.com/Antifungal--Hoof-Products%282648749%29.htm (http://www.pioneerpersonalcare.com/Antifungal--Hoof-Products%282648749%29.htm) Their stuff is excellent.
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Hi ClydesdaleClopper,
Thank you for that link,I will look into that.
Best wishes
Kirsty x
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Hi all,
Farrier has been this morning to our little Gem, all is good.
Thank you all for your help
Regards
Kirsty and Macey
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If Gem's not shod and you're not planning to shoe her, might be worth looking into a foot trimmer rather than a farrier. I found them to be a bit more "natural" although my experience is not extensive.
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My Farrier does my barefoot trimming and is pretty scathing of a lot of barefoot trimmers. When our little sec A came back from her loan home where she had been trimmed by a foot trimmer her feet were terrible and completely the wrong shape, he had left her with really long toes and low heels! Now after a couple of trims by my farrier she is looking and moving so much better. Not saying they are all bad but as we know there are bad foot trimmers and bad farriers out there you just have to find one that you can trust to get it right.
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My Farrier does my barefoot trimming and is pretty scathing of a lot of barefoot trimmers. When our little sec A came back from her loan home where she had been trimmed by a foot trimmer her feet were terrible and completely the wrong shape, he had left her with really long toes and low heels! Now after a couple of trims by my farrier she is looking and moving so much better. Not saying they are all bad but as we know there are bad foot trimmers and bad farriers out there you just have to find one that you can trust to get it right.
That's def true about good and bad on both sides, I had to move the other way to sort out my horse and Pony's problems (horse carrier left with incredibly long hinds which was v bad for his arthritic joints and made him drag, pony trimmed for a field rather than for work and over trimmed soles and frogs making her prone to lameness and with sore toes. All sorted now by the trimmer within a few months. If you are happy where you are stick with what suits, but if you do ever need to look for a trimmer look for a local UKNHCP trimmers as they have good training and oversight and try to work with vets and farriers.
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Thanks for your replies, we did look to get a barefoot trimmer as both our ponies are barefoot, but struggled to find one, asked our vet, they weren't even sure. So went to a farrier and she has done an amazing job, they look so much better, she was very gentle with our little Gem to so we're happy.
thanks again
Kirsty
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stick with a real farrier - they are experts in things like laminitis etc. there are many barefoot trimmers that are horrendous but they also don't learn physiology the way a farrier has.
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Daisy's mum, which farrier do you use?
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Daisy's mum, which farrier do you use?
Gareth Hicks
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Thank you, my farrier very inconsiderately moved to Lochaber!
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stick with a real farrier - they are experts in things like laminitis etc. there are many barefoot trimmers that are horrendous but they also don't learn physiology the way a farrier has.
They might learn it but I've learned 100x more physiology, diet, everything from my trimmer in a few months than in 15 years from any farrier I've used ! (even the good farriers who've done a good job on hooves have been almost non existent in communication or advice about diet, physiology etc). Have to repeat the 'it depends on the individual' thing. good farriers are good, good trimmers and good.
Also it depends when they did the learning, some learned before the advent of mobile x rays and scans which have led to massively more info about what's going on inside the hoof and leg. Thankfully this has meant that horses with navicular are no longer always shot as Incurable and heart bar shoes are no longer the default option for lame horses :-)))
The ideal is a farrier (who has the years of training) who is also barefoot friendly. But in the absence of that, owners should judge by results for their horse.
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stick with a real farrier - they are experts in things like laminitis etc. there are many barefoot trimmers that are horrendous but they also don't learn physiology the way a farrier has.
I agree with Shygirl, I want a professional, with years of training to attend to my animals, not someone who has done a course over a few months
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iv never had a problem with getting my farrier to trim my natives feet and not shoe them.
the danger with barefoot trimmers is they have let some horses suffer horrendously and quite famously with cases of laminitis etc paring away their hooves thinking they are healing them, and niave owners have let them do this. the way a farrier treats laminitis and liases with the vet is not the way a barefoot trimmer would.
im sure many people can trim a horses foot but it can be easy to ruin a horse if the feet arent balanced etc as the strain of an uneven foot goes up the leg.
i have 6 ponies and 3 of which i would say havent got perfect feet/legs and need a competent farrier, even though they are all without shoes.
theres a really nice lady farrier in your area. she is very gentle and really competant.
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My farrier did zilch liaison on my Pony's lami, trimmer was wonderful. So there ARE cases where Sweeping generalisations aren't helpful. It depends on the trimmer or farrier concerned!!! Rubbish ones and great ones of both. Farriers should I agree know more, in theory, however I have seen horrendous cases of farriers so it isn't always the case.
The bit I agree on is that owners who don't want to know anything about diet or hooves should stick with a farrier. But that's not the kind of owner I aspire to be. Owners should be critical and prepared to learn about hoof health and diet whichever they use ideally.
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I have had the same farrier for years. He is very good with my bunch although none wear shoes. He did shoe my horses when I was still riding. Thanks to him taking the time to teach me how to trim I can do the ponies if need be but Pitstop has had laminits in the past so leave him for Chris. You have to be able to trust your farrier and your vet to do the best for your animals