What is thrush?
Thrush is a yeast infection. Although its more common amongst girls, boys can also get the infection. For girls thrush usually causes itching, irritation, discharge, redness and swelling around the vagina. For boys symptoms included red, sore itchy penis. Thrush is not a sexually transmitted disease, however, it can be passed through sex if you don’t use a condom for protection. If you think you have thrush you can visit your local Doctor or click onto NHS website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or call the NHS Direct Helpline on 0845 4647 To treat thrush you can visit your local pharmacy for over the counter creams and tablets.
As you probably know, there is bacteria practically everywhere. Thrush occurs when some of this bacteria is on the bottom of the horses hoof and gets trapped in an anaerobic environment (one without oxygen, ie–wet, muddy). The result is a black, mushy, foul-smelling substance found in horses hooves (generally in or around the frog) is actually the hoof tissue being eaten away by this bacterium. Yikes! The easiest way to prevent this from occurring is to clean your horses feet regularly. Also, talk to your farrier about the structure of your horses hooves. Horses with contracted heels are extremely prone to thrush, while horses with good expansion may not need their hooves cleaned as often. Proper and consistent hoof trimming can help maintain a natural hoof form/function that does not provide an environment where thrush can thrive.
