# How can I help my horses frogs grow?



## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

If the horse appears sore and is avoiding the rear of it's hoof, then there's a good chance it's because of the thrush. Thrush can be painful to horses and they'll walk on their toes to avoid the pain.

First thing to do would be to treat the thrush with something. There's lots of different things you can use. Some good, some not so good.

I've used apple cider vinegar before, and I've also used something which has been termed, "Petes Goo". Which is neosporin, "I use the cheaper generic version", and an antifungal cream that has 1% clortrimazole. Mix that up 50/50 and apply it into the deep thrushy cracks.

The next thing I would recommend is lots of stimulation to the rear of the hoof. It's kind of one of those scenarios where the horse is avoiding the rear of it's hoof cus it's painful. But at the same time if it gets stimulation back there it will help to, "outrun", the thrush. Boots and pads can be helpful for this. You can vary the degree of padding so that the horse is getting stimulation to it's frog with heel first landings. Then as the thrush begins to go away you can hang the boots and pads up.

I'm not saying that boots and pads are a necessity. But I've used em before to help stimulate the hoof and "outrun" thrush.


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## rosethorn (May 6, 2010)

My horse has a very bad case of thrush as well. My farrier told me to get Cleantrax from valley vet supply. Its a little vile of powder that is put into the cleantrax boot with a gallon of water and let it soak for 30-45 minutes. the cleantrax penetrates even the most hard to reach places and kills all the thrush but does not harm live tissue like the other "remedies" out there. I learned just this last month when i got this new farrier that thrush buster is one of the worst things to put on your horse's feet, along with bleach, and anything with caustic materials in it. I do however want to try the "petes goo" to see if it will help with healthy frog growth, but as totalfreedom stated your horse needs stimulation to help with frog growth. lots of walking even if its hand walking.


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## Shalani (Jul 16, 2009)

I had the same problem .
My farrier told me to (after treating the thrush of which I used ACV ) get some memory foam , bout 2cm thick and cut to the shape of my horses hoof and tape it on with Duct tape. Leave it on for a few hours every day .... Depending on how your horse reacts is weather you leave them stabled , turned out or take them for a walk.

The memory foam forces frog stimulation & frog stimulation creates growth .

You do need a new piece of foam each time but its pretty cheap .

My horse has all her frog padding back now , It worked fantastically !


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## Christine1003 (Nov 26, 2010)

Thank you so much for all of your replies. The thrush is gone now...for the most part I think due to the weather drying up a little bit. But I will try the remedies you suggested to kill anything left of it. He was wearing down his toes alot(was barefoot) so I had him shod on the front last week to reduce the wear of his hooves. The memory foam and hoof stimulation I will also do. Anything to get frog back and make him 100% comfortable


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

You may not have gotten rid of the thrush completely. I would do a couple of White Lightening hoof soaks and keep treating the frogs with a healthy topical like "No Thrush" until you see noticable growth. 
http://www.nothrushshop.com

A good hoof supplement that's high in Copper/Zinc would be a good choice as well, like Source Focus HF. I have had great results with it.


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