Horse's Frog Problem

[dumbass]

Hi, My pure bred arab horse has completely lost his frogs for the second winter running. To the point that his left with a lump of pink flesh in the middle of his frog. Does anyone know what could be causing this?

[NazNomad]

Thrush?

[ljdksa]

Is he out in a muddy field? Try Stockholm tar to prevent the frogs disintegrating from the wetness.

[mccfluff]

"frogs" please put me out of my misery

(sorry ***)

[NazNomad]

Fluff, easier to show you this ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_%28horse%29

[Barmaid]

The frog is a triangular bit of flesh on the bottom of a hoof Fluffy which contacts with the ground.

I'd say thrush might be the problem too - although never encountered this with any of mine.

[mccfluff]

thanks, nothing like what i was imagining :-)

[society]

Omg, thank goodness for you sensible and knowledgeable folk!
After reading the OP I thought this was a wind-up... until I read Barmaid's response and Naz's link. :-)

[Barmaid]

I used to paint mine over the hoof AND on the frog with hoof paint, although this was 20 years ago and I can't for the life of me think what it was called.

[Barmaid]

lol Society.

dumbass, I'd get a farrier out asap.

[Barmaid]

Sorry, my *** were referring to the OP, but the AB filter kicked in.

[ruthann58]

try painting with formaldehyde 3 or 4 times a day you can buy it from the chemist but you will have to ask for it

[clipclop1]

A good way of cushioning I found with my horse was to get a nappy, yes a nappy! And fit it around the hoof so that the absorbant part is covering the frog, you could also put extra cushioning under here too... then get some duck tape and strap it all up... they find it very hard to get off! That should stop any extra dirt etc getting in..

[ljdksa]

Wasn't it Stockholm tar, Barmaid?

[ruthann58]

further to clipclops post i also find sanitary towels make great wound dressings far cheaper then dressings from the vet

[NazNomad]

Pampers and Tenalady aside, I'd do what BM suggests and get your farrier to have a look asap.

[Clanad]

While it's a good idea for your farrier or even veterinarian to take a look, if it is thrush, as I suspect, my thoroughly worn copy of Natural Horse Care has this to say:
"The back half of the frog peels off in deep layers, and the frog is narrow rather than being a wide, healthy triangle. The diseased tissue is light gray to white in color, or black between the peeling layers; healthy frog is medium gray".

Treatment can be very effective... one that's recommended and that we've used on cow ponies successfully here in the western U.S.is:
"After trimming away all "shedding" or peeling frog material with a sharp hoof knife -- sharp so that you can cleanly cut away the diseased part. You may see deep, black cracks; trim till all the black is gone and all remaining frog is open to the air. This will let the treatment get to all infected areas. Your horse may be sore in the heels for a few days, but frog grows back really fast when the fungus finally gets treated.
Followed by using Borax cleaning powder (a laundry product, such as "20 Mule Team Borax" or "Boraxo"), which is available at hardware stores and builders supply stores or at the drug store (ya'll call it "chemist", no?) Borax works by changing the pH (acidity) of the frog to a more alkaline range so that the fungus is unable to reproduce. Borax is found to be successful, easy to deal with, and inexpensive.
Use 1 Tablespoon borax powder in a bucket with enough warm water to cover the foot. Add 1 dropper of Calendula tincture, an herb that helps with skin conditions, and soak 15 minutes, 4 to 10 times over several weeks to a month. On the in-between days you can soak a cotton ball with this solution and stuff it into the central sulcus. You can stop soaking when there is obvious new growth in the center of the frog."

[squarebear]

That's a coincidence because my frog has lost his horse.

[B00]

I'd also follow ljdksa advice, or question- is he or she out in a wet muddy field? It's ok treating the hooves, but if you're not not sorting out the source, it'll keep happening.

[dumbass]

Farrier has looked at horse's feet this time and last winter and there is no sign of thrush in foot. Horse is out during the day but is brought in every night and stabled on sawdust which I always keep as dry as possible. Have spoken to another farrier who has seen this a few times over the past two winters and it's always in pure bred Arabians. Thank you all for your answers.