contracted hoof frog is almost gone

Question

frog   I have a paint gelding. I bought him in September. I noticed he seemed to be slightly limping once in awhile. I had the farrier out and he said his feet were fine. I took him to the vet in November. The vet said it was thrush and told me how to treat it. I have used koppertox. He has access to 12 acres and a barn if he chooses. I feed a high quality grain and he has access to hay along with his pasture. He is never stalled. I need to know how to fix this problem for him. I don't want him to be in pain.

Answer
Hi Jodi,

Sorry to hear about your trouble. This is what else you can try. Mix sugar with povidine iodine until it is like peanut butter, pack this around the frog area. You may want to wrap the hoof with vet wrap to hold it in the hoof. Keep the horse in a stall for about 2 - 4 hours. If you don't see improvement in a few days, go with four hours. Another option is to take 3 - 4 oz of bleach and mix in a gallon of water. Use a spray bottle to apply it to the frog area 2 - 3 times a day. If neither of these work after a week get back in touch with your vet. This will help with the thrush but not the contracted hoof. If the horse has shoes and you can stop using him, pull the shoes an keep him turned out. This can sometimes help with hoof contracture. Another possibility is that there is more going on in the hoof that the vet and farrier didn't catch. Make sure you are using a fulltime equine vet and an qualified farrier. I don't know anything about who you are using so don't take this to mean you should replace them.

Let me know how it goes.
Paul