Hoof fungus

Question
Hi Christine,

My horse is sensitive and has a major condition of hoof rott. It is so bad that she has holes that go more than half way up her hooves. She has recently been limping but i am unsure if its the rott or the way my farriers cut back her hooves so i can get to the fungus easier.
I have tried everything.
Soaking her hoof in copper sulphate crystals (5 mins each hoof).
Spraying Iodine on her hoof.
Spraying Copper on her hoof.
Sticking copper on cotton wool and sticking it up the hole.
Sticking Iodine on cotton wool and sticking it up the hole.

Please help before it gets worse.
Thanks a heap
Tiffany

Answer
Hello Tiffany,
I am not sure I can provide much help, but I do have some thoughts and possible suggestions. One thing, however, that may be very helpful is to see a picture of what your horse's hoof currently looks like, whether she is shod and what area of the country you live in - is it mainly dry, wet, in between? Is your horse currently stalled or turned out 24/7 or something in between? How big is the turnout area and how many horses is she turned out with in this area.
If it is really fungal disease that is eating your horse's hooves, then yes, cutting back the horn, sometimes very aggressively and letting air to the infected areas is the best thing. However, just cutting away top layers and not taking away all the infected areas until you are at the level of healthy horn may not be very effective. Recent studies with "white line disease", what may be affecting your horse's hoof have shown that continuous and very regular removal of infected hoof to the point of health
horn until a new hoof capsule is grown from the top down, plus careful attention to maintaining the proper balance on the hoof to avoid flares and hoof wall separation that allow entry of pathogens is what is needed to deal with this. Adding disinfectants to this way of managing white line disease did not add much and did not speed up the process.
So, keeping her barefoot to maintain good stimulation of the hoof, regular trimming and balancing, turnout on dry ground, limit moisture and urine soaked bedding and keeping her feet clean and dry why her horn gets debrieded regularly is key. You may not be able to ride her until she is more comfortable but if her lameness is not getting better, you may want to consult your vet to make sure there is not something else going on.
If you could send pictures and additional info would be great!

Thanks and take care,
Christine