Posted by Abby Koop ARK Farrier Service on March 09, 2000 at 00:28:19:
Hi, I just did a mini donkey today that appears to have WLD. It is not common in this area and is the first case I have seen here. I had it pointed out to me however, on a horse at the wetter coast. It is fairly dry here. I first trimmed this donkey about 2 months ago. They called me because they said the donkey was 'sore' and they blamed the last farrier for trimming her too short. I went to look at the donkey and trimmed back the heels only as the toes were short and peeling away but the heels were long and forcing her to stand almost totally upright. She has apparently foundered previously. There was no sign of any fungus that I could see at his point. Today there was a 'mousy coloured', sort of grey-brown, 'fuzzy' substance along the quarters and towards the heels. The toe is still chipped away and there is no apparent degeneration at the white line at this point. I picked out the fungus as best as I could, probably about half way up the hoof wall at the deepest part. I did not apply anything topical as I have not had experience with this and told the owner I would research it and get back to her. I have read the above posts regarding Blue Stuff, iodine, apple cider vinegar, copper sulphate crystals and tea tree oil, etc. When using the copper sulphate, is it a one time application? To the farriers who are using the Thrush Buster, is that similar to other thrush medications (Copper-Tox, Copper Sept, etc)? I have not seen Thrush Buster in my area. Also, *is* WLD transferable via tools? And if so, what do you disinfect your tools with? Where does WLD actually COME FROM? There is another donkey in the same pasture which is not affected. Any help would be much appreciated. I do not plan to do a resection or apply any shoes.