Posted by ljvcc on December 31, 2000 at 22:47:09:
In Reply to: Re: Thanks, but one more thing... posted by Rick Burten on March 11, 2000 at 16:53:15:
:
: : If the other farriers are using something such as Blue Stuff and then packing it and shoeing....how is that different than using the product and packing it or having it pack with dirt? If they are not having to resect with shoes on, why would you have to resect barefoot? And if I DID resect, would I have to built a tiny bar shoe for this donkey? Thanks again.
: Abby
: Allowing the area to repack with dirt, even after it is medicated does not make sense to me. Why would you want to recontaminate the area? For me, choosing to resect depends on the degree of involvement. Of late, many farriers feel that they can control the infection without a resection, I do not feel that way and generally remove the hoofwall over the cavity created. The other advantage , for me, in resecting is that I can more effectively debride the tissue and leave less chance that I will miss some of the infection.
: Depending on how much hoof wall loss there is, you may or may not have to build a bar shoe, and it may have to have a heart bar too. Alternatively, you could make it out of one of the hard, thick plastic pad materials or use one of the glue-on products. Also, you could make it out of aluminum and using Grand Circuit, Equilox, Equathane, etc, ammend it directly to the hoof. You will have to be careful not to get glue into the resected area. You can use play dough to cover the area during the application, and then easily remove it.
: Also, have your owner check with the vet about adding Vit. A to the feed ration. Henry Heymering has reported some good results in aiding healing by adding 100,000 I.U. daily to the ration of horses. I would guess that that amount would have to be proportionally adjusted for a mini, and I do not know the effect of that vitamin on donkeys, so a chat with the vet is in order.
: Again, I personally do not cover up a WLD area with a shoe without a resection, so I don't have problems with aftercare.
: Rick
: : :
: : : : 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.
: : : Abby
: : : I have been most successful treating WLD with Merthiolate. As deep as this involvement appears to be, you may well have to do al least a partial resection to get it cleared up. Digging out the cavity, and leaving the animal barefoot/non-resected, will allow too much debris to reaccumulate in the cavity and may exacerbate the problem. WLD does not appear to be transferred by tools, and further it is an opportunistic infection. this is why we see it in some animals and not others in the same herd, and even only in some feet of afflicted animals. I have talked to other farriers who have good success with the Blue Stuff, but the other treatments you mention have appeared to be much less than successful.
: : : WLD itself appears to be the result of an aggressive attack of the Stratum Medium by a symbiotic alliance of yeast, fungi and bacteria,with at least the yeast or fungi and the bacteria always present.
: : : You might want to check the archives for more information on WLD.
: : : When I am debriding an area that I suspect is WLD, I try to always wear eye protection and a mask. I don't want those critters in my eyes or lungs and since I will , after using my knife and other cutters, use a dremel tool, there is a lot of nasty dust flying around. Remember, WLD does not directly affect the white line., but in attacking the stratum medium it does weaken/destroy the laminar bonds and thus if not agressively dealt with can lead to some serious consequences.
: : : Rick