Posted by Danvers on April 07, 2003 at 10:32:16:
In Reply to: white sole? posted by Joyce on April 06, 2003 at 20:51:32:
: my mare recently had a bad case of thrush and after treating it (with bleach) the entire bottom of her hooves are white ..what could this be? its on both hind hooves.. it was realy wet and rainy when I fist noticed it, but since then the ground is realy dry, and it hasnt gone away. shes also had the same shoes on her hind hooves for a while and the wall has grown out longer then the rest of her hoof.. could that have anything to do with it? I finaly got hold of a farrier and im having him over saturday and Im going to ask him about it then. But for now I was wondering what you could tell me, if anything..
Joyce,
Overly hydrated hooves will sometimes take on such a look, especially when they're overgrown and there's sole hanging on that would be exfoliating if the moisture levels were more "normal."
I doubt that the bleach had anything to do with it. I would caution, however, against using bleach and other caustics as a treatment for thrush. While they won't do any damage to a hoof that is functioning normally and properly, these caustics shouldn't be applied to compromised hooves, which aren't providing a barrier to protect the sensitive tissues.
~~Danvers