For those of you who have actually read my earlier blog posts or followed my pitiful face book statuses in the past couple of months you probably know all about my trials and tribulations with Rio's feet. For those who don't I'll try to give a quick recap... I apologize in advance for the size of this post. It was really met to be spread out as updates over 10-14 days, but lord knows I can't keep up with anything! If you've read the other posts you can skip over the back story and go straight to our verdict on the Cowboy Magic Product!
- Back Story -
Rio has lived most of his life on close to 100 acres of grass pasture. He's had a simple life, getting very little grain, only getting hay in winter months when things were dry, getting his feet trimmed every 6-8 weeks. He's never worn shoes, and he's never been on any other supplements. He WAS an uncomplicated pony until we moved to Central Florida.
For those who live in Orlando you'll sympathize with us. There is pretty much NO pasture turn out for horses! So Rio moved into a stall with an attached paddock. He also went through a major diet change switching to free choice coastal and starting on grain... nutrition is a whole other blog post all on its own so I won't go into major detail right now, but I attribute the change in life style and nutrition and a slew of crappy farriers to the root of our problems.
July through early October we lived through several re-occurring abscesses, and 3 changes in farrier.
Just when I thought we had the abscesses cleared up he started to show signs of thrush.
I tried cleaning his stall myself, putting down lime and extra shavings to keep things as dry and clean as possible. I tried soaking the feet in a 10% bleach solution. I tried spraying them with apple cyder vinegar. I tried pretty much every thrush product known to man. Nothing worked with consistency. None of the treatments were quick and easy. The chemical products like coppertox, dursoul and thrush buster were messy, dried the hoof wall out, iterated my skin and left it a pretty shade of blue green.
And then I found a trial for a new Cowboy Magic Thrush Killer product. They needed 100 horses to test the product and they were giving it to the testers for free. So we gave it a try... what could it really hurt? And, if you made it through reading all that bravo to you! So what's the verdict on this CM product?
WE LOVE COWBOY MAGIC!
Cowboy Magic was looking to verify that (1) the product does indeed kill thrush, (2) that it does not dry the hoof wall and (3) that it does not stain or irritate your skin or the horses skin/feet.
And, unlike so many other products on the market it does exactly what it claims it should do!
I saw a significant difference in his feet with in a few days and continued improvement over about 2 weeks of treatments. Further more it was very easy to apply, not messy or irritating, and the product lasts. One eight oz. bottle lasted 2 weeks of daily treatment. The CM product was the consistency of a thick hand soap so it tended to stay put until you could get it scrubbed into the foot rather then run off like so many of the liquid based products. It was also very time efficient. I found the product worked weather I scrubbed the feet clean first with soap and water or simply picked it, brushed as much dirt away as possible and applied the medication. It did not dry the foot. It did not bother my skin, though in all honesty I never got any on my skin because the product stays where you put it! I'd let the product soak into the foot on a clean concrete surface for 2-5 minutes and throw him back in his stall. No half our soaking sessions.
This is what the product looks like. It comes in a squeezable bottle. You simply squeeze a portion onto the foot and then use the back of a hoof pick with scrubbing bristles to spread the product over the entire foot.
I took pictures of all 4 feet every day of treatment through the first ten days and then after his most recent trim about a week ago, but to post every single picture here would make this post even bigger so what I'm showing you is a selection of shots over the ten days of the worst of the feet.
Nov. 26, 2011 Prior to any treatment, but scrubbed clean with soap & water
Notice the black coloration, the cracking feet, craters in the sulci (sp?) of the frog, and the deep crack that goes up into his heal. Here his feet have been scrubbed clean with soap and water so you can really see the damage to the foot.
Nov. 25, 2011 worst of the four feet
Even after only one treatment the coloration of the foot is better & it may be my imagination, but that big old crack in the top of the frog/heal of the foot is looking a bit less nasty to me.
Nov. 28, 2011
Notice I'm getting lazy. I haven't scrubbed the feet with soap and water here. I've simply picked and brushed them as clean as possible The frog is slowly starting to heal and the cracks in the heal are less pronounced.
Rio's best foot Dec. 26, 2011 One month post treatment
As you can see, sort of anyways.... this is not the best angle or photo the crack that goes all the way up his heal is much less pronounced if not gone. The frog isn't eaten away. What you can't tell from the photos is that the black discoloration and the yucky smell caused by thrush is most definitely gone! The foot is in the middle of shedding and the ground has been very dry so the foot looks a bit dry, but it's not so much from the product as it is from the those two circumstances. This is the best of the four feet. We are still having minor relapses in the back feet from time to time.
The good news is that the product works and I now have a fall back when we have relapses. I think I am still going to be in for a battle during the rainy wet season, and I am convinced that a change in nutrition will make a difference in prevention. I also FINALLY have an awesome farrier.
We have a road ahead of us to get him to were I truly want him to be, but he has many more good days then bad and I think we are finally finding a balance with the feet.
If you have had or are having issues with thrush I highly recommend this product. As soon as I find out when it will be on the market for general public you can bet I'll let you know where to get your hands on it!
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