Iodine and horse hoof?
Iodine is great for hardening the hoof and killing thrush. I’m with you – everybody wants to push the expensive commercial products when some of the oldtime simple cures work better and are a lot cheaper. Another one that’s even better for hardening the soles – especially if you’re trying to leave your horse barefoot – is just painting plain turpentine on them. While it wouldn’t hurt to paint the outside of the hoof, it’s not necessary and you want to be careful to avoid getting either one of these on the coronet band or into the hairline as it can scurf(mild blister) them. I’ve been using them both for decades and know from experience – not just from reading books – that they are very effective and NOT harmful if used correctly.
If you have good feet, why put chemicals on your horse? Doesn’t make sense. A proper barefoot trim, good overall hoof care, and a healthy environment is key. I would never put extraneous chemicals on my horse’s healthy feet. Iodine is damaging to the hoof. If, by chance, there is an opening somewhere, even if it is minute, iodine kills healthy tissue and is therefore detrimental. I agree with you that topicals and dressings are useless and harmful. If you horse has good nutrition, supplements are also useless and can be harmful because they cause an imbalance. However, iodine and 99.9% of all commercial “thrush” medications, while they may kill some of the thrush, they also kill healthy tissue, leaving an available food supply of dead tissue just waiting for the next opportunity for a breakout. It becomes self perpetuating with these products. They are so harmful. Hope your luck holds.
