Favorite eye ointment: Triple Antibiotic Ointment with Bacitracin, Neomycin Sulfate, and Polymycin B Sulfate. You can buy this at Walmart or any drug store for less $4.00 and it's the exact same thing the vet gives you for a weepy eye. Much cheaper and really works! Just apply twice a day for a few days and eye is better. If the eye is swollen and you can see a corneal scratch, call a vet. That is not the same thing as a annoyed, weepy eye and may require more aggressive treatment by a veterinarian. Note: This information was given to me by a vet so believe me and save!
Favorite treatment for Abscesses: The vets won't like this but abscesses will heal themselves. The best thing you can do for your horse is give it a couple of tablets of bute a day for a week or so and baby the horse a bit for your own peace of mind. Keep the horse turned out so it can move which increases blood flow so the abscess either blows out or disintegrates inside the hoof. But check to make sure the horse was not kicked or otherwise injured, of course. If not, and the horse is suddenly dead lame on one hoof, it is usually an abscess. Take a couple of aspirin for your own headache and wait it out. But don't allow anyone to dig it out! This is counterproductive to healing and can actually introduce bacteria into the hoof and cause problems! No need to wrap the hoof either. It just annoys the horse and doesn't help it's healing one iota. Wrap your own foot if it makes you feel better. :) Some drawing products like Epsoms salt may help a little bit.
Favorite fly spray: ESPREE ALOE HERBAL HORSE SPRAY - Inexpensive and really works and a natural product! Also, Skin So Soft by Avon wards off ticks so we put some in our fly spray to keep them at bay. We also mix a bit of the regular fly sprays in with the natural and Skin So Soft when the flies are really bad. Sometimes nothing works but hiding in a stall.
Favorite horse riding boots: EASY BOOT EPICS or CAVALLO SIMPLE BOOT. I like the Epics better than all the rest because they stay on and don't tend to rub. Boa boots aren't bad either though they are a bit clunky and get in the horse's way sometimes. The Cavallo's are nice but don't fit every horse well.
Favorite thrush medications: WOUND KOTE/BLUE KOTE SPRAY OR FURAZONE SPRAY FOR WOUNDS. Wound Kote is that purple spray most have seen for years to spray on wounds but I've found it really works to kill thrush. The Furazone spray or ointment works too but the ointment is messy and best only for stuffing in the slit in the back of the frog on contracted hooves to open them up. These products kill thrush and make weak, thrushy frogs healthy again. Apply at least twice per week on clean frogs and bottom's of the hooves. FYI: The product, NFZ ointment, is sometimes cheaper than Furazone but is exactly the same thing.
Mythbuster: Thrush is NOT caused by mud though over-moisturized hooves are a bit more likely to harbor thrush than dry hooves. Thrush is caused by hooves that do not expand properly upon impact which is the product of poor trims/unhealthy hooves/rehabbing hooves and/or horses in shoes.
Favorite treatment of rainrot: BABY OIL. Most rain rot is just dry, crusty skin. Do not pull off scabs (ouch!), just rub in baby oil and in a day or two the scabs will come right off. If baby oil does not work alone, mix with a little Betadine and apply.
Favorite horse book: THE SOUL OF A HORSE by Joe Camp -Author of Benji movies - www.thesoulofahorse.com. This book is about herd behavior and how a horse thinks. Nice, enjoyable, informative read.
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