Thrush is making our horse Zip lame! Rural Thursday

I've had horses my whole life, and I've had them get thrush before, but never anything like this.  However, weeks of daily rains, wet grass, and muddy corners of pasture have done a number on Zip's hooves.  I got him out to lunge him recently and noticed he was slightly lame.  Two days later, slightly lame again.  I looked him over well and the only thing I could find was a slight crack in the heel of his hoof.  So a few days later, when the vet was out to administer rabies shots, I asked if that could be the cause of his lameness.

He said, "Hmmm, could be.  Looks like thrush.  Let me trim this up with a hoof knife and take a better look."  He trimmed it, which made the crack more visible, and then lo and behold stuck his finger in the crack about an inch and a half deep!  Shudder!  The vet said, "Yup, that's definitely the problem!"

So what did the vet give me for Zip?  A treatment for cows, of course.  He said this Bovine Foot and Heel Spray worked better than any of the horse treatments.  For $38 I should hope so. 

It's a gel, so it sticks in place.  Zip doesn't like it - I think it must sting a little.  Sadly, the rain has kept him from healing very much, but I'm hoping his thrush will dry out soon so he can feel better and I can get out riding! 

It's Rural Thursday, so now is your chance to jump in with your own animal stories (hopefully not as gross as mine), recipes, crafts, walks in the woods, or anything else that fits in with a rural mindset.  You can link up at A Rural Journal or right here!  Just grab the code for the button and add it to your post.  Then come link up your url and be sure to visit and comment on at least 5 other posts!  Looking forward to reading and looking at your pictures this week!