Borax for soaking feet?

[alove4horses]

Has anyone ever heard of using Borax for soaking feet? I heard that it is supposed to help with thrushy, mushy/ unhealthy feet. Has anyone used it before? Did it work? I am thinking of giving it a try. My horse has been on stall rest for a while and his feet are begining to get a bit soft. I keep his stall as clean as possible but I think the lack of movement is getting to them...

[striderrider]

What is borax? I have only ever heard of using epsom salts to soak the feet for abcesses and things like that...

[CatherineJ]

I happen to be an expert in the thrushy feet department Borax is a wonderful tool for curing thrush and canker. Its a very old laundry soap that is drying and quite concentrated. When My horse had terrible thrush we scrubbed his feet once a day with borax and soaked them with borax. worked better than any other crappy thrush medication. Keep it simple, and if your horse has thrush have a good look at the overall condition and shape of the foot and frog. Bad shoeing, bad feet = Lameness & Thrush!!!

[peppysan]

I have used Borax and it can be a great thrush/bacterial/fungal remedy for the feet. When I used it I could see the results even just after one soaking. The great thing about Borax is that it does not sting the horse like betadine or other thrush medications can. It is gentle so your horse will tolerate the soaking day after day.

I would soak each affected foot for about 10 minutes a day for a week and then see where you are at. At this point you can probably cut down to 1-2 times a week. I would use about a table spoon with enough water in a bucket to completely cover the feet.

hope this helps!