Canker
What is canker and what can you do about it?
Canker is thought to be very similar to bovine papilloma virus. It grows like a cancer, with fingerlike protushions. Part of the battle is getting it to dry out, which helps to shed the fingers. The canker produces a nasty odor that is unique to the disease, and is worse than thrush, Treating the foot with antibacterial/antifungal treatments helps to eliminate the canker as well. Managing the diet makes a big difference in canker. Most of the horses diagnosed seem to have some insulin resistant tendencies. There is a definite flare up in Cricket’s case when she gets ahold of anything with too much sugar, such as mesquite beans. It is a LONG process to get canker cleared up.
Dr. Lisa Splawn up at Weems and Stephens in Aubrey has had success treating canker with debridement, applying a hospital plate, and packing the foot with a paste made of metronidazole and cisplastin. This helped for awhile.
Currently Cricket is undergoing treatment following Dr. Frank Reilly’s canker protocol.
