Thrush (horse)
bacterial infection of the sole of a horse's hoof
Thrush is a very common bacterial infection that occurs on the hoof of a horse, specifically in the region of the frog. The bacterium involved is Fusobacterium necrophorum, and occurs naturally in the animal's environment—especially in wet, muddy, or unsanitary conditions, such as an unclean stall—and grows best with low oxygen. Horses with deep clefts, or narrow or contracted heels, are more at risk of developing thrush. The word thrush is the same term as used for oral candidiasis.
Symptoms
The most obvious sign of thrush is usually the odor that occurs when picking out the feet. Additionally, the infected areas of the hoof will be black in color (even on a dark-horned hoof), and will easily break or crumble when scraped with a hoof pick. When picking the hooves around thrush areas, the differences between healthy and infected areas can be seen when white or gray tissue (healthy frog) is surrounding a dark, smelly (infected) area.
Most horses do not become lame if infected with thrush. However, if left untreated, the bacteria may migrate deeper into the sensitive parts of the hoof, which will result in lameness. Then, the horse may also react when its feet are picked out, and blood may be seen.
“Thrush (horse)” enters the record as bacterial infection of the sole of a horse's hoof. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Thrush, horse and bacterial can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Thrush (horse)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Thrush, horse and bacterial provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2353089. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thrush (horse)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Thrush (horse) primary sources, Thrush (horse) archive and Thrush research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thrush (horse)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thrush (horse)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.