Mud Fever - aarrgghh

[Lucy J]

Ciara now has mud fever.

I give up. I know about it and recognised it, but what is the best way to treat it?

sort of kills my idea of wanting to keep her out at grass though, although she has never had it before.

she is slightly lame too, could this be the mud fever? one leg is particularly bad, but all 4 are affected.

help:(

[sozzie]

You just don't have any luck at the moment Lucy:( . Do the people that bring her in for you wash her legs down? There's an article in todays Horse & Hound about those chaps horses can wear do keep their legs clean but it also said that it's a good idea to wash the legs down with cold water so you don't open the pores to infection, and then dry the legs with a towel and put those drying bandage thingies on. I've not had to treat it before as we've been lucky with the ponies.(Glad you've got your broadband now).

[Lucy J]

i have to say, its my fault she has mud fever. i am not there everynight to hose her legs down. the yard owner doesn't do it for me. i am away this week and won't be back at the yard till next thursday, all i could leave her with was a big tub of vaseline, although she does have some expensive cream for it that she gave me to use.

i am just praying the ground will dry up a bit more.

[Bebe]

Please don't get the yard staff to hose her legs down everynight, it's much more likely to make the mudfever worse. The best thing to do is try to get the legs dry at least every other day, brush the mud off and apply a barrier of some sort.

What works for Bebe when she has mudfever (none this year!) is to wash the affected areas with warm water and diluted hibiscrub, pick off the scabs that are soft enough to come off without upsetting her, leave her in overnight for her legs to dry and then apply Wondergel (made by Gold Label, good stuff) before she goes out in the morning. I keep doing this until all the scabs are gone and as soon as they are, I don't wash her legs anymore. When I do wash her legs I only do the scabby bits, not the rest if I can help it.

Once the mudfever has cleared up, usually takes a week or so doing the above routine, I apply Leg Guard to her legs. This is also made by Gold Label and provides a barrier against the wet and has tea tree and other nice stuff in to help prevent bacteria from taking hold. This is all I've done this year and she hasn't had 1 scab of mudfever (touch wood) and she lived out until about 3 weeks ago.

It could be the mudfever causing her to be lame, if it's bad enough on that leg. If it is, you might be looking at a vets visit to get it cleared up properly.

Vaseline won't get rid of the mudfever but once it's gone you could use it as a preventative. I've tried it in the past but found it was too messy.

If the yard owner won't wash her legs to get the scabs off, and you can't go up everyday to do it, could you buy some Aromaheel cream from www.aromesse.com? You can apply this direct to the scabs and you're supposed to leave it on and only reapply every couple of days. It works to soften and remove the scabs by itself so no need for washing, but it also provides a barrier whilst out in the field. I've used it in the past and it's very good stuff but gets a bit expensive when your horse needs to be coated from hock/knee to just above the coronet every day on all four legs!

[Lucy J]

thanks bebe, good advice. i've asked for her to be kept in today at least. i'll need to pay more attention to her, i feel really bad that she's got mud fever. :(

[Piaffe]

Agree with Bebe - I don't wash them AT ALL - just let them dry naturally then brush off the mud, rub the area with your fingers to loosen any scabs and apply sudocrem/udder cream which will help remove any stubborn scabs.

Best thing is to keep the legs as dry as possible - so stay away from muddy tracks when riding out etc.

[nutkin]

What Bebe and Piaffe have said is right. Washing the legs every day makes them more prone to mud fever. Use a good mud guard over dry legs after brushing off any old mud. At our yard we have a big problem with mud though fortunately not too many horses suffer with mud fever. Also use anything with Aloe vera in it as that seems to work wonders at both soothing any existing mud fever and preventing it. Mud fever can cause lameness if it is left untreated or the legs are left wet as the legs will become very sore.

[tubby]

Must add that when you pull the scabs of you MUST remove them from the stable etc as they have the bacteria on them & can reinfect the legs. Would agree that it can cause lameness in one leg as I had one that it did.His leg swelled up right to the knee & I remember paying £37 for antibiotics eeeek ( this was nine yrs ago as well. Call the vet & get it treated before it gets worse & more expensive. :):)

[tasha]

I swear by Malaseb! Its an anti bacterial and antifungal shamppo-scrub it on the affected area, leave for 10mins and rinse off. Then put a cream on.

Mine only get it in the summer though :rolleyes:

[Jamey]

When my horse had mud fever I was advised to use Hibiscrub (stuff they use in hospitals to scrub up apparently but also available from Robinsons) when hosing off his legs and use about three towels to make sure his legs were as dry as I could get them. Then apply a barrier cream such as MSM. If you're going to use Vaseline make sure the legs are completely dry before applying it, otherwise the moisture is sealed in next to the skin.