foot problems

[dcp]

Hello, My horse spends a lot of time in wet muddy conditions. I haven't been washing his feet everynight because I don't want him to get mud fever. His frogs are not smelly but quite soft and soggy. They also have what I can only describe as splits in them like old stuff hanging off. I have washed them with warm water and hibiscrub then dried off. What else could I use? I also want to kep him protected from mud fever but as I don't put him out every morning I can't put lotions on him. Is there anything I could use at night time? My farrier is coming out soon so hopefully he can solve the frog problems. What do others do to protect their horses?

[Bebe]

Mudfever first, you could try Gold Label Leg Guard. I use it for my mare, it's a lotion which you put onto clean, dry legs (I've got away with using it on damp legs before but wouldn't do it long term). It works really well to prevent mudfever, loads of people on my yard swear by it. A little goes a long way too.

As for the frogs, if you've got infection (cheesy smell, black looking tissue, deep central sulcus) then you could scrub them with Borax solution (2 tsps Borax to a litre of water) and then apply Sudocream to the affected areas. You could do this at night. If they're not infected, just soft and soggy, you could try taping disposable nappies onto the feet at night, it helps to dry the frog out.

You should ask your farrier to cut off any dead tissue from the frogs, if it stays attached it just gives the bugs that cause thrush extra food and can make the problem worse.

[Jessey]

Your farrier should trim back the dead parts of the frog which will expose the healthy tissue underneath, the chances are (so long as there is no infection) you won't need to do anything else. If you are comfortable (or get your farrier to show you next time) you can just trim off the flappy bits of frog with scissors or a knife as this will reduce the spaces for bugs to get in and hide out so should help prevent problems.
I think you can apply Iodine to help dry things up and make sure there are no bugs lurking but I tend not to worry to much unless they get really bad.

J x

[dcp]

his frogs are nice and dry in the morning. Would it be ok t use purple spray on his frogs to keep them clean before he goes to bed?

A few horses have developed mud fever. They usually wash their horses feet every night then rub dry. My boy had a tiny black scab on his leg what can I do to prevent it? Tonight I washed his legs with warm water and hibscrub dried (not rubbed) hi legs then applied sudocream. Am I doing things the right way Help??

[shirley]

Sudocream is good as it does have an antibacterial barrier in it, but so do lots of other creams that are much better and give longer barrier protection. Be careful about washing legs down everynight, as this will cause the natural oils to come out of the skin and since cannot dry the legs out properly will cause them to chap rather like our own skin if not dried properly each time we wet them.
I use a tea tree oil shampoo as this has antibacterial properties and does not strip the oils out of the area, then towel dry and put on Thermatex leg wraps overnight. In the morning then apply Protocon cream all over the lower leg working it into the skin as much as I can. Then leave for several days 3 - 4, then shampoo off old stuff and do the same again. Did this the first year our little mare got mud fever and worked really well. If you cannot put barrier on in the morning then think about keeping in for the day and doing it on an evening and then turning out as normal the next day.
There are lots of other barrier creams you could use Udder Cream, even good old Vaseline would do as well I actually put mine on Mud Guard by NAF, not all the year round, normally from end of September until they go out onto summer turnouts in about late April, year I did not was the year they all got mud fever.
Hope this helps, really you are doing everything right, but sudocream may not be as long acting as some other things on the market, so take a look at what others use and see if something is better value, as sudocream can be expensive in the long run.

[Bay Mare]

A few horses have developed mud fever. They usually wash their horses feet every night then rub dry.

One of the best ways to get mud fever!

Washing softens the skin which makes it easier for the bacteria to penetrate the skin. It also means that it's easier to abrade the skin when it's rubbed dry which in turn gives easier access to the bacteria. Rubbing the legs dry, no matter how gently, is going to cause SOME abrasion to the skin. Even if there's just a small speck of dirt or sand it is going to rub the skin.

Best thing to prevent mud fever (different to treating it) is to keep the feathers on (they act like a drainpipe to keep the water away from the skin), not wash the legs (softens the skin and washes away the natural, protective oils and grease) and definitely not rub dry (causes abrasions).

As has been said on the other thread a lot of people have success with using the Mud Guard supplement and a barrier cream. You can also use turnout boots but have to be careful that they're very carefully fitted otherwise they're worse than useless.