please advise,is this mud fever?

[lexilou]

this is my first winter with my pony so havent had to deal with mud fever before. my girl is always itching, when she comes in for tea all she does is itch!! ive noticed that she has loads of little scabs on her back legs from the top of her thighs downwards and on her belly.

when i brush in these places she loves it, it must be itching alot. what will this be? and what can i do to relieve her itchiness? and get the scabs off?

thanks x

[coss]

doesn't sound like mud fever as this tends to be much lower down, maybe rain scald but the itchiness suggests its some sort of allergy

[nicolaj]

Agree with Coss, doesn't sound like mud fever, which as you probably know is mainly the lower leg area.

Could be rain scold?

Maybe a photo of the offending area would help.

[Haphazard]

Agree with the others. Mud fever causes scabs that are easy to see on the affected area which is usually the lower legs that are most often in contact with the mud. The most common result is pain not itchyness

[jenren!!]

No, i dont think it's mud fever. It sounds like rain scald, or lice.

[Daneva]

But isn't mud fever and rain scald the same problem just called by a different name for a different part of the body.

Well thats what I've read recently in the book 'keeping your horse outdoors' and in a magazine article some years ago.

[jenren!!]

rain scald is more itchiness, leading to raw patches and scabs. Mud fever is literally painful scabs on the legs from mud - not usually down to itchiness.

[Herbie's mummy]

sounds like lice:S

[Pink's lady]

NOt going to be lice and not mudfever.

Most likely to be mite's, mange or a fungal infection. Pink has a chronic fugal infection that flares up every coat change although her's isn't very itchy.

You will need to get the vet out to diagnose it and you'll most likely be given an anti-fungal/bacteria wash (Malseb (prescripton only)) and possibly Ivermectin.

[Iron Maiden]

My horse had an itchy tum when she was fed Speedibeet! To make matters worse, she has got into the habit of lying on her tum with legs akimbo & rubbing it vigorously against the ground, she also scratches her sides on hedgerows that have cut branches at the appropriate height. I've never seen anything like it & sometimes she completely shreds herself. She's got better & better since I changed her feed & her tum is now almost scab free, but I guess it goes to show how bizarre the causes of these problems can be - I would never had expected her scabbiness to be largely self-inflicted.

[coss]

rain scald and mud fever aren't really the same... rain scald comes out more when the horse is warm and damp, so if you put a rug on a damp horse the damp clingy rug will cause rain scald - looks like an area of patchy scab
mud fever is caused by a bacterium in the mud that gets into cuts/grazes or just infects really wet skin (the skin can't keep it out as its too wet) and it causes painful cracking of the heels and scabby bits on the lower leg. Rain scald isn't nearly so painful for the horse until you start picking at the scab.

[lexilou]

yes i thought it may be lice,
Iron Maiden-she is fed on speedi beet!!

there wouldnt be much point in taking a photo of it as you wouldnt be able to see it but when i run my hand down her leg its all really bumpy and some scabs are quite big.

i wasnt sure wether to bathe them with hibiscrub?!? im not sure so would i be best phoning the vet for advice? my old horse used to get rainscald on her back, this is quite similar actually

[coss]

i would contact a vet as you are unsure what it is.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

sounds like an allergy?

[coss]

sounds like an allergy?

it does. Harry is allergic to soya oil, gets hot, feverish, and itchy, don't remember any bumps though but different horses react differently

[Afellpony]

I'd have a word with the vet who'll diagnose what the rash is and treat it accordingly.

[Iron Maiden]

My vet never diagnosed P's Speedibeet problem, it was a kinesthesiologist (phonetic spelling, probably incorrect). Despite huge scepticism I thought 'well what the hell, it can't do any harm to change her feed' - I was at my wits end, P was shredding herself. To my enormous astonishment, the therapist was right - took a few weeks but eliminating Speedibeet did the trick!

Not sure that this is helpful, and maybe you all think I'm mad, but perhaps it would be worth a gradual change of feed for a few weeks to see whether things improve?