i need some advice.

[Ellie Equestrian]

hi.
when we got our loan pony a week ago we didn't notice anything wrong, however yesterday i noticed that she has mud fever from her previous place where she spent most of her time in a very muddy field.
now i thought it wasn't that serious so just sprayed some disinfectant on it.
however today it was bleeding and the sores were worse. i do not keep or ride her in any mud what so ever so i can't understand it.
do you guys have any advice or products you know that could help.
if so i would be so grateful if you could let me know.
i see if i can get pics tomorrow.
thanks
Ellie

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Oh poor creature, that sounds horrid.

I don't have much experience with mud fever, but my boy gets red, scabby, bleeding sore patches in hairy places. I have found that aloe vera gel helps to soothe them and Sudocreme helps to get them to go away, He has very dry skin and hair though, I wouldn't recommend Sudocreme if your horse is greasy.

 

[carthorse]

I'd wash off with a mild hibiscrub solution - read the label and don't apply it neat - then rinse and dry off thoroughly. Once it's dry, and I mean properly dry not damp, apply a mud fever cream which should be antibacterial and some are also antifungal - there are loads on the market so take your pick, I like Equine America's Fungatrol but see what your local tack shop has.

Don't keep washing it off after the initial clean up, just gently wipe off each day and reapply cream. If it gets worse or there looks to be infection then get the vet out as she may need antibiotics. And be careful, her legs will be sore and even quiet horses may object to having them treated.

 

[Bodshi]

Its a bit of a fallacy that mud causes mud fever. Mud fever, AKA pastern dermatitis, is a generic name for any condition where an organism, usually living in the soil, enters the skin and causes an infection on the pasterns. Standing around in wet mud can soften and break down the skin making it more vulnerable to infection, hence the link. However once the infection is present it won't necessarily go away if you take the horse out of the mud.

Because it can be caused by a number of different bugs, different treatments will be effective in different situations - hence when you ask for advice on forums you will get lots of different answers from people who swear the treatment they use works.

There are some very popular treatments and I expect someone with a better memory than me will tell you what they are. I get a tub of cream from my vet that has both antibacterial and anti fungal agents and a mild steroid too.

You will also get different advice on how to treat it. Even vets don't give the same advice. During a particularly bad episode with my horse one vet told me I should scrub the scabs off daily and another told.me that was an outdated method and I should leave them alone and just use the cream on top. Neither method worked!

Oh, just read @carthorse reply. Echo that her legs will be very sore, poor girl. Good luck with her.

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

Oh poor creature, that sounds horrid.

I don't have much experience with mud fever, but my boy gets red, scabby, bleeding sore patches in hairy places. I have found that aloe vera gel helps to soothe them and Sudocreme helps to get them to go away, He has very dry skin and hair though, I wouldn't recommend Sudocreme if your horse is greasy.

ok thanks. And yes it is horrid.

I'd wash off with a mild hibiscrub solution - read the label and don't apply it neat - then rinse and dry off thoroughly. Once it's dry, and I mean properly dry not damp, apply a mud fever cream which should be antibacterial and some are also antifungal - there are loads on the market so take your pick, I like Equine America's Fungatrol but see what your local tack shop has.

Don't keep washing it off after the initial clean up, just gently wipe off each day and reapply cream. If it gets worse or there looks to be infection then get the vet out as she may need antibiotics. And be careful, her legs will be sore and even quiet horses may object to having them treated.

thank you very much. I will definitely try the hibiscrub and see if my rack shop hasthe equine American fungatrol.
this website is so useful. if You are struggling with something then ask a quick question and people are So willing to give advice. Thank you all

 

[carthorse]

If they don't have it ask what they recommend, just check that it says antibacterial and preferably antifungal too.

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

Its a bit of a fallacy that mud causes mud fever. Mud fever, AKA pastern dermatitis, is a generic name for any condition where an organism, usually living in the soil, enters the skin and causes an infection on the pasterns. Standing around in wet mud can soften and break down the skin making it more vulnerable to infection, hence the link. However once the infection is present it won't necessarily go away if you take the horse out of the mud.

Because it can be caused by a number of different bugs, different treatments will be effective in different situations - hence when you ask for advice on forums you will get lots of different answers from people who swear the treatment they use works.

There are some very popular treatments and I expect someone with a better memory than me will tell you what they are. I get a tub of cream from my vet that has both antibacterial and anti fungal agents and a mild steroid too.

You will also get different advice on how to treat it. Even vets don't give the same advice. During a particularly bad episode with my horse one vet told me I should scrub the scabs off daily and another told.me that was an outdated method and I should leave them alone and just use the cream on top. Neither method worked!

Oh, just read @carthorse reply. Echo that her legs will be very sore, poor girl. Good luck with her.

Thank you very much. I will definitely ask my vet and see what she says. I'll also ask my tack shop and see what they think and have.
yes she is suffering but she is being very brave about it though. Unlike my other horse who literally complains about everything lol.

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

If they don't have it ask what they recommend, just check that it says antibacterial and preferably antifungal too.

Ok thanks.

 

[Mary Poppins]

My horse had very bad mud fever about a year ago. It was on his heel, bleeding and oozing puss. I cut all the hair away to let the air get to it and washed it out. Personally I wouldn’t use hibiscrub as even diluted it is very harsh. I then made sure the whole area was completely dry - this is very important. I then put lots of sudocream on the sore bits and left it alone. It started to clear up straight away and all I needed to do was keep applying the sudocream. I have tried most mud fever creams on the market and this is what worked best for my horse.

 

[Yogi0124]

Try to wash the affected leg with a warm, very dilute Hibiscrub solution – 0.1% solution is recommended – and rinse it off fully with warm, clean water. If you don't have the solution now use Coconut oil / Vaseline / Zinc Oxide creams – these can all be used to cover the area and are all moisture repellents that will help prevent moisture reaching the areas we are trying to treat.

 

[Jessey]

What they said ^^^, just one thing to add, after the initial cleaning you will need to cream it up daily/twice daily until it has completely cleared. The scabs will gradually soften and fall off as the skin underneath heals and you need to keep it from getting re-infected until it is completely healed, it might take a week, it might take several depending on how extensive it is.

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

Try to wash the affected leg with a warm, very dilute Hibiscrub solution – 0.1% solution is recommended – and rinse it off fully with warm, clean water. If you don't have the solution now use Coconut oil / Vaseline / Zinc Oxide creams – these can all be used to cover the area and are all moisture repellents that will help prevent moisture reaching the areas we are trying to treat.

thank you.
i can't get any solutions for it until tomorrow so i will use a bit of coconut oil.
and do what you said. thanks

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

What they said ^^^, just one thing to add, after the initial cleaning you will need to cream it up daily/twice daily until it has completely cleared. The scabs will gradually soften and fall off as the skin underneath heals and you need to keep it from getting re-infected until it is completely healed, it might take a week, it might take several depending on how extensive it is.

twice daily, got it.
thanks

 

[Ellie Equestrian]

My horse had very bad mud fever about a year ago. It was on his heel, bleeding and oozing puss. I cut all the hair away to let the air get to it and washed it out. Personally I wouldn’t use hibiscrub as even diluted it is very harsh. I then made sure the whole area was completely dry - this is very important. I then put lots of sudocream on the sore bits and left it alone. It started to clear up straight away and all I needed to do was keep applying the sudocream. I have tried most mud fever creams on the market and this is what worked best for my horse.

yeah ok. i will def use sudocream as it really does work on most things.
i will do your method on applying it and making it clean and dry.
thank you

 

[Doodle92]

Another vote for sudocrem. It is really useful to soften the scabs and then the next day you can gently massage any loose scabs off, remove the excess with a cloth or cotton wool (don't wash) and then add another layer.