Another mud fever post!

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Podgelover

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Yet another mud fever post!

I have little experience with mud fever, this is my first winter with my boy and old horse never got it.

He has mud fever, it started on the front of his foot tiny scabs, these cleared well and no hair fell out! however its now on the back, where you would expect to find it.

I have been washing with Hibi scrub, diluted well and then applying flamizine. I have been doing this for about a week, and I don't think its making much difference.

I have been washing everyday and while its not getting worse I haven't noticed a massive improvement is this normal? How long until you should start to see some results?

I actually have stopped using hibi everyday as hes a chesnut and its really discolouring his feet?!

Vets coming out Friday, but was hoping for a bit of advice before then :)
 
my mare had really bad mud fever last winter and all i did was keep her in for a day so her legs were really dry, washed them once with hibiscrub and then put filtabac cream all over the affected areas and I swear this cream has magical powers! Within a day the scabs were starting to go and the legs were looking so so much better.

This winter she had a few small scabs, put it on in the stable over night and they were loads better the next day :)
 
I don't think hibiscrub is the best thing to use to wash legs with tbh. I found it really drying and a bit of an irritant in itself. I used povidone-iodine wash instead.
I found Flamazine very effective (though I think it's prescription only - has your vet not seen the horse already?) combined with the povidone iodine. I seem to have got away with it this year but in the past I've used turnout boots which were pretty much watertight, and/or barrier cream during the day. The nettex muddy marvel barrier cream is brilliant IMO. Usually start to see an improvement in a few days.
 
I can't leave him in, sadly he's in a stable which means he can't see any other horses and he will just hate it. If it gets worse obviously I would have to consider it but he's 20 years old and would just be very agitated if left in. Really want it to be my last option.

Has anyone tried the mud x supplement that is added to feed? Does it work.

Thanks for the providone tip I'll give that a go. He is in over reach boots which I don't think helps with the irritation and spreading but last week I left them off and he pulled his shoe off!

I NEED SUMMER
 
stormclouds said:
I use hypocare, found it really does the trick. Also use mud socks or whatever they are called, they worked really well.
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Thanks! I haven't tried mud socks. I had heard they increase sweat?! It's a nightmare to know what to do because everyone has a different method! Everyone at my yard was saying completely opposite things and so I decided to call the vet for my own peace of mind!

I haven't been recommended hypocare, will look into it!!
 
I wouldn't wash the legs at all. Pig oil or baby oil, applied liberally and allowed to soak in before you turn him out will soften the scabs and the mud will slide off him when he comes in - leave legs to dry when he is in, brush mud off and reapply and the scabs will soften and come off. My guy had mud fever so bad he needed antibiotics twice but the pig oil method got rid of the scabs and I have been using it every winter since them as a preventative and in 8 years he only got mud fever once because I forgot to start applying it this winter :( Scabs are gone now after applying daily and allowing legs to dry overnight and brushing mud off then reapplying pig oil - you can use it with sulphur but do a patch test first as some horses do not react well to the sulphur
 
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Shutterbug said:
I wouldn't wash the legs at all. Pig oil or baby oil, applied liberally and allowed to soak in before you turn him out will soften the scabs and the mud will slide off him when he comes in - leave legs to dry when he is in, brush mud off and reapply. My guy had mud fever so bad he needed antibiotics twice but the pig oil method got rid of the scabs and I have been using it every winter since them as a preventative and in 8 years he only got mud fever once because I forgot to start applying it this winter :( Scabs are gone now after applying daily and allowing legs to dry overnight and brushing mud off then reapplying pig oil - you can use it with sulphur but do a patch test first as some horses do not react well to the sulphur
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His really isn't that bad its like the size of a 1p piece on the back of his two front feet! It just seems to never go away! I will try the baby oil as a preventative though, I hadn't thought of that but bet it creates like a barrier!
 
I've been battling mud fever since august it started off as a scab the size of a 1p, it was manageable until I started to wash with hibi scrub and removed the scab! This made it much worse and we ended up with a lot of weeping wet sores and it ended up a vet job and a course of antibiotics. It's been a nightmare. See my previous posts in here about mud fever! The only thing that seems to have worked is having him overnight so he gets a chance to dry out properly. I then apply lots of pig oil and sulphur making sure it gets down to the skin.

I'm also using http://www.equitech.uk.com/acatalog/Mud_Stop.html unfortunately it's more the wet than the mud that's the enemy. I don't know what I would have done if he wouldn't stable overnight luckily he doesn't mind even though some nights he's on his own. I feel for you.
 
Podgelover said:
His really isn't that bad its like the size of a 1p piece on the back of his two front feet! It just seems to never go away! I will try the baby oil as a preventative though, I hadn't thought of that but bet it creates like a barrier!
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If its not that bad then probably best not to wash it at all and try and soften the scabs as much as you can - baby oil is really good - and if you are able to keep him on for any length of time, put the oil on then clingfilm his leg to really soften them - once the scabs are gone you can use a medicated cream on it, sudocreme or better still bepanthen are both good until its completely healed and then use the oil as a preventative - I apply once a week
 
mightymammoth said:
I've been battling mud fever since august it started off as a scab the size of a 1p, it was manageable until I started to wash with hibi scrub and removed the scab! This made it much worse and we ended up with a lot of weeping wet sores and it ended up a vet job and a course of antibiotics. It's been a nightmare. See my previous posts in here about mud fever! The only thing that seems to have worked is having him overnight so he gets a chance to dry out properly. I then apply lots of pig oil and sulphur making sure it gets down to the skin.

I'm also using http://www.equitech.uk.com/acatalog/Mud_Stop.html unfortunately it's more the wet than the mud that's the enemy. I don't know what I would have done if he wouldn't stable overnight luckily he doesn't mind even though some nights he's on his own. I feel for you.
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It's a nightmare! since august I really feel for you. He is happy to be in at night, but I just cant leave him in in the day. I can bring myself to do it as I know he will hate it! He lived out before I got him but the soil was obviously much better as he didn't have any signs when I brought him! If I could just manage to keep him away from the mud/wet for a few days it will heal!
 
Going against the grain here.... I would probably leave well alone if he's living out, just keeping an eye on it. By washing it, all you are doing is saturating and softening the skin,and then turning back out into effectively a dirty environment. I've 2 that are living out, and should either pick up a touch of it, I really do leave it well alone, having a good check a couple of times per week just to ensure all is ok - if it's not then I do have spare stables I can bring in to if needed. I generally take a similar course of action now with my TB who does come in overnight; he usually gets a touch of mud fever at some point, and again I just leave it alone - I don't wash it or put any lotions on, and after a few days it's usually gone. I've tried all of the various remedies and have found that not fiddling and picking scabs off, and by not applying lotions and potions has resulted in much faster healing. The only things I keep handy are a tub of sudocream and baby oil, and so far this winter I've only used the sudocream as a barrier on a couple of grazes he has picked up looning around.

I also never use hibiscrub where there are wounds or irritation, it is very drying and an irritant to sensitive tissues - it's medical use is as a hand wash, it's never ever used on wounds so it baffles me why people use it so liberally on animals and any wounds... ouch!
 
alsxx said:
Going against the grain here.... I would probably leave well alone if he's living out, just keeping an eye on it. By washing it, all you are doing is saturating and softening the skin,and then turning back out into effectively a dirty environment. I've 2 that are living out, and should either pick up a touch of it, I really do leave it well alone, having a good check a couple of times per week just to ensure all is ok - if it's not then I do have spare stables I can bring in to if needed. I generally take a similar course of action now with my TB who does come in overnight; he usually gets a touch of mud fever at some point, and again I just leave it alone - I don't wash it or put any lotions on, and after a few days it's usually gone. I've tried all of the various remedies and have found that not fiddling and picking scabs off, and by not applying lotions and potions has resulted in much faster healing. The only things I keep handy are a tub of sudocream and baby oil, and so far this winter I've only used the sudocream as a barrier on a couple of grazes he has picked up looning around.

I also never use hibiscrub where there are wounds or irritation, it is very drying and an irritant to sensitive tissues - it's medical use is as a hand wash, it's never ever used on wounds so it baffles me why people use it so liberally on animals and any wounds... ouch!
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Hi, He isn't out 24/7 he is in at night, would you still not wash them and leave them alone? I know I used the hibiscrub and am so glad I've stopped! He is incredibly ginger almost red and now his feet are like yellow :(

Its so hard to know what to do, because I don't want it to spread, but there is so much on the market its mind boggling. I completely agree with the theory of leaving it alone to sort itself out. Hes a TB and hasn't even got hair legs so im surprised hes prone to it!
 
Oh sorry, mis read your post re living out/in!

I would leave it be with the washing if it were my horse but I'm sure there will be plenty of others who will say thats the worst course of action! But it works for me and mine. Liken it to when you have a cut and it keeps getting wet or if you keep a plaster on it and it stays moist, I generally find it takes longer for said to cut to heal.... I also think that you can cause an inflammatory response quite easily by constant fiddling.

As others have said, baby oil is a great barrier so when dry you could rub lots in before turning out.
 
Mud rash can be very slow to heal, so I wouldn't worry too much that you haven't seen an improvement after one week. Mine had quite bad mud rash in December, which got infected and I was worried about cellulitis so she was on Norodine for a few days and I blitzed it with dilute hibiscrub, towel dried and applied an antibiotic cream from vet. I only did this for four or five days until the swelling in her legs had gone and she'd finished the norodine. Then I applied sudocreme a few times and since the end of December I have left it well alone and just kept an eye out to make sure her legs aren't swelling and it isn't getting worse. It is actually healing very nicely and is massively improved, but it might be a few more weeks before it is completely gone. Mine lives out, so I can't keep her legs clean and dry. I would be very careful with pig oil and sulphur, suggested by someone else, though as it can cause a nasty allergic reaction that could make the mud rash much worse. Only use it if you are 100% certain your horse is okay with it.
 
mightymammoth said:
I've been battling mud fever since august it started off as a scab the size of a 1p, it was manageable until I started to wash with hibi scrub and removed the scab! This made it much worse and we ended up with a lot of weeping wet sores and it ended up a vet job and a course of antibiotics. It's been a nightmare.
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That doesn't surprise me as Hibiscrub (doesn't matter how dilute it is) is horrendous for stripping out all the oils in the coat; it doesn't just take out bad bacteria, it just strips the skin of all nutrients so it's no surprise that nothing heals with the continued use of it.
 
alsxx said:
Going against the grain here.... I would probably leave well alone if he's living out, just keeping an eye on it. By washing it, all you are doing is saturating and softening the skin,and then turning back out into effectively a dirty environment. I've 2 that are living out, and should either pick up a touch of it, I really do leave it well alone, having a good check a couple of times per week just to ensure all is ok - if it's not then I do have spare stables I can bring in to if needed. I generally take a similar course of action now with my TB who does come in overnight; he usually gets a touch of mud fever at some point, and again I just leave it alone - I don't wash it or put any lotions on, and after a few days it's usually gone. I've tried all of the various remedies and have found that not fiddling and picking scabs off, and by not applying lotions and potions has resulted in much faster healing. The only things I keep handy are a tub of sudocream and baby oil, and so far this winter I've only used the sudocream as a barrier on a couple of grazes he has picked up looning around.

I also never use hibiscrub where there are wounds or irritation, it is very drying and an irritant to sensitive tissues - it's medical use is as a hand wash, it's never ever used on wounds so it baffles me why people use it so liberally on animals and any wounds... ouch!
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That is the most sensible post about mud fever I've seen for a long while and one my vet agrees with whole heartedly.

You can also use either Protocon or zinc & castor oil cream (baby dept of any chemist and cheaper than Sudacrem); both are excellent for not only mud fever but knocks and scrapes too.
 
Podge lover I bring in at night blot dry his sore area with kitchen towel then apply the treatment ie pig oil and sulphur or mudstop. Also cant stable 24/7 unless its a last resort so being in overnight was a compromise
 
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