Bloody Mud Fever Help!!!!

[AllanaRey]

I have a grey Arab who is prone to mud fever I have escaped it for the past 3 years with diligent checking, filtabac & pig oil however this year I’m struggling
Our fields are quite frankly bogs and my horse likes to stand in the muddiest parts (typical!!)! This year is horrendous. We have no boggy fields to turn her out in.
I’ve limited her time out, she goes out for about 6/8 hours a day, she still needs to be turned out as has arthritis in her knees so needs to move around as she gets very stiff in. I’ve tried keeping her in but 20 minute walks aren’t enough and she struggles (she’s on bute). The problem I have is she needs to wear stable boots in otherwise she swells up and becomes lame so I can’t let legs dry naturally then brush off. I try to only hibiscrub/ wash when necessary once or twice a week as it’s strong stuff (don’t want to kill everything off). I’ve tried washing every time she comes in bad move!! Got worse. Tried leaving and brushing of worse and drying with towel then boots, next morning getting mud off but that’s not working it’s putting those damn stable boots on as it’s the perfect growth environment. I change the stable boot pads everyday so always clean. Turned her out in equilibrium mud boots as done in previous years but mud is too deep and makes it worse HELP!! Anyone have any advice to clear this up.
I could just stable her but worried she’ll completely seaze up, the mud fever is clean and not scabby I’ve managed to keep it at a certain level but won’t it at the point where I can pig oil again. As you can see tried literally everything. Anyone have a nifty ideas???

 

[AmyMay]

If you’re booting her overnight to prevent legs swelling, can you simply not bandage instead?

 

[PurBee]

My viewpoint on mud fever is that its an internal imbalance showing on the outside.
There’s plenty of horses out in mud daily without mud fever, and horses in arid climates with mud fever.

My horses both had it when moving to this new land/grass/hay/management. Eventually for them i found copper and magnesium were needed ontop of a hay general nutrient balancer. I also regularly give them doses of Protexin probiotics, for gut health aiding immune health. Not daily, just a couple of tubs a year between 2 horses.

The mud fever cleared up to my surprise and has never returned despite them spending plenty of time in mud.

If you do a search on the search function here youll find plenty of recent threads with loads of great suggestions that people use topically to help aid skin healing.
I hosed down, didnt scrub their skin, and onto the wet leg applied a generous dollop of aloe vera. Allowed it to soak in and dry overnight when they were put onto a dry lot.
Try with yours just one night inside, you *might* even find the cooling aloe vera lessens leg-fill.

 

[AllanaRey]

If you’re booting her overnight to prevent legs swelling, can you simply not bandage instead?

Bandaged for 3 years, been using boots for 2 years. Believe me I’ve tried both less filling with boots and less likely to over tighten. Bandages are good but not as effective with this mare unfortunately;(

 

[AllanaRey]

My viewpoint on mud fever is that its an internal imbalance showing on the outside.
There’s plenty of horses out in mud daily without mud fever, and horses in arid climates with mud fever.

My horses both had it when moving to this new land/grass/hay/management. Eventually for them i found copper and magnesium were needed ontop of a hay general nutrient balancer. I also regularly give them doses of Protexin probiotics, for gut health aiding immune health. Not daily, just a couple of tubs a year between 2 horses.

The mud fever cleared up to my surprise and has never returned despite them spending plenty of time in mud.

If you do a search on the search function here youll find plenty of recent threads with loads of great suggestions that people use topically to help aid skin healing.
I hosed down, didnt scrub their skin, and onto the wet leg applied a generous dollop of aloe vera. Allowed it to soak in and dry overnight when they were put onto a dry lot.
Try with yours just one night inside, you *might* even find the cooling aloe vera lessens leg-fill.

My viewpoint on mud fever is that its an internal imbalance showing on the outside.
There’s plenty of horses out in mud daily without mud fever, and horses in arid climates with mud fever.

My horses both had it when moving to this new land/grass/hay/management. Eventually for them i found copper and magnesium were needed ontop of a hay general nutrient balancer. I also regularly give them doses of Protexin probiotics, for gut health aiding immune health. Not daily, just a couple of tubs a year between 2 horses.

The mud fever cleared up to my surprise and has never returned despite them spending plenty of time in mud.

If you do a search on the search function here youll find plenty of recent threads with loads of great suggestions that people use topically to help aid skin healing.
I hosed down, didnt scrub their skin, and onto the wet leg applied a generous dollop of aloe vera. Allowed it to soak in and dry overnight when they were put onto a dry lot.
Try with yours just one night inside, you *might* even find the cooling aloe vera lessens leg-fill.

Thanks for the advice , she’s in every day only out for 6/8 hours. She has gut balancer everyday as she is on bute which plays havoc with the stomach and is on copper and magnesium in a additive (she is on everything going which keeps her fit and healthy) I have an Appaloosa also which does not suffer from mud fever but this Arab is pure prone to it as I said previous years has been fine but this year has been an extremely wet one

 

[AllanaRey]

* sorry might need to be clear she wears boots due to filling in the stable not filling due to mud fever. She’s had bandages / boots for years due to arthritis

 

[Pinkvboots]

Could you maybe give a bit more Bute while it's bad? How much does she have at the moment?

Just thinking short term it could help with pain and legs filling?

Is she on any supplement for the arthritis leg filling a lot of natural things can help, like devil's claw tumeric and micronised linseed.

 

[Bradsmum]

Years ago I had a part Arab who was prone to mud fever and I tried a few tried and tested ways of treating it. Eventually I tried Aromaheel which calmed it down and therefore allowed the hair to regrow and we were back on an even keel. It's a thick grease so doesn't look great but it's made from natural ingredients with the added bonus it smells nice too. I always have a pot in the tack room just in case. Maybe worth a try.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Probably not applicable in your case but my appaloosa boy had 3 white socks and became prone to pastern dermatitis later in life, only got it in summer so not quite the same as yours. One year he had a similar condition all over the white skin on his spotted blanket. After struggling for what seemed like forever I started him on Milk Thistle and it cleared up within days which amazed me. I kept him on it for the next year and no recurrence. His final year which I had already decided was going to be his last due to various reasons I stopped the MT. In June the PD flared up badly, whole leg swelled up (possibly cellulitis) and he became very lame. That brought our decision to PTS forward a few months and he was put down within a week.
I have wished since that I had thought to use it years previously as we battled with PD with both our geldings every year in summer. Anyway may not be of any use at all in your case but might be worth trying. Hope you find a solution.

 

[Follysmum]

Heel to hoof
Fantastic stuff and only £9
Friend has a grey Arab and it has completely cleared her horse in 10 days. It really does work

 

[Meep92]

Have you tried Cleavers or adding salt? Literally had the same issue and this helped mine! Still slightly swollen but nowhere near as bad and comes down completely with a few minutes of walking! I've tried the boots too and didn't find them very effective. My mares legs were like balloons and after 2 vets visits and no improvement this worked!

I found the powders are good for drying out wet legs I use keretax mud shield and then Flamazine for scabs.

 

[Milliemuncher]

Flowers of sulphur powder mixed with baseline is amazing