Can mud fever cause a swollen leg?

Holly Hocks

Holly Hocks

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I brought the ever injured/lame/ill TB in from the field on Friday night and noticed a swollen back leg - hot and hard. She wasn't lame on it, and putting her weight on it quite happily. I cold hosed it and as I already had some Trimediazine, started her on that, and rang the vet, and after a conversation with her re symptoms she also thinks infection and left me some more anti-bs to collect with the instruction that if there is no improvement after a few days to call her out. I've checked for cuts and can't find any, but then after having Tbs in the past who swell up at the smallest pin prick, I'm aware it could be something I can't find. The only thing I can find is at the back of her fetlock, right in the hair, there is what feels like the tiniest bit of mud fever scabbiness. I've hacked her out in walk today and yesterday and it does go down slightly by the time we get back, but although I've dealt with mud fever before, I've never had a horse swell up with it! Could this be the cause?
 
Thanks all - I'll get the Muddy Marvel descab out tonight when she comes in.... it's probably my own fault as OH has been getting them in for me in the afternoons and I've told him not to bother hosing the legs off as I can brush the mud off when it's dry - he's going to be under better instructions from now on to use the hosepipe!
 
Agree
with above it easily turns to cellulitis, and that can be really dangerous - and keep recurring once it's got hold - an old horse on my yard and me had it at the same time - not sure which of us was worse!
 
TigerTail said:
If its swollen and hot you need the vet - its probably turning into cellulitis which can be very dangerous.
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Thanks TT. The heat has reduced since Friday night and the swelling has reduced (but not gone completely). Vet wants me to finish the anti-bs first unless it gets worse. It's sort of at the stage where there is improvement, but not gone yet. If it gets worse of course I'll call the vet straightaway. I have another couple of days of the anti-bs to do.
 
Hosing the legs every day to wash off mud will probably make the horse more likely to develop mud fever. Brushing it off when dry won't strip the natural waterproofing oils from the legs.
 
I have never hosed a horse off nor have I ever had mud fever, I think put them in a straw bed and let it dry. Barrier cream before they go out maybe.
 
Can someone tell me more about cellulitus please? Our TB mare had a scabby leg when she arrived and we have been tackling with baby cream/tea tree. Was working ok til the terrible wet weather and flared up quite badly again so now trying muddy marvel wash, purple spray and the cream. Some days it is puffier than others- what is cellulitus and the signs as I will have to call vet if the muddy m stuff doesn't help. Am also going to put cream overnight with clingfilm and polo bandages tonight to see if that helps scabbing. Help!
 
Cellulitis is a very puffy, very hot, and sore leg. Mine will go lame on the leg she gets cellulitis on too. If you press into it, you will see an indentation that will refill as you watch it.

I have another who gets scabby heels, but not mud fever - I just wash those every so often and slather sudocreme on and the scabs come off. W
 
My WB recently had cellulitis - and no I wasn't washing his legs in fact is was early autumn and there was no mud.

Even a small scratch can get infected with bacteria and can lead to mudfever symptoms. There was a small patch of raised hair on his pastern that seemed the likely culprit. I got the vet out immediately because of how serious it can get and 3 days of liquid Karidox plus intial injection was given which worked really quickly. I still haven't managed to totally get rid of the patch that I think started it all off though :(
 
My pony had infection in a back leg from either mud or mites the vet thought a few weeks ago - he had had minor mud fever scab on that heel before. He started being most out of sorts, while not lame he was having pain reaction to the point we were wondering if he had mild colic and then the leg swelled from fetlock up to and including the hock within the space of a few hours. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for 5 days sorted it. Keeping a close eye on that leg to keep any further infection at bay.
 
Well tonight the leg was totally back to normal when I got her in from the field. However she is lame on a front leg where I think she bruised it last weekend. Very hot hoof. Hot tubbed and poulticed as I think there is an abscess. Might as well get the vet tomorrow afternoon as vet can sort both legs out and my youngster is due a blood test as well, so might as well get them all done in one callout fee!
 
Holly Hocks said:
Well tonight the leg was totally back to normal when I got her in from the field. However she is lame on a front leg where I think she bruised it last weekend. Very hot hoof. Hot tubbed and poulticed as I think there is an abscess. Might as well get the vet tomorrow afternoon as vet can sort both legs out and my youngster is due a blood test as well, so might as well get them all done in one callout fee!
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Horses :rolleyes: don't you just love them :)
 
I will need to keep an eye on this then re cellulitus. Thanks for the info and sorry for muscling in on thread. My mare only has whatever it is badly on one leg- I assume mites would usually be on all legs? These look like mudfever scabs (hard, thick and pulls hairs off when they soften enough to pick leaving pink tender skin underneath) and are not 'sappy' (I seem to remember my old mare getting harvest mites or something like that which made her get scabby bits which were tree sap / resin-like and had to be treated with neat Coopers +, they looked different) and that was in summertime years ago.

I would initially think this is mudfever; it is mainly scabbed on the tendon area along back of leg (only one prominent but small scab is lower than fetlock) and it's only really bad on the one white foreleg (2 back white legs have odd scabs but nothing major) and her black foreleg is in perfect condition.

Someone on another thread suggested Mallenders but I don't think it's that so could it possibly be mites? It is quite puffy and warm sometimes and we have been treating it for a month now and avoided washing it too much while the weather was drier. The cream is baby cream with Tea Tree added. She is also a fine-coated TB and a sensitive flower! The Muddy Marvel Wash obviously requires hosing which I have been trying to avoid but need to try new tactic as it's getting worse/more swollen and with all the rain she is rainsoaked anyway. She is not a mud monster in field (very neat/clean and her field is not waterlogged/churned up as of yet) and is in at night. Any thoughts?
 
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My 3 year old had swollen back legs when he came back from backing and I thought it was just with being stabled but it turned out it was a bad case of mud fever. On the trainer's yard his legs were cold hosed every morning and he was left all day with wet legs. They'd also clipped his fetlocks and lower legs. Once our vet sorted him out (with a bit of everything, including a fab cream called Flamazine) he was back to his old routine of being out all day but with a big sheltered barn to keep dry in at night where he can also move around freely. I don't wash his legs at all and just use a rubber curry comb to gently get dry mud off. Mudbar Plus has the same active ingredients as Flamazine at a fraction of the price but I haven't needed it yet in spite of atrocious weather. Fingers crossed.
 
curran said:
Mudbar Plus has the same active ingredients as Flamazine at a fraction of the price but I haven't needed it yet in spite of atrocious weather. Fingers crossed.
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Useful to know thanks! Currently box resting mine for a few days to let it dry out now the scabs are mainly gone and the skin is so raw... hopefully if we have a cold snap it will kill off some of the bugs/bacteria around.
 
My mare had two blown up, very sore hindlegs and no scabs which I took to be cellulitis and called the vet immediately . . 10 days of anti-Bs almost sorted it, now we have normal mud fever scabs. . . so do call the vet if you're not sure.

Pioneer Herbal Products do a liquid soap and scab softening balm which a friend with a big yard recommended, they have lots of oil in and antibacterial/antifungal herbs so good for cleaning legs without stripping oils out.
 
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