Clip feathers and no turn out til sorted?

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MochaDun

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I'm in a total quandary what to do with my pony. The field they have for winter turnout is a veritable bog for about a third of it and many including mine have recurring mud fever, in some cases leading to infection (mine included a couple of months ago). I have him on restricted turnout at the moment so he has some days stabled out of the mud, but as a pony he needs some time out just to be a pony and eat the limited grass. Tonight after 2 days in he's got more scabs appeared all tight up in under one heel, they feel huge, and the scabbiness seems to go up as far as his ergots, and round them. Have treated them this evening but I can tell the scabs are pulling on his skin and he's a bit sore. It's like it appears overnight as I check his heels every day.

I'm at the point where I just don't know whether just to clip out his back heels (he's got medium feather I'd say) so I can really get to the root of the problem on the skin and then if I then turn him out would slather on barrier cream but is he at more risk without feather of getting more problems with mud fever? I do think his feather offers some protection but it is also trapping the mud significantly too. Or do I just leave him in until I can clear up the scabs totally and not clip? (it's hard getting sudocrem etc on through the hair at the moment but it does seem to work regardless). The mud isn't going to go away anytime soon. So my query is do I risk a worse problem by clipping out and turning out though with good barrier protection or should he be in until I've really got the last batch of scabs cleared up? I feel like the field must be rife with the bacteria.

I know mud fever is not a life threatening condition but it's doing my nut in this winter and just trying to manage it as best I can for him without leaving him stuck in for weeks at a time.
 
Hi,

Our bog .. erm field is wellie deep mud (and poo) in (most) places. Most horses on the yard are suffering varying degrees of mud fever as a result - the turnout hasn't recovered after the 'summer' we had :rolleyes:.

Ours are treated to a leg rinse, towel dry and a good dash of pig oil every couple of days. It works for most, but some are stabled over night but with turnout during the day. Depends on the severity of the mud fever.

I've trimmed some of my lad's feathers - but not all - helps hair dry quicker after rinse and towel dry. The pig oil was working a treat - I say was because i've managed to get him a space on a different field (phew).
 
My horse used to suffer from mud fever every year until I was given the best advice EVER re mud fever ... Mix a tub of sudocrem with a generous dose (half a mug ful per big tub) of flower of sulphur. Use some olive oil to help mix it together. Better to use before any problems begin, rub in well to each white leg, be generous! Then leave - you only need to re-apply once a week. My horse has lived out for 3 years, in really boggy conditions, with no problems whatsoever since I used this. For a horse already having mud fever - apply fucidin ointment (or any antibiotic cream, which you can get hold of for human skin conditions) first, then the sudocrem mix over the top - reapply every 3 days until you see a marked improvement. It really is magic !!
 
I have clipped the affected bits on my mare. She doesn't have much feather in the first place but I reckon its much harder for it to "grow" if there is no hair. She is in my least muddy field yet she is affected (she had it when I bought her:mad:). The others are standing in mud at the feeder with no problems. So I don't think feathers cause or prevent it, some are more prone than others.

I would keep him in to clear it up as much as possible then clip the lot off. Clipping when its sore will not work as it will take the scabs off and be really sore.
 
Mud fever has hit us badly this year too. We are struggling to shift it too.

Please be warned everyone - Mud fever does NOT only affect white legs! Not one of ours with MF has one white leg!
 
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