dealing with mud fever?

[StormyMoments]

sorry bare with me never had to deal with mud fever before as none of them have ever had it

but taz has it now on his only white sock (i dont know if this is significant or not so i thought i would tell you)

i dont usually wash legs off i usually leave it to dry and brush it off but today i decided that i was going to give him a good brush off and paint his hooves with some kevin bacon. i thought he has cut himself but under closer inspection it appears that he has mud fever

i pulled the scab off it as it was hanging anyway and gave it a good clean with hibi scrub and put some derma gel on it (i dont know if this is the right thing to do its just the first thing i do when i see a cut) and put him to bed on a nice clean bed

so have i done this right?

how do you prevent mud fever?

what can i do to make sure it clears up quickly?

thanks i sound like a right idiot now but i hope all of your knowledge will help

 

[Identityincrisis]

My horse gets it every year, I've tried everything! Washing, not washing, mud boots, no mud boots, every external application known to man!! This year I have been trying pig oil and I have to say I'm impressed so far. I wash it off with warm water and shampoo once a week and hibi scrub too, I put his thermatex boots on over night to dry them and then start again! BUT I think it's trial and error, what works for you and your horse. I know a lot of people on here use pig oil, it's where I got the advice from

 

[Alfie&Milo]

It's on his white foot because beneath white hair is the sensitive pink skin prone to mud fever. I have two ponies, both with four white legs! Last winter was absolute havoc with on/off mud fever and having to keep them in and worrying about further infection! I was washing their legs everyday, putting special leg boots on (that had to be washed off & dried every night ready for the next morning!) and using vaseline, sudocrem and nappy cream to no avail.
This year I've been better prepared and started them off early with a mud fever supplement and Pig oil from heel to above knee, using udder cream for overnight if their heels are wet when they come in. I've heard washing and drying off every day actually isn't very beneficial to mud fever sufferers, although every person says differently to each specific horse.

So far (fingers crossed) so good, but this may just be because it's been a relatively dry winter compared to last year!