help.........mud fever problem

[charmaine]

Can anyone recommend a good mud fever treatment please.

 

[Abbeygale]

I have always used udder cream - it acts as a good barrier to the wet and also helps to soften scabs.

I usually give the legs a really good wash off and then dry them, and then apply the cream.

 

[hadfos]

I usually soak off with hibiscrub(great for getting scabs off without picking,antiseptic to),make sure legs completely dry and put on either sudocrem or protocon,repeat this every 2 or 3 days until eases then slack right off and just make sure good barrier of cream when turned out!(if stabled wash off every night so the dreaded fever can breathe and dry right out,apply cream in the mornings!!

 

[katieibiza]

my boy suffers from it too i find washing his legs with water and baby oil mixed in really works well then just dry them off with towell i have done it every night for 2 weeks and it's cleared up nicely really sofens them.

 

[pagancluf]

Some old wise person told me goose fat to act as barrier cream?!? Do not wash legs off if muddy - wait til dry and brush off and also if you have to wash off put on bandages to ensure thoughrally dried - it is the wet that breeds it.

 

[carthorse]

I use keratex powder and sportabac turnout boots.
I tried every cream I could find and some seemed to work for a while then it would flare up again and his legs would fill again and start to get sores again.I was very worried because it said on the boots that it is to prevent mudfever and should not be put on until legs have healed but his legs started to improve immediately I started using them and now his legs are clean and dry all the time.
I have to wash and dry the boots everynight which is a pain. I rub powder in his legs in the morning and sprinkle some inside the boots as well. Then pop the boots on and out he goes . At night I rub a bit more powder in .I might get some thermatex boots for night time as well but really they have cleared up beautifully.

 

[Keltic]

I use hibiscrub to wash legs, then use a salt water soloution on the area, normally it takes about 2/3 days to work, i keep in during these days and dont apply any cream as like to allow the skin to breath, I did my mare last night hibiscrub then salty water and kept her in, tonight i just did the salty wash and the scabs were coming off already and lovely pink skin underneath, by the weekend she will go out with masses amounts of sudacream on. I had never heard of mud fever until i moved to derbyshire. my ponies/horses never had anything like it but then i thought about it.... of course its sea water i rode on the beach most days salt water works wonders!!!

 

[Daisychain]

Please as a preventative do not wash off legs!!! this is the biggest problem in causing mudfever, leave the mud on when you bring them in from the field, brush off when its dry!

 

[hadfos]

Never had a problem with washing off,left in stable,dry within the hour,scabs all night drying out with no sticky mud(only ever used hose,never touched with brush or sponge whilst washing)!!It depends on your land,you may find your horse gets mud fever in one field,move it to another and it will clear up and you wont see it again!!
There is no hard and fast rule,all horses respond different to different treatments,trial and error with this one!!

 

[quirky]

I get Flamazine from the vets. It is only £7.25 and is fantastic. My horse had mud fever on all 4 legs beyond his hocks and this cleared it in a couple of weeks and funnily enough he's never had it since.

 

[becksten]

I get Mudfever powder, and mud fever cream (think its by NAF)to put on my boys. I agree with most people, dont hose the legs, wait and brush it off when its dryed, ive found tat hosing makes the mudfever worse with my guys.

 

[apkelly01]

But the bacteria that cause mud fever live in the mud (and under scabs) so my thoughts are to hose off mud, remove scabs, wash with a anti-fungal/anti-bacterial wash, followed by towel drying and then an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial cream to help threat and clear the area. I can't see how leaving the mud on helps things

 

[custard]

Thermatex legwraps will prevent it in the first place whether you wash the legs or leave them, without the need for any gunky ointments which just make it worse IMO.

If it's already got a hold then clean the scabby areas gently with warm salty water and pat dry with a towel. Apply a good dollop of Dermisol ointment then wrap with clingfilm and bandage overnight. Repeat this for several nights and most of the scabs will loosen and just drop off leaving pink skin. As it heals continue to wrap the legs at nigh to stop it coming back. The key with the Dermisol is it contains salicylic acid which helps the skin to heal and shed all the scabs/debris but at the same time it's very gentle and soothing.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
I have always used udder cream - it acts as a good barrier to the wet and also helps to soften scabs.

[/ QUOTE ]
I second that - although personally I prefer the salve, as it has more stickability.

Thumpers legs have baby oil applied every other day, and the udder salve on the heals, and any little blemishes that may appear.

I never (or very rarely) wash his legs.

 

[Tierra]

My grey was on livery in derbyshire for 3 years with full winter turnout. His legs were washed every single day upon being brought in and he never had even a hint of mud fever

We moved him to denmark last year and we have no turnout. This winter hes had mud fever from the damn horse walker (which is a sand surface btw, but has been slightly water logged over the winter).

I havent washed legs this year at all and was advised by my vet not to wash mudfever at all - regardless of what you're using. Jack started with a bit of mud fever just before christmas (interestingly, i was using stable wraps). I started with hibiscrub, drying the legs and then wrapping them and it just got worse.

On the vets advice i removed all leg wraps completly, brushed the sand off when dry and applied the Blue Hors skin healer every day. It had gone completly in about 4 days.

It very much depends on whether the bacteria lives in the mud / water you have where you are. Clearly when i was liverying in derbyshire i was rather lucky despite him being out in knee high mud. Ironically when i have no damn turnout and hes not seen mud for months, he gets it from the soggy sand

 

[Abbeygale]

It isn't the washing off the legs that is a problem - it is if the legs are left to dry in the air - so that the legs are cold and damp - this will worsen the condition.

EITHER - you must not wash legs off at all, and leave mud and and then brush off when the mud is dry

OR - wash legs off thoroughly and then towel dry