How would you treat mud fever?

rainni_day

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 December 2019
Messages
119
Visit site
My mare arrives on Friday and the owner has text to say she has a touch of mud fever. She is currently treating it with Listerine and nappy cream....having never treated it before, I assume I can just carry on with that method? She is on full livery, so I will see what the YO says too as she may treat it differently. Just interested really in peoples tried and tested methods...
 
  • Like
Reactions: DD

Midlifecrisis

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 August 2014
Messages
4,217
Visit site
Listerine is a new one on me. Depends on how bad the mud fever is...antibacterial wash of legs...dry thoroughly..apply antibacterial cream. Don’t pick scabs off and when healed try to prevent by applying pig oil to legs so mud and wet don’t soak and soften skin allowing the bacterial infection to flare up again.
 

milliepops

Wears headscarf aggressively
Joined
26 July 2008
Messages
27,538
Visit site
Listerine is a new one to me too!
I have used povidone-iodine scrub when necessary which doesn't seem to sting and is easier on the skin than hibiscrub. I found i needed something soapy to clean the barrier cream off if it got muddy again, carex was recommended to me yonks ago and it was effective but not too harsh. I think it's important to be gentle when drying off, no scrubbing with a manky towel. I used cotton wool on a roll.
agree the Nettex stuff is pretty good.
 

AFB

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 February 2017
Messages
1,617
Visit site
Have a read of this :)
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 

milliepops

Wears headscarf aggressively
Joined
26 July 2008
Messages
27,538
Visit site
I saw that article earlier today and I think there's lots of useful stuff there, but it will depend a lot on your set up and routine. Only one of mine has ever had mud fever, and the first year getting in and out of the field was a fetlock deep soup - there was no way i could have just plonked the cream on and left it ;)

the year she got it badly, I bought turnout chaps. for those to work you need to get the skin and hair clean first and foremost, and then they stayed clean and dry but I still needed to wash the cream or powder off periodically otherwise it got clagged up with bedding. i think it's about sensible cleaning rather than just mindless scrubbing.
 

Landcruiser

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 May 2011
Messages
2,908
Location
Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
Visit site
Simplest, cheapest and most effective treatment I have used is cheap un-perfumed baby oil with flowers of sulphur (a yellow non dissolving powder) shaken up into it. Just apply lavishly for a few days, by the second day the scabs are sliding off painlessly. Once clear, use once or twice a week.
 

dogatemysalad

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 July 2013
Messages
6,118
Visit site
I usually wash the legs with shampoo and warm water. Then apply a thick layer of something like muddy marvel cream. Wrap leg in cling film for 15 minutes then remove and the scabs will drop off if you massage with your fingers. Keep the horse in for a day or two for the integrity of the skin to recover if the field is very muddy.
Don't leave cling film on over night because it will cause the area to over heat.
 

Zibby

Active Member
Joined
19 June 2012
Messages
30
Visit site
I have used:
1. Sudocrem applied with clingfilm over the top and then bandages overnight then leave the cream on for turnout before gently washing off with dilute hibiscrub before drying and re-applying sudo. This worked well when his mud fever was really bad, however the best thing I have found is:
2. Flowers of sulphur...gently wash his legs and then dab on the sulphur powder whilst legs were still damp with a dry sponge - mud fever cleared up within about a week.
 
Joined
28 February 2011
Messages
16,451
Visit site
We wash the legs with dilute iodine, towel dry them and then apply a cream called Equizol (I think ... ) We only do the Iodine wash once a week if needed, the cream does the rest and we pluck scabs off IF they are ready to come off, we don't force them off. Once all scabs have gone and the area needs dried up we mix Norodine powedered anti-biotics with baby powder and schoosh on.
 

Sussexbythesea

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 July 2009
Messages
7,764
Visit site
For small scabs I just rub in sudocreme over a few days and the scabs come off. I don’t usually wash unless I absolutely have to. For bigger areas or larger scabs I’ve found anti-dandruff shampoo works really well to soften scabs. Wash with warm water and lather up, leave on for a bit gently massaging the scabs every now and again until they come off. Then dry and smother in sudocreme again. For bad very sore mud fever I’d do the wrap in clingfilm as someone posted earlier. If I see any swelling then I’d get vet for antibiotics.

Just be aware mud fever can be extremely painful and you should be really careful especially with a horse you don’t know as I’ve seen a very nasty accident requiring an ambulance when someone (former deranged yard owner) decided to forcefully pick off mud fever scabs.
 

Carrottom

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 February 2018
Messages
1,917
Visit site
I'd make sure the diet has a decent supplement with no iron and high copper and zinc. I never have an issue with mud fever for horses fed like that. When I have previously, I used to cover it in sudoceme which softens the scabs and keepsa the legs covered.
Agree with the feed comments, one of mine has had fewer problems since on this type of diet, but is still prone where he has some scarring around the back of his pastern.
 

Orangehorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 November 2005
Messages
13,204
Visit site
I had a TBx mare that would get mud fever really quickly. She was in at night and I used Vaseline during the day when turned out and if it flared up used the Equine America product which cleared it up.

However, I changed her diet to a feed balancer and after a while I realised that she hadn't had a flare up of mud fever, and she didn't while she remained with me. My, then new young horse, arrived with mud fever scars and it was noted on his vetting certificated and excluded by the insurance company.

I switched him to the same feed and I can say hand on heart that he has never had mud fever for the past 19 years.

I don't feed a feed balancer now, but feed the Progressive Earth Pro Balance.
 

Cinnamontoast

Fais pas chier!
Joined
6 July 2010
Messages
35,366
Visit site
Simplest, cheapest and most effective treatment I have used is cheap un-perfumed baby oil with flowers of sulphur (a yellow non dissolving powder) shaken up into it. Just apply lavishly for a few days, by the second day the scabs are sliding off painlessly. Once clear, use once or twice a week.

Please patch test if using this method. Some horses’ skin is too sensitive to cope with the sulphur.

Tried and tested with my cob: keep in until totally dry. Smother legs to skin and feathers with stupid amounts of baby oil. Takes a while but has kept him mI’d fever free forever.
 

eggs

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 February 2009
Messages
5,245
Visit site
I use Aromaheel and find it works really well. You just cover the scabs with it each day (don't wash the legs) forca few days and the scabs just rub away. It also makes your hands smell nice! Before I found this product I used to get Flamazine with I think a steroid in it from my vet.
 

atropa

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 September 2012
Messages
1,277
Visit site
One of mine gets mud fever quite easily if I dont keep on top of it. I keep her in while treating it. I wash the legs to make sure they're clean then leave them to dry overnight. In the morning, a thick layer of Sudocrem or nappy cream, followed by a layer of cling film then stable wraps. Leave for the day, come back from work, unwrap and gently ease off any scabs that are ready to come off. Leave to air overnight, next morning repeat with Sudocrem etc as needed. Once clear and healed, I pig oil legs (and sometimes add a layer of vaseline on top) for turnout.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DD

DD

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 August 2015
Messages
2,306
Location
Albion
Visit site
the legs need to be kept dry. don't put any creams or anything else on over damp skin as it will just hold the moisture in. wash legs with a dilute solution of hibiscrub then dry thoroughly with a towel and then paper towels until the come away dry. the legs must be totally dry. then smother the scabs with sudocreme. keep horse in on a deep straw bed. after a couple of days when the scabs have come away repeat treatment covering clean pink skin with sudocreme too. horse can be turned out so long as its been brought in on a daily basis to thoroughly dry the legs. Oil can be used before turnout to help keep the wet away. there's no magic involved just common sense and good nursing and keeping at it don't give up.
 

PurBee

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 November 2019
Messages
5,472
Visit site
Diet imbalance of minerals can cause it, like other poster mentioned zinc and copper. Some horses not exposured to mud still get ‘mud fever’.
My horses got it, and are in muddy areas daily, so I cleaned regularly hosed off and brushed on ‘pig oil and flowers of sulphur’ before turn out.
Then I adjusted their diet to include more zinc and copper and voila! Despite still being exposed to (acidic soil) mud when out grazing they no longer have scabby heels/fetlocks.
You’ll be forever treating this with creams etc if you don’t look into mineral balance/top up.
 

tallyho!

Following a strict mediterranean diet...
Joined
8 July 2010
Messages
14,951
Visit site
It's all about skin integrity, skin health.

Topical doesn't work unless you have a good healing skin.

Echo the minerals but consider vit e and b for immune system too.
 

MagicMelon

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 November 2004
Messages
16,174
Location
North East Scotland
Visit site
Mine very rarely get mud fever but I did have one horse who was prone - I used to bring him in for an hour a day, plaster sudocrem on it and wrap in cling film. Leave it for a bit then the scabs peel off really easily as they go all soft. Then pig oil with sulphur seemed to work well at repelling mud after that, and Id continue putting on sudocreme nown and again if I had the horse in for a bit to let it soak in. I never specifically washed the area, never needed to.
 
Top