Looks like mud fever but isn't?

Z

Zeus

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www.greenlees-equine.com
One by one every horse on our yard is suffering from fat hindlegs, they also have tiny scabs on them. This started before Christmas with one horse, he was blood tested but nothing showed up and because it got worse and worse he was given AB's. Since then all the other horses have exactly the same problem. I turned up today to find my horse with a huge fat leg around the fetlock area. They are not lame and in fact the swelling of my horse's leg went down after gentle exercise.
It's not mud fever as my horse as just been allowed out after a month in following an over reach injury in the field and he wears hardy Chaps. The other horses have just been turned out in a pen which has a Cushionride surface.
I am wondering if it could be an allergy to something in the straw, mites perhaps?? or whether we do have a virus going around.
Anyone else come across this and best way of dealing with it?
Because all the horses are now affected, we will get the vet out.
 
That horses have to be out in muddy conditions to contract mud fever is a misnomer, and it is possible your horses still have it despite not being in a muddy field as it is normally caused by a bacterial infection... I'vbe had a look online and can't find any other more likely cause for the symptoms your describe
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I have had the same problem, mine are on a manege at the moment (sandy surface) one of them has had similar to what you are describing, treated it like mud fever but didnt improve.
Had course of antib's which took down the fat legs, carried on treating the mud fever but as soon as the antib's stopped the fat back legs reappeared.
Vet came out, he is now treating as more of an allergy thing and has given steroid jab which has worked wonders, I have also got some steroid cream (Betnovate) which is also working, and had another course of antib's.
She has gone from trying to kill me when dealing with them to quite happy me putting on creams etc.
Still got a long way to go, they are healing but still has areas that look very sore.
Oh and she goes out every day in Sportabac turnout socks since this started (which I wash and dry every night!)
I have never experienced anything like this, have dealt with many horses over the years with mud fever but nothing like this.
Oh and mine have not been anywhere near any mud either, I personally think the sand has been abrasive and allowed either a germ in or it is an allergy of some description.
I hope this all makes sense!
Good luck getting yours sorted out.
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Probably a touch of cellulitis if it's not mites...google it or ring your vet for a chat about it. My boy flared up with it at xmas when he ripped his rug off and got it by friction burn or a scratch where the bacteria got in and caused it probably.
Had the vet look at him as it was swollen round the fetock but not lame on it, and said it was just a touch of cellulitis and to get him exercised like normal and turned out and it'll go down. Stuck him on anti-B's and bute for a week too.

If it is that....it's from the lymphatic system not working properly due to limited movement most the time. Soon as they get moving it kick starts the lymph system again and the swelling goes
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hiya, sjc here........!!!!

star has had the same thing on and off all winter.....whoever said there doesnt need to be mud to have mudfever is quite correct, you know how i am always smug about my lack of mud lol!!!

basically leg is puffy on and off for 3/4 days then all off a sudden comes up huge, hot and sore. after a further 2 days small lesions with a yellow crust start to break out on his pink skin, and if not treated the skin splits and starts to slough away in chunks.

vet thinks the very strange weather over the last few years has bought the bacteria responsible to the sufeace of the soil as he has seen cases of this quadruple between oct 09 and present. apparently this bacteria affects the first couple of layers of skin and presents very similar to cellulitis,with skin peeling and sloughing away,massive swelling, very sore etc.
bacteria enters the skin via any tiny graze.

i have managed it by turning out in turnout chaps and over reach boots on all 4 to 1) hopefully prevent grazes and 2)keep soil/grass away from his skin.
he gets his legs hibiscrubbed 3 x a week to clean up and microscopic grazes i cant see and any tiny scab no matter how small and inocuous is covered in special cream from vet (see below).

he has had 2 episodes of swollen fat hot leg since i started this regime but both times have caught it at the puffy stage and got it under control by workign and slathering in cream, which brings the swelling down, calms the scabs and stops the skin splitting.

gentle work is a good idea as the more you can bring the swelling down the less the skin will split. DONT COLD HOSE though as this will chap the skin and make it worse.

cream from vets is aqueous cream, betnovate (steriod) and antbiotic powder mixed togeter.

hope that helps.
 
^ above is lymphangitis I would beleive.

Be very very careful and def get it checked out. Worse case scenarios horses legs are up like tree trunks and critical. Fluid coming through the skin andskin sliughing off can leave the horses legs scarred for life and keep causing problems in the future.
 
dont worry i am VERY careful with it-vet has seen him both times its come up and whilst i feel confident i can keep on top of it now, if it didnt start to improve in 48hrs,id get vet out again each and every time.

vet has ok'd my managment of it (exercise,cream and turnout boots).next step is steroids if it continues to flare up, but touchwood this recent bout is the first since xmas so in 2 months. if we can tweak our management and keep it this manageable im ok with that and vet would rather not do steroids unless neccesary.

vet was def thinking this was a bacterial infection from the soil.
 
Thanks SJC. He had another fat leg this morning and I carefully checked it over but couldn't find any scabs at all. I haven't gone near him with the hose for the reasons you mentioned. Is it worth getting my vet to take a skin sample?
 
vet was dubious as to whether it was worth it as a first port of call-said he was 99% its a bacteria causing the reaction so he would prescribe the same cream whatever, as results wouldnt be *that* specific......cream is quite cheap, so my first port of call would be to try and get your vet to make some up and try that, unless it gets suddenly a lot worse in which case you may need a week of norodine.
scabs seem only to be apparent once swelling starts to go down, almost as if the cream *catches* the lesions as the microscopic stage and heals them, they only came up yellow and subsequently split open the first two times (when we werent sure what we were dealing with and didnt get the cream on in time). the scabs are teeny tiny and really hard to start with but then go normal scabby, soften over a couple of days then come off to show pink skin.

even fuzz has had one uber huge fat leg-i immediately got cream on it x 3 a day and after 2 days it came down and 12 hours after the swelling had gone the scabs turned up, it is MOST bizarre. this horse has not had any skin issues in the 9yrs we have owned him....until now....

ETA-is it sore to touch? fuzz is very phlegmatic, but Star is obviously ouchy when it gets to the swollen stage, snatches the leg away and curls his top lip up.pain must begin to subside after 12hrs or so of cream as he gets progressively less snatchy about having it applied.
 
He isn't happy about me picking the foot up and with the swelling it does look sore. I do have some Betnovate cream so will use that.
Thanks for your help:)
 
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