Mud fever and cellulitis

L

Louise1486

New User
Joined
12 December 2015
Messages
8
Visit site
Hi guys , I'm new here and looking for some advice , my poor 16yr Anglo Arab is on box rest and has been for 3 weeks due to mud fever , unfortunately she also has cushings , so the back left leg swelled up and sneaky off rotting pus and she was very lame , she has had antibiotics called powdox and bute also from
The vet . Was advised to keep her in legs dry and was every few days to try get the scabs off , the antibiotic is now finished and I have finally got all scabs off using hibiscrub and muddy marvel de-scab which had been great.
Know I'm
Not sure what to do her back legs look so pink as no hair left as yes she has four white socks lol ;( nightmare , but I have been stable bandaging them is this correct any ideas ?
Also she will be going out again when it's heald but worried it might come back I have tried the mud boots and they made it worse with the moisture and also barrier cream but nothing works I'm so worried but can't keep her in forever she a typical Arab and like to run around .
I pick her grass at the moment and she has 2 feeds a day . Just looking for some advice was told by bet not to put anything on the leg to heal it just let it dry out but it's just been a battle
Thanks
 
I feel your pain. my 17hh horse has white and pink legs and he got cellulitis from what I think was mudfever. I dont bandage him and he goes out without mud boots as this made it worse!! I use silver cream once his legs are dry to help keep the mudfever away and muddlymarvel barrier which is AMAZING so the mud slides off his legs. I was his legs properly once a week and repeat the process. SO far I have not had any mudfever and I am fetlock deep in mud. In regards to keep ing the cellulitis out of his legs I use stable boots which seem to help. hope that this helps
 
Thank you yeah she is still on at the moment as I have only just got the scabs off it , it was so bad it's now pink sling healing I put stable bandages on her while she is on box rest , but there still a lot off heat coming from it , the leg swelling has gone down thou.
I'm just not sure how much longer to keep her in she is going nuts .
 
I actually turned mine out on my yard in the end as he was going nuts to. The thing with cellulitis as they need to walk it off. A total horrid viscous circle. Have you got a hard core area you could turn her out on?
 
Just a thought, is she now reacting to the neoprene in boots? We have a coloured mare who we thought had mud fever, but since not using neoprene boots has totally cleared up and hair grown back. We also went through ABs and steroids with washes from the vet but the areas just kept getting bigger. Just a thought?
 
I had neoprene boots on her before it turned into cellulitis , we have managed to convert the barn into a sick bay lol , it's big enoug for her to have roll in and she can stick her out out facing the fields see others she walks around .. No longer lame but I'm hoping to put her back out by next week , the hair needs to grow back as very sore and pink , not sure to put barrier cream or boots on , with the cellulitis the boots made the back leg worse sweaty and hot do it fed more into the leg made it very smelly .
 
True cellulitis is infection and may need further antibiotics.

Swollen legs need walking off, basically exercise will reduce the swelling.

MUDFEVER, please go and invest in a bottle of Nizoral shampoo and then wash the legs thoroughly.

DO NOT ever pick the scabs off. Mudfever scabs are congealed lymph, it's congealed around the hair which is why the hair sticks up in clumps, every time you pick these off you pull the hair out by the roots and breaking the skin allowing bacteria in.

Nizoral addresses the cause of the oozing of lymph.

No horse should need to be stabled to clear Mudfever if you treat it correctly in the first place.

You do not need all these expensive lotions, potions and creams. Nizoral does the job fast and pain free. You do not need boots and other such stuff.

Ensure the horse is getting a supplement that contains zinc and copper, feed skin health from the inside.

Keep an eye out for the tell tale signs of Mudfever - small clumps of raised hair.

Keep a spray bottle of diluted Nizoral in your grooming kit and spray the area immediately, rub in and leave.

PS These comments are not directed at you but to all who's horses suffer from Mudfever or Rain Scald.

If the condition persists after using Nizoral a couple of times then remove all Lucerne (Alfalfa) from the horses diet as Lucerne can make some horses photosensitive and cause a condition that visibly looks like Mudfever.
 
I was told by vet to get all the scabs off her back leg and it was so bad but it is clear it just needs to grow back hair it's being kept clean by wading and stable bandage , she had to be stables dir out grass and field so wet and muddy and could cause further infection
 
Just to say, if you have a white legged horse the issue may be compounded by photosensitivity and/or leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Nizoral, and indeed most lotions and potions, wont help. Steroid cream, and even a course of systemic steroids, would be needed. You can have both at the same time as well, complicating the issue even further. Sometimes, as in mine, the cause is unknown and it becomes a case of managing rather than curing...this is after 8 months of vet investigation. Currently we are working through the doing absolutely nothing approach and if anything, the scsbs are drying up and falling off, but that may be because it's winter. Hopefully yours will be simpler. Avoid boots and try keeping the legs dry a bit longer. If they're clear keep the bandages off and let the air get to them.
 
Last edited:
Louise1486 said:
I was told by vet to get all the scabs off her back leg and it was so bad but it is clear it just needs to grow back hair it's being kept clean by wading and stable bandage , she had to be stables dir out grass and field so wet and muddy and could cause further infection
Click to expand...

Your vet is sadly still living in the dark ages! Mudfever is soo easy to treat now with Nizoral. The swelling you are experiencing is the direct result of the scabs being removed. Believe me after a lifetime in the equestrian industry being made to remove scabs, and one place insisted I use washing up liquid to soften the scabs then a hacksaw blade to remove them.

I discovered the Nizoral by chance when I had the human version of Mudfever in my hair, tender areas with scabs of lymph around the hair. After washing with Nizoral the scabs had either broken down or were loosened, and the tenderness went.
Sometime later my week old foal was obviously very itchy and I found Rain Scald patches on his back, he got a Nizoral treatment and was clear of the scabs and itchiness within hours.

I then started using it on the racehorses that came in from spelling, often with bad Mudfever, a good wash with Nizoral and within a couple of days the scabs were either gone or at least falling of by themselves.

I've since discussed this form of treatment with my own vet here in NZ and other vets around the world. Nizoral contains Ketaconisol which is a strong anti fungal with antibacterial properties as well.

It has proven itself so many times now and as the mother of a white legged Clydesdale keeping her legs and beautiful feather free of Mudfever is very important.
 
Thank you yes she has gas steroid creams two lots of -0 day abtibiotcs and also the bute o bandage her in barn as she I bring her in the dust seems to get on to the leg and makes it dirty but I take bandages off at night , with her Cushing she loses her appetite also so keeping eye in her weight too .
 
Nudibranch said:
Just to say, if you have a white legged horse the issue may be compounded by photosensitivity and/or leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Nizoral, and indeed most lotions and potions, wont help. Steroid cream, and even a course of systemic steroids, would be needed. You can have both at the same time as well, complicating the issue even further. Sometimes, as in mine, the cause is unknown and it becomes a case of managing rather than curing...this is after 8 months of vet investigation. Currently we are working through the doing absolutely nothing approach and if anything, the scsbs are drying up and falling off, but that may be because it's winter. Hopefully yours will be simpler. Avoid boots and try keeping the legs dry a bit longer. If they're clear keep the bandages off and let the air get to them.
Click to expand...

You are right here if the cause is photosensitivity, remove ALL foods that fix Nitrogen,Alfalfa, peas, clover from the diet.

If you can go easy on the Steroid creams as they actually thin the skin tissue if used over time.

Hope you find the cause of your problem which is obviously not Mudfever.
 
Thanks guys , well the cream has been finished and the antibiotics just been told to dry it out put nothing else on it . From experience how long does the hair take to grow back ? We're can I get the spray from ?
 
Louise1486 said:
Thanks guys , well the cream has been finished and the antibiotics just been told to dry it out put nothing else on it . From experience how long does the hair take to grow back ? We're can I get the spray from ?
Click to expand...

It will depend on how damaged the hair folicals are, may only be a few weeks and will definitely happen with the growth of summer coat. Now if these legs are white you'll need to be careful of sunburn.
 
Her hair is growing back still not hot in the fetlock but she so much better , been on box rest for 3 weeks there are a few more scabs to get off but she dying to get out but it's so wet ;( I don't know to put her out with barrier cream on , boots or not out her out at all yet as don't want to go back to square one ;(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top