Mud fever and exercising?

[PnO]

My horse has mud fever - he has never had this before but we have recently moved yards and areas of the field are very wet after the recent rain. He's 18 so when at first his legs were slightly filled in the morning more than usual I thought this was probably just due to his age and being stood in over night. Today I realised he had mud fever - it's not too bad and i think i've caught it early enough. So today i kept him in and gave him a nice big bed to relax for the day - i think he will have to be in for a while or until i can get some turnout chaps. He's quite a fit Tb and if possible i don't want him to loose to much fitness whilst this heals up, obviously riding him across wet fields would be stupid! So is lunging in a sand school and just gentle hacking round the roads going to be ok for the next few days - i think if i do nothing with him he will go crazy in the box!

Can anyone also recommend some waterproof turnout chaps for poor horsey??

Thanks x

 

[imafluffybunny]

Mine had mud fever for the first time this year, i didn't stop riding him. Are you applying some treatment cream to it?
I turn him out in chaps although i cant remember which ones! will try and find out, they are very good and protect his legs from bumps too.

 

[custard]

I've never bothered with chaps, I just think they can cause more problems. I do use Thermatex wraps though, I think the secret to getting rid of it is to get the legs throroughly dry overnight whether or not you wash them first and they also help stop the legs from filling.

I'd stay off the sand for a while until it's healed a bit. It's quite abrasive and the bugs that cause mud fever live quite well in sand so the vet told me.

 

[lilpinkso]

My horse had mudfever for the first time ever about a week ago, I too noticed his legs were filled. I brushed off the mud when dry and kept him in for one day and applied some tea tree oil with cotton wool, I re-applied for a few days in the evenings (still turning out in the daytime into his boggy field) and the mudfever has completely cleared, he hasn't had any signs since.
I've also found the tea tree acts as an oily barrier that is very efective at stopping the mud from penetrating so deeply into the hair making it a lot easier to remove when dry.
I haven't hosed his legs once as this of course increases the chances of getting mudfever.

With mild mudfever I'd say lungeing in the school is absolutely fine and actually advisable, it's important to keep a horse exercising when they have mudfever, which is why keeping them cooped up in a stable is far from ideal.
Also worth remembering that medfever affects the horse in more than just a physical sense, they can suffer depression and lethargy also, so something to bear in mind when exercising if your horse doesn't seem himself.

Equilibrium just had an offer on their chaps, think it was £10 off.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Custardsmum- do you leave the thermatex wraps on overnight?

 

[PnO]

I think i'll stay off the sand school for a while then and just hack round the village on the roads for a while. I'm not too keen on bandaging over night but i think i have some poly wraps somewhere that have a towel lining that would help dry legs!

At the moment i've just bushed the mud of and tried to avoid tacking the scabs off - i've been told/read different things about taking the scab off or leaving it on! I've then put some Cow salve over his heals and fetlock joint ect - it's supposed to be soothing and make the scabs soft and protect the area from water and dirt ect...

 

[PnO]

My mums a nurse (nothing to do with horses lol) but has also said that tea tree is good and so is honey because of it's antibacterial properties, she can also get honey dressings but i think i'd rather put a cream on that a dressing to avoid keeping it too warm and moist and creating a lovely breeding ground for the bacteria!

 

[SunSmile]

I feed that Mud Gard to mine and i really believe it works. JJ always used to get Mud Fever until i started feeding it to her.

 

[PnO]

What is this Mud Gard stuff?

 

[custard]

[ QUOTE ]
Custardsmum- do you leave the thermatex wraps on overnight?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, absolutely, best 40 quid I ever spent and hardly had any trouble with mud fever since.

If the scabs are bad and really sore I find it helps to clean the area with warm salty water, pat dry with a clean towel then apply Dermisol cream liberally. Wrap the area loosely with clingfilm and put the wraps/stable bandage overnight. Repeat the process for 2-3 days and most of the scabs will drop off leaving bare pink skin. Just then keep cleaning and using the wraps without the film. Dermisol cream contains salicylic acid which is a mild exfoliant and helps dead tissue come away, it's also very gentle.

 

[stroppymare153]

I've never understood about the leaving the mud to dry and then brushing it off rather than washing legs clean - though I know lots of people who swear by it. Doesn't it keep the nasty, buggy mud on the skin for longer? - and clean fur would dry faster than muddy fur? (ok, hair - but mine has a beautiful silky coat that goes like fur in the winter!

)

Does anyone have a scientific explanation, please?

(I go for the hosing option, shampoo every other day to really get any last bits of mud out and use shea butter if he does get any scabby bits.)