Mud fever but no mud!?

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Greylegs

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At long last the fields are dry. The relentless mud of winter has given way to good underfoot conditions and the hairy highland is mud free for the first time in months (or so it seems!). His feathers are very dense so he got a bit of mud fever in the winter, but he's still got it now things have dried up. A good feel round his hairy feet reveals a bit of itchy scabbing amongst the hair which he clearly loves me to scratch and can be seen scratching it himself with his teeth from time to time.

I wash with medicated shampoo weekly and try to keep his feet dry otherwise, but any thoughts on something I can put on to finally kill it off?

Many thanks in advance. All thoughts gratefully received.
 
If he was not a Highland I would say clip the feathers off so you can really get the legs clean and the air can get to the skin but that is not an option. The hair will be keeping the bugs very happy, it will be a warm and damp place that they thrive in, even though there is no mud it legs will still be damp a fair amount of the time. Use a good anti bacterial shampoo, Nizarol is recommended, really get into the hair and lift the scabs if it is not too sore, rinse and dry well and apply a small amount of cream to the area, rub in really well again trying to get rid of any tiny scabs. I would then leave them without washing unless it does not clear up after one good go.
 
Mud fever does not require wet mud! The bacteria live in the soil and can infect a susceptible cut or scrape through dust.

Try Pig oil and sulphur. The pig oil coats the feathers (and not so incidentally promotes growth) and stops any mud or dust clinging to them. The sulphur kills bacteria.

You could also try muddy marvel de-scab just to get the last of the scabs off.
 
katherine1975 said:
Are you sure it's mud fever? Being itchy sounds more like feather mites to me.
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I'd say mites too, is exactly how mine presented and turned out to be mites. One tell tale sign is dandruffy type stuff at the back of the heels rather than the normal mud fever scabs.
 
Greylegs said:
itchy scabbing amongst the hair which he clearly loves me to scratch and can be seen scratching it himself with his teeth from time to time.
.
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That to me says mites not mud rash - generally they wouldn't like you touching scabs from mud rash, and I've never seen one scratch it themselves...
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Pony was treated with a course of Dectomax last year when he got a funny rash on his face and vet tried everything including mite treatment just to cover all options, so not sure how long it would be effective for?

He did go through a phase a couple of weeks ago when he wouldn't let me touch his back feet (and this is gentlest and most laid back pony you could wish for) but thankfully he's improving now.

So think I'm going to give all four feet another good wash with strong medicated shampoo and treat with antiseptic cream and see how he goes for a few days. If no improvement then we'll get vet back for more aggressive treatment and repeat the Dectomax course to eliminate mites.

I absolutely do NOT want to take his feathers off so hope that won't become necessary.
 
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