Mud fever help please...

[You Wont Forget Me]

Okay well realised on sunday that my boy had a bit of mud fever so washed with hibiscrub, dryed his legs then put sudocream on the raw bits, next day someone suggested using vasaline on raw bits but today it seems to be worse! his legs were really hot and sore to the point he went in his stable and lay down! I again washed with hibiscrub and dryed but need to know what the best cream is to cure it ect???

I am away to buy pig oil tomorrow as heard that is good for preventing it to


Thanks for your help

ETA been told not to use sulphur as it will burn his skin??

 

[ester]

pig oil + sulphur is good as a preventative, sudocreme I find fab, would def choose over vaseline. You can also mix in sulphur with the sudocreme (my preference) which increases its antibacterial properties.

 

[ThePony]

Go easy with hibiscrub, it is really harsh stuff. If it needs cleaning then a rinse with salt water is enough, then pat (don't rub!) dry with a clean towel (non bio only!). Cover with cream (aroma heel gets good reviews) and leave! Can your horse be in the dry for a bit? Will help give things a chance to get healing. My mare is a bit prone to mud fever so I never wash off and if she comes in with wet muddy legs I put thermatex leg wraps on to help them dry off. Then wash the next day so I'm not putting dirty wraps on. Not a sniff of mud fever despite her being a bog wallower and being rather a sensitive flower! Less is def more for a mud fever prone horse.

 

[tallyho!]

Def not use hibi too much...

Sudocream is very good, however, go to boots and get some nizoral shampoo, leave to dry. Do 3 x a week.

I have had three horses with mf now, the only one I had real trouble with I ended up using homeopathy which also worked but cross that bridge when you come to it.

Also.... Check diet... Too much grain or sugar and lack of certain minerals makes the skin susceptible to infections such as this. So consider copper, vit e, iodine or magnesium. Don't feed anything sugary.

 

[flirtygerty]

I find sudacrem very good if MF has a grip, we wash legs in warm water, pat dry and sudacrem, off mud overnight, (stableyard) more sudacrem before turning out in close contact chaps, I am waiting for latext boots coming which will give total protection, both our horses will stand quite happily with a foot in a large trug of warm water

 

[LissyBear]

Udder cream works well......

However,to cure mud fever you need to know how it thrives and survives. Mud fever needs 2 things to exist Bacteria (usually in the form of Dermatophilus congolensis and/or Staphylococcus) and moisture. Without one of these elements mud fever can not thrive.

People often make the mistake of over washing their horses legs beliving that if there is no "mud" there is no "fever". Realistically though it is nearly impossible to remove ever trace of the offending bacterias and so in reality all you are doing every time you wash your horses legs is giving the microscopic bacteria what it needs to continue its life.. Moisture.

I would always suggest brushing off any mud that is dry rather than washing it off. If possible allow your horse some time in the stable for its legs to dry. Only ever apply vaseline/sudacream/uddercream or whatever to DRY legs and avoid getting the legs unnecessarily wet.

If the problem persist or worsens it might be wise to call your vet who will likely advise box rest depending on the severity of the condition and steroid cream of some description.

An interesting fact is that skin conditions such as mud fever are often more common on pink/white skin which is often found underneath socks and stockings. With this in mind some people often apply ointments to legs with pink skin to prevent mud fever in winter conditions before it appears.

Hope you manage to beat it

 

[ester]

I did make frank looks silly of late... as he is off games anyway and clipped one side of one leg between fetlock and knee gets the air to it and gets it dry/keeps it drier tho pony looks a bit silly! He is an anomaly on the white legs front, his two whites are always completely clear of issue!

 

[ktsval]

My mare had a small patch of mudfever a couple of months ago which very quickly turned into a nightmare. It affected her whole white sock. I clipped the hair off and washed every3 days with nizoral shampoo which i lathered and left on to dry. I treated topicall with aloe vera mixed with 20 drops tea tree oil, 10 lavender, 5 chamomile to 100mls aloe vera. This cleared it up in 2 weeks and previous to this she had the mudfever 4/5 weeks along with a/b's, steroids, a/f's and flamizine etc.

 

[ktsval]

Sorry forgot to say I also mix the oils mentioned in the same ratios with babyoil as a preventative now aswell and touch wood it seems to be working

 

[Becki1802]

You seem to have lots of advice on what to put on it...

My boy had bad mud fever back in November... it is much better now... but just thought I'd share that when I contacted the vet he put him on bute for 10 days (2 sachets a day) which really took down the inflammation and soreness. It sounds like your boy might need a bit of short term pain relief. It is a really painful condition!!!

My boy wouldn't let me anywhere near his it was so nasty but I found a trip to the beach (salt water) did it the world of good and I stood him in a stream for 15 minutes everyday to cool it and soak the scabs off without picking. Then I'd leave him in the clean, dry stable. If he'd let me near I'd have dried his legs and added sudocream.

 

[milesjess]

From my experience - small amount of hibiscrub, literally a splash into a bucket and add hot water. Ensure it's warm water as it'll open up the scabs and help them to come away from the skin. Cold water does nothing.

Wash legs with hibiscrub, encourage the scans off once then soften. Be careful not to pick at them and don't get kicked

Allow the hibiscrub to soak on the legs for 10 mins then rinse off.

Dry the legs with a towel.

Add keterex mud fever powder.

The powder is a water proof barrier then keeps the skin dry and prevents the mud/water from penetrating the skin.

Do the above daily and add the powder before turnout.

Approx 1-2 months on and my boys legs have cleared up a treat I now only add the powder before turnout and he has no scabs etc...

The problem I found with the barrier creams is that they actually dampen the fur/skin which isn't going to help much. I also found that the creams rubbed off on the mud/grass anyway.

I also tried the sudocream but again it dampen the fur and just about everything (mud, shavings etc...) stuck to it.

 

[Marydoll]

Never tried it but have heard a 50/50 mix of baby oil and vinegar prevents it, not sure if it treats it though, something to do with the ph of the vinegar preventing the bacteria developing and the oil as a barrier

 

[LaurenBay]

I would use Nizerol shampoo. Dont wash off, leave it to dry. although I would ne tempted to leave in for a couple of days if you could. Once its cleared. Use pig oil and sulhur as a preventive. You can buy it already mixed from Ebay. Don't wash legs after that. You will find that as the mud dries, it will just slip off the legs due to the oil.