Mud fever - how do *you* deal with it?

Silmarillion

Silmarillion

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New pony has one white foot and a bit of mud fever on her heel - god knows how, her field is dry and mud-free and she doesn't go out! But anyway, it looks quite sore so we need to treat it, really, if we can get her to stand still long enough.

I've heard people say pick the scabs off, people who say don't, people who say to do this and that and the other and no, don't use that.

So, how do you deal with it??
 
My lad gets it even in a dry field somehow! He suffers on his one white sock quite badly and it's takes his fur off.

I've been hibi
 
Oopps, silly phone app!

I've been hibiscrubbing once per day, I don't rub the scabs off just bath as it's quite sore, then spray savlon spray and put savlon cream on. He'll then get mud fever barrier cream on.

I do own mud fever boots but his leg just heats up and agitates him so I'd rather leave it off and let the air get to the scabs.
 
Are you sure it's mud fever....? Mites or the more rare pemphigus? Sorry to scare monger - my girly has pemphigus and lots advised it was rainscald and sweet itch as it overlaps so many things - especially unresolving mud fever.

Pop a low level steroid cream onto speed up recovery.
 
Probably not mudfever. V unlikely to be Pemphigus(though as Furball has proved, some horses do have it). Most likely to be leucocytic (hypersensitivity) vasculitis. Affects white legs in particular. Can be sensitivity to UV rays, plants, feed bedding or idiopathic.

My treatment of choice is to wash the leg with oatmeal or medicated dog/cat shampoo every other day only. This is to soften and remove all scabs. Then dress wound with tpical pred and antibiotic cream. In a fair proportion of cases oral or im Antibiotics and in some caes steroids are necessary to clear it up. Some bute may be required to keep inflamm at bay and daily exercise is important - hacking out twice daily or walker twice daily +/- turn out (depends on cause). As for wrapping up - Im split on this. Most of the cases I have seen that owners have bandaged over have developed a severe dermatitis spread up the leg. However in one yard where i have seena anumber of cases (all card for by the yard owner) they have all responded well to overnight bandaging. One case was wet poulticed before i saw it and was horrendous. Horse was lying down with the pain (4 white legs) - lost all the hair/skin from knees down!



Furball - how was the pemphigus diagnosed? (Genuinely interested!)
 
Not really trying to scare - there are so many things it can be, and some horses are endlessly treated for mud fever when it isn't that at all. And Im sure I said it was unlikely - and stated other things it could be. So many horses have ongoing mud fever - there are so many times Ive seen it - and its a decision whether it is inadequate management or something different. These kind of problems, if left can result in severe lameness - but for some reasons mud fever just isn't often taken seriously enough.

My vets treatment of choice is to prescribe something like betnovate - it will reduce inflammation, so it will clear anything as a result of sensitivity (photosensitivity, buttercups, ant nest etc etc), and it will also help with a fungal/bacterial issue.

I know my girly has pemphigus, but the leg symptoms are so so similar - Ive found any horse that is prone to mud fever/allergies etc - skin problems in general, are bad to bandage or boot - they create warm moist areas for the bacteria to grow.

She stood on a drawing pin the other week, so was poulticed - within 48 hours her hair was coming out with a fungal infection - the skin generally tends to be predisposed to these kind of things if they are prone to skin problems. Equally prone to rubs and sores too.
 
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glenruby said:
Probably not mudfever. V unlikely to be Pemphigus(though as Furball has proved, some horses do have it). Most likely to be leucocytic (hypersensitivity) vasculitis. Affects white legs in particular. Can be sensitivity to UV rays, plants, feed bedding or idiopathic.

My treatment of choice is to wash the leg with oatmeal or medicated dog/cat shampoo every other day only. This is to soften and remove all scabs. Then dress wound with tpical pred and antibiotic cream. In a fair proportion of cases oral or im Antibiotics and in some caes steroids are necessary to clear it up. Some bute may be required to keep inflamm at bay and daily exercise is important - hacking out twice daily or walker twice daily +/- turn out (depends on cause). As for wrapping up - Im split on this. Most of the cases I have seen that owners have bandaged over have developed a severe dermatitis spread up the leg. However in one yard where i have seena anumber of cases (all card for by the yard owner) they have all responded well to overnight bandaging. One case was wet poulticed before i saw it and was horrendous. Horse was lying down with the pain (4 white legs) - lost all the hair/skin from knees down!



Furball - how was the pemphigus diagnosed? (Genuinely interested!)
Click to expand...

Sorry I just saw the last questions - it was diagnosed through puncture biopsies... 12 samples it took! We took one lot which showed nothing (six samples taken) then ran cushiness, IR, hormonal, skin scrapings etc etc and then as everything else was normal - went back to puncture biopsies. Have a look at my thread http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=465431 - as if it wasn't bad enough - she has one with no ifonrmation on it in horses - can't find records of horses with it! Very similar to lupus in people.
 
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As for shampoos - I find the head and shoulders sensitive one pretty good - I then comb the skin down with human hair comb to shift the scurf.

Also flamazine cream is great for sores :) just depends on the severity.
 
Thanks all, she needs to start her vaccs again once her passport is back from having owner changed, so will get vet to have a look and see what they think rather than jumping in there!
 
'Mud Fever' is a misleading name for what our vet would call a pastern dermatitus. You don't need mud to get it, just moist and mild conditions ie. dewy grass and mild autumn weather, which are perfect for fungal conditions to thrive in. Hence why my horse can live out in cold, mud and wet all winter without issue, but gets 'mud fever' in spring and autumn, when there is no mud..

Wash with a hibi scrub soloution, and leave to dry well then treat with Fuciderm cream from the vets. You need something anti fungal, not sudocreme or pig oil etc
 
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