Mud fever in field kept horse

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Overgrown Pony

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Hey guys

My lad has developed mud fever in both back legs. It's come on quite quickly and his back legs are quite swollen. They go down with work. I'm not sure if he's succeptible to it as this is my first winter with it (although when I got him in Feb there was no sign of it).

He's out 24/7 with no option of keeping him in.

There is a big round bale of hay in a metal feeder close to the gate and he apparently stands there all day eating it. Where the bale is it's around 8" deep with mud and water! The yard owner put hardcore down last year and it just dissapeared. I've asked about moving him to another field and it's not an option. I've also asked about moving the bale feeder further up into the field and that's not an option either (the field will get trashed by tracter tyres).

My plan is to hibiscrub (diluted), rinse, dry thoroughly with clean towels, then slather with udder cream. Once it's cleared up (fingers crossed) I plan to apply pig oil and sulphur (bought a big bottle of ready made).

So my question is... I know you should avoid washing mud fevered legs if at all possible... but how do I apply the cream and later the pig oil when the legs are covered in mud! If I was to let it dry naturally and brush off I would have to have him standing off the field for a good hour, even then it wouldn't be completely dry. Do I have no option but to wash his legs daily?
 
You're going to need access to a stable I'm afraid. If his legs are swelling, chances are he has an infection that needs antibiotics to help clear up - plus a dry environment in which to keep him whilst he heals.
 
I'm not sure I would him back out there right now... You need to let it get better. My boys was so bad we had to have steroids... But the only thing that worked in the end was keeping it dry, no hibiscrubbing, and homeopathy (oohhh can of worms for HHO there!!) cleared up in under a week after nearly three months!!!!!

Three months of everything I could glean off the Internet... And here!
 
Thanks for your replies guys.

Today is my first day of treatment so i'll see how it goes. I'll give until next weekend (as long as it doesn't get worse) and if no better i'll have to look at moving him to another yard short term. It's the last thing I want to have to do as the only other yard I can put him to is potentially too far for my sharer to travel to. I'll need to speak to her.

Nothings ever easy eh :)
 
We had a liveries horse last year with it. All horses on 24/7 turn out and we had emergency stables.

I wouldn't hibi.
Our Vet gave pink lotion to clear mud fever (did very good job on horse who was prone to it and didn't have it after this). Said to leave out rather than stabling as long as no real muddy areas as would keep the swelling down moving around - had minor swelling.

With the swelling I'd want him in if bad, but wouldn't want to travel for this. Do you have a field shelter?
If not possible I'd fence off in dry area and feed separately while getting rid (if no stables so not standing in mud) and then sudo after it is definitely gone daily. Don't wash off mud. Brush off when dry or towel off while wet (one to get mud off another clean after). Don't cream with anything not designed to get rid of it as just provides a great environment for mud fever.
 
Hi 1Kimmy. Mudfever has been a real problem for a lot of horses this year with all the rain we have had and the ground not being able to recover. I had a similar problem recently with my horse where he developed mudfever on his hinds from heel to hock and the livery would not offer alternate solutions for a short period for it to clear as we had to wait some weeks for new paddocks to be sorted out. The difference is i do have a stable for overnight which he will stay in when others are in (but not on his own unfortunately).

What i did was Wash his legs with an antisceptic/antifungal shampoo but with cool water (not hot as this opens pores and lets infections in) then allowed legs to dry, dry with towel and let stand or take for a walk, graze in hand while drying then remove as many scabby bits as able and apply sudocrem nappy cream very thickly. I then got a sponge and over the top of that applied pig oil and sulphur with the aim of keeping the mud from sticking to legs in field and creating any more problems. I did this every 2 or 3 days but inbetween tried to ignore them.. other than checking for swelling and heat. If your horse has lots of swelling and 'heat' in his legs you may well need a vet out for some antifungal/bacterial cream and or antibiotics. (if you get some manuka honey/propolis type stuff that might work on his legs too as that has healing properties)

I am lucky in that now i have changed fields and he is mostly for the moment out of very deep mud and has only a few stubborn scabs left. It is really frustrating though as you are in reality fighting a loosing battle while he is in all that mud, but if you can try and get him out for some nice long rides when you have a chance and keep his legs dry for a couple of days over the weekend then it might just be enough to give them a rest.. make sure he has the right skin replacing vitamins/oils in his diet too. Good luck x
 
BTW. I do agree that if you can get horse out of mud, best not to use any cream at all and leave clean and open to air.... as cream can grow more bugs in. ( i have heard that just putting sulphur powder on is effective but can't vouch for this myself.).. flowers of sulphur.
 
I would clean his legs initially and get off as many scabs as you can then dry thoroughly with a towel and slather on the udder cream.

After that I would just bring in, hose off excess wet mud and slather on more udder cream. Massage it in so it loosens any scabs but I would t hibiscrub every day.

I used pig oil without the sulphur and works just as well for me without stripping the hair from my horses legs :)
 
Sheesh! Put sulphur on a cut and see how that feels!

OP, you'll need to get your horse out of the wet for the mud fever to heal. If you have the option of moving yards for a while, do it. Your sharer will have to lump it for a while.
 
My mare has recently suffered bouts of Lymphangitis triggered by mud fever and was quite poorly...her back leg was enormous :( Am sure your boy willbe fine, but as others have said, he really needs to be able to dry out to get on top of it. Good luck.x.
 
Can you fence off a small section of your field that is not muddy and feed hay on the ground in there for a few days to keep legs dry if you can't use a stable?
 
Poor lad :(

It must be quite bad if his legs are swollen. Have you had the vet, I would, as soon as possible too. Once it gets bad and infected its a nightmare to get rid of.

I would move to a yard with proper facilities asap. Keeping horses out 24/7 on muddy land with no access to emergency stabling is one of my pet hates I'm afraid.
 
Look at his diet In my experience if horses have a balanced diet mud fever doesn't seem to be a problem when the balance is out or they are not getting suffient minerals (copper seems to be one of them) it seems to affect them.

Mine are out 24/7 in muddy fields over winter and I haven't had mud fever in the last 15 years / 20 horses.

Have a look at aromesse aromaheel works wonders.
 
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My horse has had mudfever (although she is in at night and it wasn't as bad as yours sounds) and after some research (about keeping it dry but not trapping bacteria in with barrier creams and so on) I made my own mixture up using a thick white baby bum cream which is breathable AND a barrier called Bepanthen (you can get in supermarkets) and added in Tea Tree Oil (natural antiseptic) and some Lavender Oil (soothing). I'm not a home remedy type of person but it has worked really well so far and is a cover all solution which is easy for the YO to pop on in the mornings before turnout without lots of hosing off/drying etc. I'd imagine with 24/7 turnout if you can get the legs dry to put on initial application (on a weekend say when you have more time) then you just need to top up and every 3-4 days wash off with shampoo and dry/reapply maybe with breathable leg wraps over it. I'd get vet out though if it looks really sore... hope you get it sorted
 
I had a massive problem with mine a few months back (its just about gone) and tried everything. He was out 24/7 but it wasnt muddy as such. I spent over £100 on this and that but the thing that worked was pioneer liquid soap (google it) and mud fever balm (you need to buy both).

I wouldnt hibiscrub as its too harsh IMO. I was washing once daily at night with the soap and applying the balm after, and then applying balm alone in a morning. I then reduced to just once a day. Usually i am a 'dont wash' person but in this instance it worked and i had tried everything else.

I usually use aromaheel (using it now for last little bits) and the legs dont have to be real clean to apply, but its not good if hes stood in deep mud all day.

Oh - and initially i also ended up with antibiotics from the vet as his legs swelled. You dont want them left swollen or you will have a massive problem on your hands.
 
One thing i swear by in the future to stop it happening again is pig oil and sulphur. We coat our mares legs in it and mud simply doesnt sick to them at all ! Also clears up bad scabs really well :) Just buy it pre made and then apply with either a paintbursh or buy some rubber gloves and work it in ( thats what we do) she loves it aswell giving her a good old itch :P

Hope he is allright !
 
Guys. Thank you so much for all your replies. I've asked YO about moving him to a drier field, she said it's not possible. I then asked about moving the big round bale further into the field out of the water logged area (the rest of the field is on a slight slope), again not an option she said as the tractor will end up roughing up the field when putting a bale in the feeder.

So my next question to her will be can I electric fence off a dry area of the field until I get it cleared up. Hel hv to wade through th water and mud to get to it but at least he won't be standing in the wet all day. Il put his hay in haynets.

There are 2 stables for grass liveries to use but YO isn't keen on my lad being in as she thinks he won't settle. TBH she's not being very helpful. The last thing I want to have to do is move him as I've only been at the yard for a month and he's just settled. Don't really want to uproot him again... Plus my sharer, who I need for financial as well as time reasons (my man will divorce me if I b*gger off to the yard every night as we have wee boy) would not be able to travel all the way to the other yard.
 
My lad had had it very mildy all summer due to the rain & started getting worse start of October, I started him on Brinicombe Equine think mud supplement in his food start of Oct on loading dose for 2wks then 1 scoop daily from then on & its got rid of what was there (did within 2 weeks) and it hasnt come back!

No pig oil, hibiscrub, antibiotics, nothing.

Works for my boy I'll be using it every year now :) Good luck!!!
 
I'm sorry but you have stables to use so use. Has bugger all to do with her whether your horse settles or not! It's your horse not yo's! I'd be moving for this reason...
 
Seems like your yard owner has prioritised the field over your lads health. Mud fever can be really dreadful in an infected state as this case pls do not underestimate the impact.

Also I would strongly advise you to move him asap as this will get worse and yo seems useless. Pls do the right thing by tins horse he needs to be out of mud, dry, antibiotics and possibly bute.
 
Wash his legs well with Nozoral shampoo - you can buy it from a pharmacy.

Dilute in hand hot water and lather up well working well into the hair to the skin. Also wash all the wway around the leg and to the coronary band and to the hock.

Usually Nizoral will knock it on the head in a few days. Occaisionally you may have to do a second wash a few days later. I've found that the scabs fall off on their own and the mudfever doesn't continue to spread around the leg.

To help reduce the incidence of mudfever, greasy heel, rain scald and also sunburn provide the horse with 24/7 access to a mineral block with Copper and Zinc in it.
 
In order for the mud fever to go you are going to have to move him from his current wet and muddy environment. If you can find somewhere with a dry, mud free paddock (good luck!) that's great, otherwise its going to have to be a stable until its completely healed.

I'm sorry but if wouldn't be waiting another week. If his legs are swollen you have a problem and its probably painful too.

Unfortunately a lot of people are having similar problems this year as its been so wet, and relatively mild. Perfect conditions for germs!

My friends horse developed cellulitis due to mud fever and she has had to spend the last few months walking him up to six times a day in hand (good job she has lots of friends in her livery yard to help out) because he needs to needs to move around to let the swelling go down but he categorically cannot be turned out until the cellulitis and mud fever is completely gone. Her vet told her she had seen a few bad cases like hers this year so if you don't want to have to deal with a very poorly horse, please get him into a stable ASAP and start addressing the problem

Good luck! Hope he gets better soon
 
Your YO is being an arse if they won't let you use a stable 'because he might not settle'.
I would tell the YO that you need to bring in your horse as per veterinary advice.
 
Thank u guys sooo much for your fab advice. He's went from thick filled back legs to absolutely no swelling and only a small scabby patch on one leg and thread thin line of crust on the other after only a couple of days of treatment.

I initially washed well with cold water and very diluted hibiscrub, thoroughly dried with heaps of clean towels, slapped on udder cream then dabbed pig oil and sulphur ontop. Also pig oil and sulphur on th clean dry fronts to protect.

I'm planning on once or twice a week cleaning and reapplying th PO and sulphur all round for th rest of the winter to protect them.
 
My mare has got it on her back leg heels and a little on her fronts. I was advised to get the initial scabs off by bathing with Hibiscrub diluted. Dry off the legs then applying Flammazine, from the Vets. When this had soaked in I coated all 4 legs with Pig Oil & sulphur, So far so good and no swelling. She does have access to stables if needed and a field shelter but I am hoping she can stay out. Ive been treating it every 3 days or so. The Pig oil has helped soften the scabs and they come clean off. Roll on frozen ground, makes such a difference. Field is fairly well drained, its just the trough area and the area just in front of the hardstanding to the field shelter.
 
I used Neem oil this yr and its worked so far, lots of different treatments out there, just finding what works for your horse.
 
maccachic said:
Look at his diet In my experience if horses have a balanced diet mud fever doesn't seem to be a problem when the balance is out or they are not getting suffient minerals (copper seems to be one of them) it seems to affect them.

Mine are out 24/7 in muddy fields over winter and I haven't had mud fever in the last 15 years / 20 horses.

Have a look at aromesse aromaheel works wonders.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This
Copper and Zinc play an enormous role in protectin skin from attacks by mudfever. It seems to be so on the increase.

Let horses have free access to a mineral block that contains copper and zinc and you are less likely to be deafling with mudfever.

I've also found that it's great for those horses that have pink nooses and lips - seems to protect them from sunburn too.

As maccachic says - she's had many horses over 15 years that have never suffered from mudfever - same here, I remember the riding school gate way - you had to wear long rubber riding boots to get into the paddock - gumboots would be sucked off - the horses would often hang a round in it when due to come in - yet they never got mudfever.
 
I would definately try neem oil, I used it on a bad mudfever case last year and was amazed at how quick it worked. I bought mine at [URL="http://www.pro-equine.com" I thought pig sulpher burns skin?
 
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