Mud fever - is it recurring?

E

E_Lister

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I am currently looking into buying a horse and one I have seen that seems ideal has had mud fever over this winter. I have several questions regarding this.

1. Is there more risk of her getting it againg now she has had it/ are horses which have had mud fever simply prone to it or does it depend on the circumstances.

2. I intend to keep her living out all winter, however the field is well drained and she would be strip grazed to avoid the worst of the mud. There would also be a field shelter. Would she be at risk of getting mud fever again this winter in these situations?

Thanks for replying, E
 
Some horses do seem to be more prone to getting mud fever than others but I guess it does depend on the circumstances. Do you have acces to a stable so that if he does get it again, he can be brought in to be treated?
 
If it was needed then yes, however the field shelter is one where you can shut a horse in so I would probably try that first.
 
I would say it would be fine, just monitor it and treat quickly if horse does get it. Two out of the three horses i have owned have suffered from mud fever and I dont think it would put me off buying the perfect horse.
 
It's caused by bacteria in the soil penetrating skin damaged by injury or wetness or mud abrasiveness. I have heard that horses with white stockings are more prone (but not sure if this is just hearsay) or if your horse's immunity is lowered for some other reason eg stress, illness etc. I would have thought that well drained pasture would be less of a threat. It's deep, endless mud that is more of a danger.
 
Mud Fever starts off as a fungus invading the skin, the bacterial infection is the next stage especially when the scabs have been forcibly removed.

Washing with Nizeral will kill the fungus really fast. Dilute with warm water and lather up with a face cloth over affected area and leave to dry. Repeat until inflamation subsides. Nizeral is a human anti dandruff shampoo that contains Ketaconisol. I've been using it on affected horses now for several years.

Copper and Zinc deficiency reduces the skins ability to fight off the fungal infection. Feed a supliment daily that will increase these minerals.
 
Mud fever isn't fungal - its bacterial. Dermatophilus congolensis to be precise. There is a variant sometimes called fungal or black mud fever - but it isn't actually mud fever at all. It responds to a wholly different set of treatments. Confusion between the two can lead to problems in treatment.

Tanvas is quite right that Nizoral is a good treatment for funagl infections. But it will do nothing for bacterial mud fever. You only have to google mud fever - or put it in the forum search box - to see how many peole struggle with it. And how many different remedies there are.

IMHO horses that have had mud fever once are more likely to get it again. But I can't cite any learned source for that - just experience, but once the bacteria gets into the soil in the feilds it just seems to be there forever. I've never heard of anyone being able to treat a field for mud fever without killing all the bacteria which need to be there!

But you shouldn't necessarily let that put you off buying the horse. Your are absolutely right to be sure that you can cope with it before you commit to her. You may need to take more care with her legs, or find a preventative that will help most of the time. A tendancy to mud fever isn't a disaster. But if she was seriously lamed by this last bout you might want to make further enquiries of a vet.
 
Nearly all the horses on our yard get mud fever to some extent which is down to the soil conditions (clay bog) and just something you accept and get on with where we are. However most are stabled overnight. Many have their legs washed off which is a debatable point whether this compromises the natural protective grease that a horse's skin gives off.

Therefore you might find a horse living out will get through the winter without getting mud fever whereas one who is religiously hosed off every day will get it. Though this is by no means always the case.

It is considered that once a horse has had mud fever they are more susceptible to it in the future. But what you really need to know is how badly the horse had it, because if it was just around the pastern and fetlock without much hair loss then that wouldn't worry me. If it went further up the leg, like up to the hock, with a lot of hair loss, heat and puffiness then that can lead to lympangitis and that horse is likely to be high maintenance during the winter months.

Your well drained strip grazed fields would definitely be a big bonus.
 
It's funny, the only Horse who's been at our yard that got mud fever is the one who's owner was always washing his socks for shows. All ours live out 24/7 and the fields are pretty well drained but do get muddy around the gates. The first Horse I owned never got it (also lived out) but once I sold her the new owner contacted me to say she had got it really badly. She was stabling her overnight. I don't know if any of this is relevant but all Horses I've known that are kept out without being washed all the time have never had it.

If it was the only negative point I certainly would not let it put me off buying a Horse (unless it was a really serious case and then I'd have to think about it).
 
You could always try sponging pig oil onto each white leg to act as a barrier to the mud so it cannot get to the skin once a day. Two of my horses have 4 white socks/stockings and this works in repelling the mud, don't be tempted to wash the legs too often as you can wash away natural bacteria. Also don't be too tempted too use turnout socks either as this caused cellulitous in one of my horses where the neoprene sweated against the skin.
 
Hi Shay,

I've had this conversation with my equine vet and she too is now convinced that Mud Fever starts off as a fungus. The vets tend to only see it after the owner has tried to remove the scabs by force and allowed the bacteria to get in.

Four years ago I used Nizeral on a bad case of rain scald and it cleared it within days. Since then I've used it on the racehorses I've worked with that have come in from their holidays with Mud Fever. Each time it has worked within days, clearing the scabs with no swelling, no secondary infection and pain free for the horse. However the horses that have been treated by other people forcibly removing the scabs they have developed secondary infection, swollen legs and lameness. Dispite that they respond rapidly to the Nizeral as well.

Since this time it's been the first treatment I've used for Mud Fever, Greasy Heel and Rain Scald (rot) all horses have recovered fast withouot any secondary infection, swelling or lameness.

I'm now totally convinced that it is the aggresive treatment of removing the scabs by force that allows the bacteria access to the now damaged skin. As the scabs are made up of lymph oozed from the skin and attached around healthy hair as well pulling them off forcibly breaks the skin so that it bleeds.

I know there are many ways people have dealt with it but after posting for several years about Nizeral I am having people come back thanking me as their horses now recover so quickly.
 
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