Mud fever on a grass kept horse

schneeko

schneeko

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My horse has mud fever (no real mud in the field so I assume the long wet grass must be causing it) it's only on his white foot and mostly right at the bottom.

I have no access to a stable until December but I really want this treated now. What can I do to treat it from the field? I've since been drying all his other feet and using a powder everyday to help prevent it but I can't shift this bit he already has

(if it gets any worse I will get the vet out but it's not that bad at the moment so i'd like to try and treat it first)

Thanks :)
 
Cut all the hair off the surrounding area and apply sudacrem liberally until cleared.

Mud fever attacks pink skin (so white bits!) worse than black skin!

The Sudacrem should hopefully seal the area from getting wet again but will also work to kill the bacteria. Try not to go too nutsy washing etc as in this wet weather you'll achieve nothing!

Oh, and get another towel for his infected foot so you don't spread it to the other feet. It certainly won't hurt to keep them dry when you can as long as you don't pass the bacteria from foot to foot!
 
Sometimes it is just extremely stubborn. Dorey had mud fever for absolutely months cos it just didn't want to shift!! I didn't like fiddling all the time cos it did hurt her and she would quite gleefully take that out on me! But I did find that sudacrem worked well over winter and then just vet powder when it's dry!

It's gonna sound gross but if you pick the scabs off then it gives the sudacrem a chance to get in and do it's thing. Of course, don't try that if you think you'll get kicked but it does seem to make a difference (I'm really old fashioned and I believe making it bleed helps clean it too... Am prepared to be shot down over that one!)
 
My boy has mud fever too :(

I have covered his heals in Vasaline in the hope it acts as a water proof barrier, fingers crossed it works - it is looking slightly better.

There is no mud in his field what so ever so I'm guessing it's the constant wet, long grass around his legs that's caused it!
 
Serenity087 said:
It's gonna sound gross but if you pick the scabs off then it gives the sudacrem a chance to get in and do it's thing. Of course, don't try that if you think you'll get kicked but it does seem to make a difference (I'm really old fashioned and I believe making it bleed helps clean it too... Am prepared to be shot down over that one!)
Click to expand...

I tried picking all the scabs off and I was sort of "ooo" ing and "ahhhh" ing alongside flinching and "sorry Freddie" ing! I could tell he was uncomfortable but I think it was worse for me than it was for him!
 
Slather the leg(s) in sudocrem or udder cream, wrap clingfim over then bandage over the top and leave in overnight (i know you can't stable until Dec but keep this in mind for then!) The next morning the scabs should have sweated nicely overnight and slide off with gentle abrasion. Pat the leg dry and apply whatever treatment you are using then slather petroleum jelly over the top. That holds the treatment on and keeps the water out. I did this last year with my boy who suffers terribly with mud fever and it made a huge difference. We had to do several cycles of clingfilm and bandaging to get all the scabs off but it worked!
 
I've been using germolene ointment, and it seems to be working well.

Did try some horribly expensive stuff - muddy buddy cream, but it didn't help, although I do think the muddy buddy shampoo is very good.
 
Sudacrem and udder cream aren't waterproof enough for the job if the ground is wet. I'd try baby oil or olive oil, which softens the scabs too. Has worked on all milder cases of mudrash we had.
 
My boy had it for the first time ever :mad: Lots have it around me and it is apparently due to the wet spring/summer.
My boy was very sore and wouldn't let me get near to deal with the scabs so i just massaged them gently with pig oil and sulphur twice a day which not only helped them soften and helped the scabs drop off but also kept the legs protected from more wet.
Good luck :)
 
Heel to hoof cream will lift the scabs off, is antibacterial and sticks to wet skin. A hairdryer can be useful to get the legs dry enough to put keratex powder on (before the cream, if you're using both).
 
i really rate a cream called filtabac - def rate it over sudecream etc - worth a try if you're still having trouble
(ps mine lives out 24/7 365 ;))
 
Aqueous cream and sulphur powder. Don't wash the legs at all, this stuff cleared my mares up in a week and has worked on everyone's horses who suffered with mud fever at the yard
 
I tried udder cream, vasaline, sudocrem etc, etc, and the best thing by far was Conotrane cream, recco'd by my vet, bought from the chemist fairly cheap and worked wonders : can be used to treat and prevent as it's waterproof too.
 
I wash off and and pick scabs, then spray with antiseptic like savalon or asdas own. Leave Gordon a few mins and dry. Then use neosporin (triple antibiotic cream off eBay) and if wet weather put seudcream over to protect. Works a treat!
 
My mare has got mud fever this year (after not having it for the past 2 years!), shes stabled at night and out during the day.

Typically she has 3 white legs, 2 have healed and are fine (luckily they were not too bad), but 1 leg is taking a while to heal up.

I have purchased some new protection salve/ cream (its pink in colour, quite sticky) which I put on in a morning before she goes out, very waterproof and acts as a great barrier. At night I dry her legs and apply Dermosalve, and it seems to be doing the job.

Also wrapping clingfilm & bandaging legs works aswell, as the scabs sweat off, and vaseline acts as a good barrier also.

Good luck x
 
I really honestly do rate the safecare products- youll find them on facebook! Spray his / her heels in the rapid relief spray and then coat in the barrier cream, its soft, waterproof and affordable.. Last year my mare had mud rash really bad, i used baby oil, nappy cream, udder cream but they were all messy, greasy and actually didnt work. This year as soon as the fields got wet i started using the barrier cream and theres no signs of it! and she has 3 white socks! I even use it on her nose, as she take bad reactions to buttercups. For such a big strong horse shes a woooose!:rolleyes:

Hope this helps!
 
I used the fungatrol shampoo, dried affected leg thoroughly then applied fungatrol cream, can highly recommend this or the MSM cream.

An old fashioned extremely cheap but effective method is to use lard, ensure horses legs are completely dry and apply liberallly. I used this about 5 years ago after battling with mud fever for weeks, within a week it had cleared up and we've never had it since, until this year when I've moved yards.
 
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