Mud fever on horse with low immune system

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pukkapony

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My older chap has got really bad mud fever come up out of nowhere, he has 3 white socks all of which have mud fever of some degree (the front 2 no where near as bad as the back and the other back which has no sock hasnt got any sign of it so I suspect it's the photosensitive type of mud fever) I've been hibiscrub soaking, scrubbing & drying but it dosent seem to be getting better. He has recently battled liver disease and while the test results are clear now he's been left with a very low condition & immune system. He's out 24/7 in a dry field with plenty of grass but he's now becoming difficult to handle especially with scrubbing the worst leg. It's swollen and he is intermittently lame (slightly) the scabs arent shifting and in a desperate bid to protect him I sprayed it with purple spray this morning as it was the only way I could get something on it to hopefully protect it from the elements as its cracked his heel in a few places. I read sudocream works - do I just slap it on & turn him out? Or should I bandage with sudocream and change daily?
 
So sorry to hear about your pony, keep up the good work!!! I had a horse once which suffered badly with mud fever and cracked heels i used MANUKA honey its expensive but really worked well worth the try!!!!
The cheapest i found is in aldi less than £5.00 rub it on the affected areas and within a week you should see a massive diffrence, will do no harm to feed him a good spoonful help his immune system.

sounds like you love him very much, he is lucky to have you xx:)
 
What's he being fed currently? I've found the best way to protect against MF and it's ilk is to feed a good diet with sufficient minerals and vits
 
I too have heard that Manuka Honey is brilliant but I would be concerned about it being a bit of a fly trap during the summer. Zinc Ointment, (NOT zinc and castor oil) in a tub from the chemists could be the answer, water proof and sun proof and nicely malable in the warmer weather. Zinc is helpful to the immune system. Your horse might need something from the Vet for the swelling though and to "kick start" some improvement.

I hope you find a solution soon.
 
I would not use Hibiscrub on a regular basis as it kills the good skin bacteria, the ones that protect the skin.
We used to dry bandage overnight with clean tubigrip bandages or gauze bandages if you can get them, after washing any dirt with a mild soap solution.
A lot depends on horse tolerance, but a few days stabled overnight should help. The trouble with Sudocream can be that it is greasy and gets dirty, I would prefer udder cream or similar.
Never tried honey.
 
Thanks for all the advise, while honey sounds like it has really good healing properties I would be concerned about flies when mixing sugar & an open wound in summer (trust him to get mud fever in summer not winter when there is mud!) With regards to the feed... He is on a very strict diet as per my vet & nutritionalist which has infact brought him from the deaths door of liver failure!! He has a very low protein balanced diet of: super fibre pencils, hifi, oats, sugar beet, cider vinegar & milk thistle. I have to be careful of anything high in protein or iron (ie multivitamin products) I CAN bring him in however he is really really stressed indoors hence I leave him out 24/7 which is where he is happiest and stress will have an instant knock on effect on the liver which I am trying to avoid, can't give him anything to take the edge off stress either as it may strain the liver. I will call the vet in the morning and see what they think... I'm sure my lad will be very pleased to see vet again so soon :( thanks fuzzle he is my oldest and dearest of all who dispite costing me the earth in vet bills shall always get the best I can afford :)
 
I will second the aromeheel/aromese products - my old boys immune system was non existent and it was the only thing that cleared his mud fever up in the end (even cream from vets failed).

It seemed to soothe at same time so he didn't even mind me applying it.
 
I have recent experience of using Naf Mud Guard (feed supplement) and the difference it's made has been incredible. Have heard really good things about it, from other peeps too.

To prevent and treat mud fever, i've found nothing equals Pig Oil and Sulphur, cannot rate the stuff highly enough. Ebay £25, worth it's weight in gold. And the only thing that worked so well, he not only kept his feathers, but they grew much faster too.

Hope that helps. :)
 
hi, it is awful to have this, had it all last summer and winter, but i have it sorted now. here's what i did.

tried everything and cost a fortune, aromaheel is great but as mine had it all 4 legs cost a fortune.

so hibiscrub in warm water, then i made a homemade cream
sudocream or any babyrash cream in £1 shop. put in a bigger container to mix all this up. i poured abit of e.g a shot glass full of iodine in it half a bottle of baby oil, some tea tree oil few drops mix well and use gloves as iodine will stain abit. use this after you wash and dry legs all over for protection, rub well in, it wont sting and horse will like it after a few days. wash everyday and do this, after a few days scabs will rub all of while you are rubbing cream in. so do this for a week in total then. just wash every 3 days and rub baby oil all over legs while legs wet and this will keep them well. now i just do this every month for protection and if anything comes back use hibi scrub and your mixture till its healed. works like a charm alot cheaper.

best of luck i know how hard it is.
 
I ended up adopting a pony who had really most horrendous mud fever, the only thing I found worked and I tried everything was washing with diluted dettol.

Then spraying with purple spray then slathering with sudocreme it took daily upkeep with this and then it cleared fairly quickly.

If I think it is returning I apply sudocreme just as I do in wet or winter conditions and we are good to go.

When I first got him he had very heavy scabs and it was pretty horrible he is now free from it.
 
One of mine has had serious problems with mud fever over the years. I no longer use hibiscrub, as I found my mare found it too abrasive, so I use an anti bacterial shampoo. I then dry the legs then use plenty of cream, and wrap legs with clingfilm, then put turnout socks on. This will lift the scabs off without the need for scrubbing, as my mare kicks when you do it.
I feed linseed oil, as this is what my vet recomended. Our vet makes up a great cream with silver in it I think, which heals it up fast when you have got rid of the scabs. I also clip the legs, again vets advice.
It is a real pain, I used steroids for ages, as my mare seemed to have an immune system issue at the time. Good luck
 
dont use hibiscrub it is to harsh, i use iodine surgical srub you can buy this from boots. i make my own cream from huddercream, sulphur and tea tree oil.

i soak gamgie in the scrub and leave on for 5 min, then slap on the cream. i only use the scrub for a short time but slap the cream on for prevention.
 
Are you sure it's mud fever? Has the vet said it is. Is just I had a horse and the previous owner said it was mud fever, turned out to be leg mites? Just a thought as they should be treated totally differently. Hibiscrub is very strong to use all the time as others have said.
 
Pig oil & sulphur gets my vote. Sudocream is good as a barrier.

I think the mudfever is symptomatic of underlying health issues and your horses is the liver & kidneys. Same as mine three years ago.

I found homeopathy worked the best out of everything I tried.

You need to boost his immune system. If he were mine, I would take him off the grass. Dr Green is doing him no good at the moment. Give him hay that has been soaked for no longer than 30 mins with hi-fibre feed like Fast Fibre or Soft n Soak for condition and get a good mineral & vit supp with zinc, magnesium... not too much iron as it can stop the absorption of calcium, zinc and magnesium.

Also, call Trinity Consultants for a bespoke liver tonic but speak to them and tell them what s wrong so they can give you the right one. You need to feed him this for 10 days. Keep him stabled if you can to rest his system. A bit like going to a detox spa.

http://trinity-consultants.com/

http://www.ainsworths.com/

My boy, had mf, swollen legs, poor circulation (causing the MF), LGL on top too! Was well enough to be lunged gently in two weeks, to promote circulation, and the MF cleared and new hair had already grown back in that time. Hope your lad gets well soon x
 
Our horse had something very similar to this. Make sure he isn't grazing in buttercups. We now feed ours equiderm by feedmark which supports the skin. It is mostly linseed,b vits and biotin and some herbs. Also would get his bloods checked as it sounds like he is struggling with something. Our boy turned out to have very raised liver enzymes. He is completely fine now and the skin on his heels has completely recovered after struggling for over a year with it.
 
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pukkapony said:
Thanks for all the advise, while honey sounds like it has really good healing properties I would be concerned about flies when mixing sugar & an open wound in summer (trust him to get mud fever in summer not winter when there is mud!) With regards to the feed... He is on a very strict diet as per my vet & nutritionalist which has infact brought him from the deaths door of liver failure!! He has a very low protein balanced diet of: super fibre pencils, hifi, oats, sugar beet, cider vinegar & milk thistle. I have to be careful of anything high in protein or iron (ie multivitamin products) I CAN bring him in however he is really really stressed indoors hence I leave him out 24/7 which is where he is happiest and stress will have an instant knock on effect on the liver which I am trying to avoid, can't give him anything to take the edge off stress either as it may strain the liver. I will call the vet in the morning and see what they think... I'm sure my lad will be very pleased to see vet again so soon :( thanks fuzzle he is my oldest and dearest of all who dispite costing me the earth in vet bills shall always get the best I can afford :)
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I would think something like Pro Balance + (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-BALANCE-1-8KG-Forage-Balancer-General-Health-Supplement-Horse-Minerals-/280882033281?pt=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item4165dfb281), or pro hoof from the same seller, might help him. It has no iron in it, nor much protein. Of course you'd need to run the ingredients past your vet, given the circumstances. It does sound like his immune system needs a bit of a boost, though.
 
Vet said its photosensitive mud fever, she advised hibiscrub every other day & bandage with sudocream to try & soften the scabs. I brought him in today (he is normally out 24/7 with shelter) but he was so stressed even with his little mare friend penned outside his stable he was weaving violently then tried to get over the door he wouldn't touch his food or hay. I need to soften it with the sudocream somehow but I can't let it get wet in the field... any suggestions? Vet advised against any form of calmer so that's a no-no and she has increased his supplements to help with the liver (more bloods taken - await results) she was overall happy with his condition however and thought the mud fever may well be caused by buttercups in field as there are some areas with them in - shall fence off & spray them. I had to let him back in the field in the end as it would be dangerous to leave him in unsupervised and the stress wouldn't do him any favours.
 
Barrier Animal Healthcare Heel To Hoof cream will soften the scabs so they lift off on their own, its antibacterial and antifungal, the healing properties penetrate through dirt, it will stick to wet skin and once on will keep any further moisture out. Head & Shoulders shampoo for humans will be more soothing than hibiscrub. If he's photosensitive then when its all healed make sure you put sunblock on him so it doesn't come back.
 
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