Mud fever or Feather Mites?! Help!

[LuandLu24]

Hi, i have a very hairy irish cob who lives out 24/7. Due to the rain we've had, the part of the field near the gate is very wet & muddy and therefore, my cob is very wet & muddy most of the time.

I have noticed the bottom of her feathers have - what seems like - come off. The feathers on the backs of her legs are still there, it's just the bottom feathers near the coronet band and under the ergot that have rubbed off. They're still there, they're just a lot shorter than they were last week.

When I touch her skin it itches and she seems to like me itching it. Her skin was very red when I brought her in from the field but since keeping her in at night and turning her out in the day with mud protection cream on the redness has gone. She has no scabs at all and I have looked thoroughly through her legs and I can't seem to see any mites. I have put mite powder on just incase though!

What do you guys think this is? i've never had a horse with mud fever before so i'm hoping some of you guys who have can help me.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KrujaaLass]

I don't think the mites are visible.think some horses can lose some feather. Think it's called bog something. Treat her for mites to be on the safe side

 

[Tnavas]

Last winter my Clydesdale had a similar problem - it was the damp trapping the moisture against her skin, Farrier cut her feather off (There was almost a murder committed - I restrained myself!) I washed her legs in Nizoral which seemed to clear up the problem. Try the Nizoral, but you may need to remove the feather if it doesn't work to allow the legs to dry off.

 

[supsup]

Could be bog burn. If only the hair is broken off but the skin looks healthy, then this could be it. Happens if the hair breaks off due to mud sausages dangling around the fetlocks. Some people think that acidic (bog) ground makes it worse and turns the hair more brittle.

 

[LuandLu24]

Thanks guys, I definitely think it's bog burn now. Shall I still continue to wash off her legs, then dry them and keep her in a night?

 

[scrat]

Try not keep washing her legs to remove the mud as this will saturate her skin an then you may create further problems. Brush off any dry mud then put pig oil or baby oil if its easier to get to act as a barrier. The bottom of her feather may need a rinse off which you could towel dry then put oil on. This should stop the mud building up and wearing the hair away. Don't remove her feather its the best protection she has for her skin. If you pull the hair apart you will see that it is whitest next to the skin which shows how well it does its job.

 

[jojo5]

Try not keep washing her legs to remove the mud as this will saturate her skin an then you may create further problems. Brush off any dry mud then put pig oil or baby oil if its easier to get to act as a barrier. The bottom of her feather may need a rinse off which you could towel dry then put oil on. This should stop the mud building up and wearing the hair away. Don't remove her feather its the best protection she has for her skin. If you pull the hair apart you will see that it is whitest next to the skin which shows how well it does its job.

^^^all of this absolutely. Just to say, however, that some horses ' skin seems to be irritated by baby oil.

 

[missyclare]

I find that this condition already has a greasy presence to it. An environment created by the moisture to feed the baddies. Just like thrush uses false sole and any crevice it can to set up a jungle that continues to feed it. The common denominator is lack of oxygen. I also agree that leaving the feather long is best for the skin, but when things are just wet, wet, wet, then they too can be overwhelmed. If this were my horse, I'd treat it just like thrush and take care of that too, in the process. I'd would wash briefly with a good grease cutting dish soap and dry with a hair dryer if I had to, to get bone dry, then on shavings clean and dry for the night. That lets the oxygen in. I would medicate in the morning before turning out. The medication of my choice would be No Thrush, which is a powder that you poof on and its an incredible barrier against moisture. It works as a barrier, by sucking up the moisture and keeping it away from the skin, more like an active barrier. I suspect that the Baby oil may not always work because its grease on grease and may be locking out moisture, but also locking in moisture and the nasties with it. I once had an easy keeper that had that tunneled spine that held onto water just that much longer and got sick. I washed it up, which really showed the extent of it in lost hair. I poofed it all with No Thrush and turned him back out in the rain. The orange color stayed there for 2 weeks, showing me that it hadn't washed off and was still present and working. Immediately, the spread of the condition stopped and new hair started growing. I've never seen anything work so well as a barrier since. Although I was keeping my eye on it, it was a complete turnaround in one application. As a barefoot trimmer for 20 years, thrush is my No.1 enemy and No Thrush is the answer for thrush treatment in the face of wet weather. Turns out, its just as excellent for the skin as well. It is the first thing I reach for, for rain rot, or scratches, or bog burn and thrush, ofcourse. A really effective long term barrier for long term wetness.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Try adding micronised linseed and minerals to the diet all year round, and I would use Keratex powder in preference to pig oil and sulphur.
Use stable bandages to dry legs as fast as possible. You might need a few pairs to keep them dry.