Mud Fever (settle a disagreement)

beh

beh

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Well.....

Sicco has had a bit of mudfever recently and so i've been treating it with some animal-tex or something cream, it started to scab up and I keep putting on the cream.

The disagreement is, when its scabbed up, should you get the scabs off or leave them on?
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Thanks very much
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I have always been a mud fever scab picker off!! I used to hibi scrub them off and then dry the area thoroughly and then put powder on (can't remember name of powder.) Cleared it up a treat and has never come back in the last 5 years.
 
I put a cream on which softens the scabs and they just fall off, once off you can treat skin underneath with antiseptic (i use iodene spray) and mudfever goes in no time!!

Never force them off though or you could end up with scar tissue and white hair growing back on the legs.
 
So I shall leave the scabs to fall off (or maybe a little bit of picking) then treat the skin underneath. Thanks very much
 
I'd say scabs off, but as the others have said, not aggressively removed.

I use Heel to Hoof that softens them a treat, leave it over night, apply again and rub in then wash off with hibiscrub and find the scabs just wash off.

Harsh scrubbing of scabs makes me wince!!
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scabs off - the microbes are anaerobic and so thrive 'under cover'

remove scab and they are exposed to air and die
 
slightly differently, I would soften the scabs with cream, pick off what comes off easily then wash daily with an anti fungal shampoo and dry well (I wouldn't then put any more cream on as I believe that encourages moist surroundings that support fungal growth)
 
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So I shall leave the scabs to fall off (or maybe a little bit of picking) then treat the skin underneath. Thanks very much

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If you use a circular motion when applying the cream and go beyond the edges of the scabs and go right down to the skin, not just layer it on the top hair, you'll find they loosen much quicker and the horses don't seem to mind it as much cos they're getting a bit of a massage too! But as the others say, don't force a scab off - ever!
 
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So I shall leave the scabs to fall off (or maybe a little bit of picking) then treat the skin underneath

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No - you need to pick them off - but when they are nice and loose. They will come away very easily then. They very rarely fall off themselves.
 
Wash the legs well with hibiscrub or something similar and this should soak off most of the scabs, then cream. Do not pick!!
 
Right, this is pretty failsafe but if case is very bad may need help with antibiotics.

Wash the area with warm saline or Hibiscrub, gently, dont pick the scabs.
Dry the area gently with a clean towel, dont rub
Apply a gentle cream such as Clenderm from the vet, it is water soluble non greasy and contains salicylic acid which helps skin heal.
Wrap the area, not tightly with cling film-yes, cling film.
Apply stable bandage and leave overnight.
The following day remove the bandage, wipe any excess cream and gunk with kitchen paper and repeat the whole process. Some of the scabs will come off leaving pink bare skin underneath, clean gently and apply more Clenderm.
You may have to do this several nights on the trot and keep horse in for a few days but once you have broken the back of it keep cleaning the area with warm saling and apply leg wraps at night to dry the legs.
 
Def get the scabs off! i can recommend Gold label Mud gaurd, fairly inexpensive and great for softening the scabs ready to be picked off, rub in day and night and remove any scabs that will come away. I have 3 coloured horses which are prone to mud fever and use mud guard at the first sign of mud fever, it works a treat!
 
Strange isn't it? I was talking to my vet about this the other week and he said leave the scabs to fall off naturally, he said advice to pick them off was "outdated". I've treated very aggressive mud fever in a new horse by just wiping the legs sort of clean with a towel - no washing - and applying plenty of Heel to Hoof. It took about two patient weeks, but then the scabs had all fallen off and the legs were looking lovely. I suppose it works in a similar way to the cling film, because it is very waterproof and seals the mud fever in. This horse was living out 24/7 by the way.
I think the reason that so many people swear by so many different methods of healing this is because there are sort of different types of mud fever. Does that ring a bell with anyone?
 
Yes George gets two very different types, one I worry about and one I just deal with.

The worrying type I always get antibiotics and do box rest for. The other type I just heel to hoof as you do etc
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Thanks ever so, shall "massage scabs off" (no picking
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) and smother the skin in some mud fever stuff.

Nice one
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