Mud fever spreading to cannons and... ears?? Please help

[chrisley]

My boy is living out 24/7 for the first time since I bought him last year and given the inclement summer weather he's having a whole host of weird issues.

First, the mud fever -- I actually have quite a bit of experience with this so while it took me by surprise in August I can get it under control (I hope).

But it seems to also be creeping up his cannons? And I swear he also has it on the edges of his ears! Has anyone else seen this?

Normally I use muddy buddy powder as a preventative two or three times a week in winter but it just isn't cutting it right now. Does anyone have tips/tricks/product recommendations to prevent it from coming back? I have the heavy duty pink stuff from the vet to actually treat it but I'd like to keep it gone!

And if anyone has tips for treating mud fever on ears in particular I would be forever grateful. I don't feel comfortable putting the pink stuff on his ears in case it were to drip down inside (the cruddy mud fever-looking bumps are right on the edge).

 

[MereChristmas]

Mine got mud fever down the necks during one awful wet winter. I bought them all hoods with ears. It worked but they were sensible quiet horses and kept the hoods on tidily. Not sure if it would be safe for every horse.

 

[chrisley]

"Sensible" and "quiet" are not words in my horse's vocabulary, unfortunately. That does sound like an excellent solution though!

 

[MereChristmas]

"Sensible" and "quiet" are not words in my horse's vocabulary, unfortunately. That does sound like an excellent solution though!

I wanted to quote both ‘like ‘ and ‘laugh’

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Are you sure it's mud fever? My cob developed something similar last autumn. That was found to be an allergic reaction to linseed.

 

[honetpot]

Sounds like fungal infection like ringworm, my cows get what looks like tiger strips on their neck where they sweat on their neck, we have had a lot of warm wet weather and in the legs and ears are not drying out the spores are in the enviroment.
You can buy a special treatment but really if they are still warm and wet it will reoccur, I would be tempted to try athlete foot powder as its cheap and unlikely to do much harm.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Sounds like it could be rain scald I would also be tempted to use some athletes foot spray or powder on it if it's fungal it will clear it up.

Arabi got a scabby patch behind his ear a few weeks back and it looked like mud fever but I think it was due to the warm wet weather, I put athletes foot cream on it and all the scabs fell off after 2 days and the hair has grown back.

 

[Highmileagecob]

The mites have been having a field day in the damp humid weather. My cob is having his legs scrubbed with 2.5% Selsun shampoo every time I see him scratching, and zinc and castor oil cream on the inside of his ears to stop midges biting. I never thought I would say 'roll on winter' - this summer has been very labour intensive!

 

[JBM]

Mud rash and rain scald are very similar and can be treated the same way so I would say a hibicrub bath!
They can get both at the same time for the fun of it
Been there
I swear by MTG but patch test first as I’ve heard a few horses have been allergic to an ingredient in it
It’s also oil based so best used in the evening

 

[SantaVera]

Get the vet out.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Mud rash and rain scald are very similar and can be treated the same way so I would say a hibicrub bath!
They can get both at the same time for the fun of it
Been there
I swear by MTG but patch test first as I’ve heard a few horses have been allergic to an ingredient in it
It’s also oil based so best used in the evening

You have to be careful with hibiscrub one of mine is allergic and its so harsh I never use it now, I do use mtg though it's great stuff for mane growth.

I would now use a mild shampoo for mud fever and similar and use an atheletes foot spray it clears up rain scald really quickly.

 

[chrisley]

Sorry guys, I didn't see I had any further replies until just now! Thank you all for your advice. I've picked all the bits off his legs and am liberally applying muddy buddy powder from the hocks down and it hasn't come back yet

His ears I'm still pretty down about because a) I feel awful picking at them -- will try athlete's foot powder, thanks for the recommendation! And also b) he has the waxiest ears I've ever seen on a horse and despite what the internet says, a damp cloth is not cutting it, and c) he's also got black waxy bits on the back (like cannon crud) that I can't figure out how to wash off. They look a mess! Meanwhile my other horse has lovely clean ears inside and out with zero effort on my part.

I always said I would never buy a grey but I liked him so much I made an exception that I regret love him but he's impossible to keep clean as it is, much less with all his weird extra issues! Hopefully once the weather cools and other people start bringing in their horses at night it will be easier to keep him sorted -- can't bring him in now overnight with no company on the yard.

 

[chrisley]

You have to be careful with hibiscrub one of mine is allergic and its so harsh I never use it now, I do use mtg though it's great stuff for mane growth.

I would now use a mild shampoo for mud fever and similar and use an atheletes foot spray it clears up rain scald really quickly.

Which shampoo do you use? I have a no rinse antifungal shampoo I use occasionally but I believe mud fever is bacterial (?) so might not be very effective. How often do you use it?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I just use dermoline medicated or malaseb if I have any and I only wash it once, I find the constant washing makes it worse, then I just use daktarin foot spray twice a day then usually the scabs go within a few days.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

How old is he? skin issues can be a symptom of PPID so maybe worth ruling it out with a blood test. For treating it i would 100% recommend silver whinnys sox, they are the best thing i ever bought. Available from USA but don't let that put you off they do arrive quickly and maybe still on sale. once healed mine wore them 24/7 to prevent its return. As for the ears you could try equine america fungatrol cream

 

[vhf]

Gold Label wonder gel treats both rain scald and mud fever quite nicely once you've started to get at it. It's easy to apply, smells nice (A consideration with one of mine!) and isn't a silly price. It doesn't seem to sting - is in fact quite soothing, I use it on insect bites, since everything has been eating me this year.