mud fever treatment in unhandled 3yo

mynutmeg

mynutmeg

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I got a new horse last weekend (yay :-) )
she's a very sweet 3 yo irish draught. She's friendly and used to people but had very little done with her at all before we got her (basically been in a field, had a headcollar on, minimal amount of work on picking up feet and thats about it)
She allows you to pick up her front feet (and I mean 'you' pick up - she does not help you at all!!) but we've been struggling with her back feet - she'll pick them up but then kick out quite violently (not in a nasty way at all, no aiming for you or anything, very much a worried, unhappy way) and today we worked out why - she's got what feels like quite long standing bits of mud fever. They're not massive or awful but they are there.

She allows you to touch her legs but obv tugging on the fetlock to get her to lift has been uncomfotable for her. I've been able to cream them up tonight but my usual mud fever treatment involves washing and scrubbing and is likely to be uncomfortable for her so I don't think she'll allow that.

Any suggestions for topical, easy application, things that will help to heal this up?
 
manuka honey. Forget the washing (unless coated in mud of course) just lather the manuka on twice a day if that is possible. I have had a lot of success in this sort of area with it.
 
Flamazine (preferably with Synulox mixed into it) from the vet. Don't upset her by washing/scrubbing (really shouldn't be scrubbing mud fever anyway!) just slap on the cream and let it work it's magic!
 
Auslander said:
Flamazine (preferably with Synulox mixed into it) from the vet. Don't upset her by washing/scrubbing (really shouldn't be scrubbing mud fever anyway!) just slap on the cream and let it work it's magic!
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I have no intention of trying to wash, honest. We're just starting to get her used to picking her feet up and being comfortable being handled so not going to do anything that causes problems with being handled. If she ends up needing more intervention then I'll rganise a vet to sedate her properly for us to get in so it's not stressful for her
 
Try feeding copper and zinc. I haven't had a case of mud fever develop here since I balanced copper and zinc to my iron levels, and the one I bought I last year with it, it disappeared as soon as I supplemented his food.
 
ycbm said:
Try feeding copper and zinc. I haven't had a case of mud fever develop here since I balanced copper and zinc to my iron levels, and the one I bought I last year with it, it disappeared as soon as I supplemented his food.
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This...

I got an unhandled 2 year old last year, started him on Pro Hoof straight away... mud fever disappeared on it's own.... He was on a large lava paddock though... Not sure if he had been standing in mud it would have been enough (?)
 
Pig oil with sulphur? You can slap it on without picking feet up and it should calm the itch, kill the mites and stop the mud sticking. It worked a treat on my mare over last winter.
 
Are you sure it's mud fever it's been so dry seems odd to have it now? Could it be the sunlight sensitivity condition some horses get I can never remember the name let alone spell it, it does look and feel like mud fever so is often mistaken for it.
 
Pinkvboots said:
Are you sure it's mud fever it's been so dry seems odd to have it now? Could it be the sunlight sensitivity condition some horses get I can never remember the name let alone spell it, it does look and feel like mud fever so is often mistaken for it.
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I've dealt with the sunlight thing as well on one of our others - we're up North and it's not been dry for quite a while. Also the field she came from had a permenant water leak from the trough so when we went to see her at the start of august, despite gorgeous weather, the front part of the field was a mud pit.

Thanks for all the suggestions :-)
 
My cheap go to is Sudocreme for most things including mudfever and I smother it on and is softens scabs which fall off or can be gently rubbed away. It’s sticky though. Be very careful my old YO was trampled by a horse when she tried to force mudfever scabs off, they’re terribly painful.
 
I would go the sudocreme route - it will soften any scabs and make it easier for you to get at the sore bits.

I would also recommend Nizoral shampoo - you can get it from the chemist over the counter, its an anti dandruff shampoo, but very strong and only comes in a little bottle. Wash, dry and pig oil/sulphur.

I am about to start pig oiling my 2 year-olds feathers - trying to get him used to it before the winter and mud sets in. Wish me luck - I only managed yesterday to pick out all 4 feet without incident. Picking feet up/out has been a long, long, long, difficult 5-month journey - seems like I've cracked it for now - hurrah!
 
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