Mud rash but no mud...any ideas?? Possible mineral deficiency?

[HashRouge]

My beloved elderly Arab (27) has currently got quite scabby legs. It looks exactly the same as mud rash, but we have no mud at the moment. However, they have been on longish grass and there have been quite heavy morning dews, so I wonder if this has caused it. I'm slightly concerned about the fact that she effectively has mud rash when we have no mud, as it is making me worry about when we do get mud! I was just wondering if there could be some underlying reason for her skin to be so sensitive - i.e. mineral deficiency? Does anyone know if that is a thing? Aside from the scabby legs, she looks utterly fab for her age and is currently so full of beans my YO said the other day that she looks like a 5 year old. But there is obviously something not quite right for her legs to be like this so early in the winter.

 

[oldie48]

I found my old TB started to have scabby legs when he had cushings. Mud fever is a bacterial infection and doesn't require mud, wet grass and a compromised immune system might be enough.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I've also seen it be liked to a zinc and/or copper and zinc deficiency.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

The last time DP got mud fever on both hinds it was at a new yard, in September, very long grass, wet dew and it was warm. Absolutely perfect conditions for it to take hold through a tiny nick in the skin and as he was on a Forage Plus balancer I cant blame a lack of anything in his diet. Moved back to the farm and hasn’t had it since.

 

[HashRouge]

I found my old TB started to have scabby legs when he had cushings. Mud fever is a bacterial infection and doesn't require mud, wet grass and a compromised immune system might be enough.

She has cushings and is on Prascend - her acth levels were tested quite recently and all seems good there. But I suppose it could still be compromising her immune system a bit.

 

[HashRouge]

I've also seen it be liked to a zinc and/or copper and zinc deficiency.

I did wonder about this. She isn't on any kind of balancer atm so I've just ordered the winter skin and hoof one from Forage Plus and will see if that makes any difference.

 

[paddy555]

do you have mud fever or leuko vasculitis? are the legs white?

 

[AdorableAlice]

Have a read about LV. No balancer or cream will sort it, you need veterinary intervention and antibiotics.

 

[Maryann]

I had an Arab that got what looked like mud fever in similiar circumstances. He had to have the vet and antibiotics - well two vets actually as he terrorised the first one. He never suffered from it in actual mud though and it only happened the once.

 

[NinjaPony]

I do think Cushings compromises their immune system. After mine was diagnosed, he got ringworm (the only one on the whole yard and mud fever. If her legs are bad I’d get a vet out. But I do think a general vit and min supplement is a good idea when they have a compromised immune system.

 

[Sossigpoker]

You don't need mud to have mud fever. So treat it as such.

 

[HeyMich]

I was thinking LV too. It can be a sign that the immune system is struggling, and typically affects older horses with white legs. I can send you pics of the LV we had to deal with last year. We managed to successfully beat it with topical steroids (cream and then spray), clipping and hibiscrubbing regularly and box rest. Good luck, let us know how you get on xx

 

[HashRouge]

Have a read about LV. No balancer or cream will sort it, you need veterinary intervention and antibiotics.

do you have mud fever or leuko vasculitis? are the legs white?

Yes they are white, I've never heard of this before! It sounds like the only way to know for sure what it is is to get the vet and have a biopsy done? I'd say she's had it for just over a week - I need to have another look at it tomorrow to see if my treatment (been treating as mud rash) has helped at all.

 

[HashRouge]

I was thinking LV too. It can be a sign that the immune system is struggling, and typically affects older horses with white legs. I can send you pics of the LV we had to deal with last year. We managed to successfully beat it with topical steroids (cream and then spray), clipping and hibiscrubbing regularly and box rest. Good luck, let us know how you get on xx

Yes could you? Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't require box rest!!

 

[paddy555]

about this time last year I was struggling and nothing I applied for mud fever helped. Eventually got vet out who took one look and said LV. Not surprised as I had worked it out by then. Our practice make up their own cream. Applied this for 2 months and sorted. What I learnt was don't pick the scabs off, just keep applying the cream and deal with sunlight. It was winter so that was OK but I got a pair of sox for horses in case we had snow and I used them this summer as a precaution. If you search on here there is lots about it.

I used hibiscrub once, the legs came up like balloons, my horse was 4 and not cushings. I didn't box rest but kept him out of sunlight but this was Dec. so not really a problem. If you have to box rest to avoid light then you can use sox for horses.

there were lots of posts on here about this and someone wrote to Dr Knottenbelt. I copied his reply for future reference and it is in bold below.
This condition is quite unique in that it is due to a rather unusual immune response we think to pollen and other proteins from yellow flowered plants last summer. A few horses have a 'reaction' between the plant proteins and their own antibodies and these complexes are deposited in the outer layers (not usually the deeper ones) of the skin. Where they form in white skinned areas they are photoactivatable and so when they are exposed to sunlight they react and cause inflammation. This will continue while those complexes remain and because they are big molecules they have to grow / wear out!! That can take months and any flares that occur simply turn the revert clock backwards!!! The downside is that you have to be very careful therefore to avoid flares / management break downs. The upside of putting effort in now is that it seldom if ever recurs once its gone.

It's not immune boosting you need it's immune suppression if you need anything since it is a result of an abnormal antibody response!

 

[HashRouge]

Thanks paddy, looks like it is worth a vet visit to check. My vet do a £10 callout on Tuesdays so I'll see if they've got any space this week. I've also ordered some ForagePlus balancer as I figured it can't hurt (other than my bank balance!). She can come in over night if needed to avoid the morning dew (I don't think we'll have any major issues with mud till after Christmas), I just can't box rest her as she'll get stiff and her companion, who'll have to come in too, will drive himself nuts!

 

[paddy555]

I can't get you a link but if you google "sox for horses UK" it will give you a FB page for it. There are lots of pics on there of both pastern dermatitis and LV. The sox, ie silver whinneys, help in that you can turn the horse out.