Mud rash that will not heal

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HashRouge

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Any experiences/ suggestions/ advice most welcome as we are quite desperate now.

She is stabled overnight and out on a dry, non muddy field during the day. She has had three courses of antibiotics, IV and oral steroids and a full blood panel to check if there was anything else going on (conclusion was she has excellent blood for a very old horse). ACTH levels were also tested and came back as 15 (vet said under 30 is normal). The lesions have been swabbed so we know she's had the right type of antibiotic. I have Flammazine cream to apply where I can, but she won't tolerate it everywhere. Should I ask for a steroid cream to try? She was initially diagnosed with cellulitis alongside the mud rash, but the swelling went as soon as she started on the oral steroids and she's now just presenting as a horse with a hideous case of mud rash or something that looks very similar.

I have also been considering leukocytoclastic vasculitis and some sort of allergic reaction. She'd been having rye grass hay for the first time in years, so I've now switched this back to meadow hay (as of the end of last week). Turnout is rough moorland grazing. UV seems unlikely at this time of year? Or should I keep her in? Would rather not due to her age. I have got some Silver Whinnys Sox coming from the States but she may not tolerate them on her hind legs, we will have to see. I have also started her on Nano-E, but not long enough to make any difference. While I "wait and see" (vet wants a report in 24 and 48 hours before considering another round of ABs) can anyone suggest anything we haven't thought of? She's less lame than she was but still uncomfortable - if you saw her legs you'd understand why!

In retrospect I think we had some of this last winter, but it never got anywhere near this bad. I had cream from my vets and it eventually just healed up, but took much longer than I'd expect from mud rash. But this year it's all over and she's too uncomfortable to just wait indefinitely. I've been trying to think of anything last year that might have triggered the healing, but I can't come up with anything. She's very elderly, grey and has melanomas, but until about 3 weeks ago I'd have said she was in fine fettle for her age (30). Now I'm scared I might lose her over "mud rash", which seems like such a heart breaking way to lose a trusty friend of over 21 years.
 
It sounds like you are really trying everything.

The only things I can think of are, would she stay in on a very dry bed?

And possibly feeding something to support the immune system. D&H have a mud fever supplement which is a blend of herbs.

I hope she comes right soon, it must be very worrying.
 
My gelding gets really bad mud rash. Worse than any other horse I’ve met. I think it’s just his weakness- my mare rarely got it, yet they were fed and kept exactly the same way. We found the only way to keep it down was to have the hard standing turnout for most of winter and only turn out on the field every five days or so, unless it was particularly dry. Strangely he’s been out a lot this year and hasn’t had much mud rash for the first time. One thing that’s changed is we’ve managed to get rid of 95% of the rushes in the field and so the field is rolled more effectively. I wonder if it’s something to do with that.
 
Can you sedate to get the cream on? I had to one year with my old boy. Linseed was a trigger with him and it took me a lot longer than it should have done to realise. It was in his balancer and once I changed balancer and got more copper into him he showed huge improvement.

Its horrible when they are so sore they won't let you try and help :-(
 
When I got my pony his white socks were inflamed then in winter he got mud rash on them. I thought it was going to be a long term problem and I carefully treated them with flamazine and filtabac. However I put him on progressive earth pro hoof and the next spring his socks didn't react to the sun and he has never had mud fever or sunburn again so I put it down to him having some sort of mineral deficiency when he arrived.
 
I know I say this in relation to most ailments! But do look at her diet, our maxi cob got horrible mud fever, which we think was sparked by random idiots feeding her, we then made matters worse by giving her linseed meal. We stripped her diet right back and her legs have improved immeasurably.
 
Sudocrem and flowers of sulphur mixed together. As much FOS as the tub of cream will take without going to dry on you. Slather it on thick and carry on daily. Just keep slathering it on. Do not wash or pick. You should, over the next couple of weeks, see a real difference. Just keep going until it heals. This was the only treatment that sorted my old boy. Good luck, it is a horrid painful thing for them.
 
HashRouge said:
Thanks guys, some good suggestions here. I feel sick I'm so worried about her.
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What is the lead time on the silver whinny socks coming? I found them really good. I have 3 in Surrey could borrow. I rotated them every 24 hours (as silver benefits wear off). I used spiral electrical tape to ensure stayed up in field. I used plastic bags over feet to keep clean (and if shod protect from catching) to get them on. I turned out in the socks with no issues.

What else does she eat aside grass and hay? I'd consider a good balancer if not already having one?
 
SEL said:
Can you sedate to get the cream on? I had to one year with my old boy. Linseed was a trigger with him and it took me a lot longer than it should have done to realise. It was in his balancer and once I changed balancer and got more copper into him he showed huge improvement.

Its horrible when they are so sore they won't let you try and help :-(
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We have had a linseed related saga this winter. The horses had FP winter balancer lasy tear then the Summer balancer and towards the end of November swapped back to WB, cob seemed to be starting with MF shortly after the swap so we added in extra linseed, as advised by FP. We think the horses had been fed by a passerby, as the Appy developed a hoof access at the same time. After about 2 weeks of added linseed, the cobs legs were worse. So we stopped the linseed around Christmas time. I was treating the original patches with silver cream but she started objecting, so I introduced tea-tree oil spray ( anti-bacterial and anti-fungal), alo g with aloe Vera juice in the diet, to compensate for the lack of balancer.
The sores have pretty much cleared up, even though she gave us a heart attack when she had rubbed the scabs off, we thought she had de-gloved one leg, at first!
Now there are just a couple of small scabs left on each hind leg and I bought a silver spray to treat those with about 2 weeks ago. She is still very protective of one leg but I can get near enough to use the silver spray.properly now.

I feel your pain OP and cob sends her sympathy to your old lady.
 
it sounds as if you are describing LV, photo aggravated vasculits. ( I seem to remember replying to an earlier post about this a long time ago but perhaps it was another poster)
anyway, have you got the leg/legs covered especially when out? you need to get the light off them, look at the weather in most of England in the last month. Cold/frosts/bright UV light/ possibly white snow.

Hopefully your sox will arrive soon and they are t he greatest thing and they were the one thing that cured mine. I put them on for a full year.
There is a post on here that goes back to around 2010. Someone with this problem contacted Prof. Knott. They posted his reply. I cannot get the search facility to work. I found the post a long time ago searching under Leucocytoclastic vasculitis.
Can't explain it very scientifically but he said something to the effect the molecule was very large and it would take a year to resolve. it.

Until the sox arrive is there anything you can use to keep the light off? even human knee length socks taped at the top to stop them falling down.
some people use leg wraps.
My vet, on diagnosis, made up cream based on udder cream (as a base) with a steroid and anti biotic. That worked but it took a long time between applying it, not pulling the scabs off but at the same time trying to gently rub them off.

Flamazine didn't work. My horse was very touchy. Obviously it hurt quite a lot and it took a long time time get the cream on a normally quiet horse.

If you are still struggling then I would either contact Prof Knott yourself with pics and details of treatment, history etc or get your vet to.
 
paddy555 said:
it sounds as if you are describing LV, photo aggravated vasculits. ( I seem to remember replying to an earlier post about this a long time ago but perhaps it was another poster)
anyway, have you got the leg/legs covered especially when out? you need to get the light off them, look at the weather in most of England in the last month. Cold/frosts/bright UV light/ possibly white snow.

Hopefully your sox will arrive soon and they are t he greatest thing and they were the one thing that cured mine. I put them on for a full year.
There is a post on here that goes back to around 2010. Someone with this problem contacted Prof. Knott. They posted his reply. I cannot get the search facility to work. I found the post a long time ago searching under Leucocytoclastic vasculitis.
Can't explain it very scientifically but he said something to the effect the molecule was very large and it would take a year to resolve. it.

Until the sox arrive is there anything you can use to keep the light off? even human knee length socks taped at the top to stop them falling down.
some people use leg wraps.
My vet, on diagnosis, made up cream based on udder cream (as a base) with a steroid and anti biotic. That worked but it took a long time between applying it, not pulling the scabs off but at the same time trying to gently rub them off.

Flamazine didn't work. My horse was very touchy. Obviously it hurt quite a lot and it took a long time time get the cream on a normally quiet horse.

If you are still struggling then I would either contact Prof Knott yourself with pics and details of treatment, history etc or get your vet to.
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I don't think it was me you replied to, unless it was on my initial thread about cellulitis (a week or two back).

So the LV question is one I keep coming back to. I think my vet did mention it last week but we're due to speak tomorrow and I will ask her more about it. I will try covering her legs. All being well her Sox should arrive tomorrow, I just don't known how reliable the tracking from the US is!
 
It takes time I showed you how bad my poor girl was last year on your other thread. She stayed on the steriods for about 4 months. I was unable to get near her with any creams ect. Fresh air is better than covering it if field is not to muddy . It did heal beautifully in the end and touching lots of wood has not come back this year. Is yours still on the steroids ? My vet did not wean mine off them until it was totally healed .
 
HashRouge said:
I don't think it was me you replied to, unless it was on my initial thread about cellulitis (a week or two back).

So the LV question is one I keep coming back to. I think my vet did mention it last week but we're due to speak tomorrow and I will ask her more about it. I will try covering her legs. All being well her Sox should arrive tomorrow, I just don't known how reliable the tracking from the US is!
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sorry, must have been someone else. :)

if it's any encouragement I kept mine covered in sox for a year even though the scabs etc had gone in a couple of months. That must have been about 4 years ago and it has never come back so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck.
 
Gosh I could have written your post! I am struggling with this too. My silver sox arrived on Friday so he was turned out in them on Saturday with woof boots over the top to keep them up. I was very impressed as his legs were clean and looked really good but Sunday morning he totally refused to let me put them on. He’s such a polite soul but he waved a leg at me so I knew he meant it. I’ve tried everything, over the counter and vet prescribed. His legs are filling so I think it was just hurting when I was trying to put them on, apparently they do loosen off a bit after a while so I’m not giving up just yet. He’s now on oral steroids which seem to be helping and for turnout his white socks are slathered in silver spray as turnout boots rubbed and inflamed the whole situation. My vet has said not to turn out unless in boots but silver spray is doing a much better job for him. When he comes in i wash his legs with warm water and rub in aqueous cream so that it gets quite frothy. Leave for 15 mins and then wash it again with warm water and the scabs start to come away. He‘s on steroids every other day but I’ve got him on one or two Danilon a day as the legs are filling which make his skin split. He’s also on a vet cream which has an aqueous base but also has antibiotics and steroids. I rub that in twice a day. all of this seems to be improving things but what I have found out is that what works one minute doesn’t seem to work for long. I don’t have a diagnosis but suspect LV, vet said it can be an auto-immune disorder where the body just attacks itself. I feel a bit more hopeful I can sort it out and as soon as his legs are a bit more comfortable for me to handle I’ll be putting the sox on. Hope you find a solution.
 
My old horse used to get really bad lymphangitis and his heels had this like scuffy looking dry scabs that I was convinced were letting in the infection into this legs.

I got these silver boots which were a game changer - they are infused with silver with is scientifically proven to end the lifecycle of bacteria so it cannot reproduce. (I know this cause we make a silver product in work, and I've seen all the accredited medical studies and its also used in surgery where they use silver bandages for packing). So it really does help clear it up but also prevents from it reoccuring. You can also buy a special wash to wash them in so it doesnt damage the boots. I would highly recommend them!

https://equimedag.co.uk/product-category/equine-boot-range/stable-boots/
 
bluehorse said:
Gosh I could have written your post! I am struggling with this too. My silver sox arrived on Friday so he was turned out in them on Saturday with woof boots over the top to keep them up. I was very impressed as his legs were clean and looked really good but Sunday morning he totally refused to let me put them on. He’s such a polite soul but he waved a leg at me so I knew he meant it. I’ve tried everything, over the counter and vet prescribed. His legs are filling so I think it was just hurting when I was trying to put them on, apparently they do loosen off a bit after a while so I’m not giving up just yet. He’s now on oral steroids which seem to be helping and for turnout his white socks are slathered in silver spray as turnout boots rubbed and inflamed the whole situation. My vet has said not to turn out unless in boots but silver spray is doing a much better job for him. When he comes in i wash his legs with warm water and rub in aqueous cream so that it gets quite frothy. Leave for 15 mins and then wash it again with warm water and the scabs start to come away. He‘s on steroids every other day but I’ve got him on one or two Danilon a day as the legs are filling which make his skin split. He’s also on a vet cream which has an aqueous base but also has antibiotics and steroids. I rub that in twice a day. all of this seems to be improving things but what I have found out is that what works one minute doesn’t seem to work for long. I don’t have a diagnosis but suspect LV, vet said it can be an auto-immune disorder where the body just attacks itself. I feel a bit more hopeful I can sort it out and as soon as his legs are a bit more comfortable for me to handle I’ll be putting the sox on. Hope you find a solution.
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This sounds very similar to what I'm dealing with! Can I ask what silver spray you are using? We're also on two danilon a day and I'm syringing it in to make sure she gets it. My sox should be coming today, at the moment they are scheduled for delivery between 12 and 2pm so fingers crossed. Mine aren't the proper sox - they're made from the same material but are basically just bandages so hopefully better for sore legs (same company - I emailed and they recommended them to me).
At the moment we have one big lesion on a hind leg that is showing good signs of healing. Several others I'm on the fence about, and then there are others that still look sore and infected.
 
Sounds like you are doing all the right things, fingers crossed she improves soon. I’d think about keeping her in… I know it’s not ideal because she is elderly, but I think the risk of the mud fever not clearing up seems greater than the risk of her being a bit stiff from being in for a few days. Really hope it clears up, it must be very worrying for you.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I use the leovet spray and I use it for any sort of cut it's brilliant stuff.
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Thanks for this, I was going to ask the same question. My silver spray is for people, so the range of the spray isn't very far. The success of getting on target depends on the mood of the cob, really. I shall look up the leovet to see if the spray will be a bit stronger and travel further.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Thanks for this, I was going to ask the same question. My silver spray is for people, so the range of the spray isn't very far. The success of getting on target depends on the mood of the cob, really. I shall look up the leovet to see if the spray will be a bit stronger and travel further.
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I like it as it is one of the only things Arabi does not react to everything seems to make his hair fall out and then he rubs it raw, you can also just spray it quick before they realise what's going on.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I like it as it is one of the only things Arabi does not react to everything seems to make his hair fall out and then he rubs it raw, you can also just spray it quick before they realise what's going on.
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I've just had a look and can't find it. I was hoping for a silent spray. I think I would be lucky to spray before she knew what was going on tbh, she has become very protective of her legs over the last 6 weeks or so.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I've just had a look and can't find it. I was hoping for a silent spray. I think I would be lucky to spray before she knew what was going on tbh, she has become very protective of her legs over the last 6 weeks or so.
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I think it's a zinc oxide spray as opposed to a proper silver spray. I would love something similar to flamazine but in spray form!
 
I could have written this post a few years ago. Nano E turned out to be the game changer for us, but then other minor things (eg muscle tremors when he was excited) also improved which might indicate my horse was deficient. I was looking back at my photos and there's an 8 month span between first and last, although I think it started before I took the first one. It kept looking as though it was starting to clear up but then would come back with a vengeance.

I hope the Nano E has a similar effect for you, or if not that, that you find the thing that your horse needs.
 
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