Mudfever woes!!

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littlenordic

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Hi there, Im in need of some advise re mudfever that I just cannot shift!! My boy (TB) has had it now for 4 weeks! The first 2 weeks I was just cleaning and covering in sudo cream and trying as best as I could to just leave it to heal but with muddy fields this was just not working so I bought him in and has now been on box rest for two weeks but I still cant get rid of the blasted thing! ! I have tried various treatments from cleaning with hibiscrub and using sudo creme / idone spray / flamazine and every time I remove the scabs (usualy have to do it once aweek as it gets really ouzey) it looks promising and then within 24 hrs it looks angry again and scabs over and ouzes again. Do I just need to persevere and keep applying cream or should I try something else?? Just tried cleaning with Nizoral and then put flamazine on after drying it but again after a 24 hrs looks red raw! Is this normal??? He's happy as larry being in and there is only minimal swelling which i think is half the mud fever and half just being in. I just to get rid of as quickly as I can for his sake! Thanks!
 
I give my boy Brinicombe Equine Think Mud supplement in his food, boosts the immune system fixing it from the inside out. He hasnt got it at all this year but you could try it alongside what you're doing maybe to give him a hand?
 
I had persistent mud fever that went on into the summer. My vet advised plastering the whole area with sudocrem, then a layer of gamgee, then cling film, then vetrap. This will sweat the scabs off. Leave for a couple of days and the scabs will come off easily, then repeat for another couple of days. Then repeat without the cling film for about another week. You need to stop the scabs re-forming and let the skin heal from within. This got rid of it and I haven't had any since. Hope this helps.
 
Everyone I know seems to have a different way of dealing with mud fever and I don't think there is a 'right' way - it's just finding the one that works for you and your horse. Personally I find camrosa really good. My lad had a very persistent bout of mud fever a couple of years ago and I bought some to try after seeing it advertised. I rubbed the camrosa quite liberally around the scabs, then put a layer of thin muslin with turnout boots on top (he lived out so boots instead of bandages and the muslin was just to keep the boots clean!) and changed it daily. After a few days the scabs were just sliding off and the skin underneath was pink and healthy. I think keeping the legs warm helps the scabs to come off but the camrosa definitely helped to heal the skin underneath. Once it was cleared up I just made sure he always had a thin layer of barrier cream to stop it getting hold again. Good luck with getting rid of it!
 
Thanks for all the replies so far! I assume by keeping the area covered / bandaged prevents the scabs from reforming?? This is the only thing I have not done so will keep on applying the flamazine but banadage on top in the hope this works! Thanks all!
 
When my lad had it recently, after weeks of being in and treating with flammazine, wrapping, vet-wrapping, etc., I just gave up and left all dressings off. I keep his bed really clean anyway (he's on deep straw) and the air did it's job and dried up all the scabs/lesions enough for him to be able to go out.

I agree with whoever above said it's all about finding what works for your horse. Mud fever is a nasty condition and can be hell on earth to shift.

Best of luck.

P
 
Whatever you use for MF (and I'm a firm believer in keep dry and Protocon) do make sure that the diet is balanced so if the inside is good the outside will follow easier. You could try adding brewers yeast (the base of Pink Powder) and micronised linseed which are both excellent for digestion and great for skin and hoof condition or you could try adding oil to the feed in some form too.
 
jenni999 said:
I had persistent mud fever that went on into the summer. My vet advised plastering the whole area with sudocrem, then a layer of gamgee, then cling film, then vetrap. This will sweat the scabs off. Leave for a couple of days and the scabs will come off easily, then repeat for another couple of days. Then repeat without the cling film for about another week. You need to stop the scabs re-forming and let the skin heal from within. This got rid of it and I haven't had any since. Hope this helps.
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This is what eventually worked for me after spending hundreds of ££ on numerous vet visits, antibiotics, every type of steroid cream, mud fever cream but nothing shifted it! Weeks of box rest was making her legs swell, eventually giving her cellulitis, was oozing all kinds of gunk!! So I lathered in sudocrem, tubigrib over the top, turnout boot and chucked out in the field, 24 hours later, huge improvement, repeated for 1 week leaving for up to 48 hours at a time and its finally after 3 months almost gone!!!
 
I also use the clingfilm method but have aqueous cream as the base as its cheap and fab when the skin is very sensitive. Then I use sudocream on any raw/oozing patches to clear them up. I then clingfilm the leg, bandage on top and usually leave for 24/48 hours, changing them after I ride and bathing them in warm water.

This seems to clear it up nicely and I repeat this as soon as I see any scabs and this year his legs have been fab! :)
 
YardGeek said:
I also use the clingfilm method but have aqueous cream as the base as its cheap and fab when the skin is very sensitive. Then I use sudocream on any raw/oozing patches to clear them up. I then clingfilm the leg, bandage on top and usually leave for 24/48 hours, changing them after I ride and bathing them in warm water.

This seems to clear it up nicely and I repeat this as soon as I see any scabs and this year his legs have been fab! :)
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I was to scared to put aqueous cream on the split skin for fear of it hurting! Good to know I can put it on open skin as I have loads of the stuff!a

I will contine to cream and wrap then and see if that helps! Thanks!
 
Maesfen said:
Whatever you use for MF (and I'm a firm believer in keep dry and Protocon) do make sure that the diet is balanced so if the inside is good the outside will follow easier. You could try adding brewers yeast (the base of Pink Powder) and micronised linseed which are both excellent for digestion and great for skin and hoof condition or you could try adding oil to the feed in some form too.
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Thanks for the advise Maesfen, he is already on newers yeast and is fed fast fibre and alfa a. Ws thinking about adding a multivit also??? Do think i need to add more? he is by the way 22! He has not had a bout of MF for a couple of years! Thanks!
 
I like the clingfilm method. Get some sudocrem (I used some mud rash gel from my vet) wrap in clip film, then bandage. Change the cling film everyday and keep adding more sudrocrem. After 3 days the scabs should be soft enough to pick off. Then hibbiscrub then leave open to dry so your not trapping bacteria in.
 
My mare a few months ago had bad mud fever for 3 months. I started off using a steroid antiobiotic cream the vet makes up but it still was hard to shift. So after a few months the vet gave me a something called Equi-Oxcide by a company called trus-STEED. And I have to say that her mud fever was 90% healed in about 10 days. Its a liquid that you paint over the top of the scabs around 3 times a week and that is it. Once the scabs fall off it means that the bacteria has been killed. Once it is completely healed they also do a barrier spray to help keep ontop of the bacteria so you have less chance of it coming back.
 
Thanks for the psts guys! Quick questio re scabs! Once I have removed all the scabs the skin looks nice and pink and healthy but then within 24hs the area scabs over again. It is to be expected? Should I be leaving the infected are open and allow it to scab back over or should I be cintinualy applying cream and waraoing to allow it to heal but prevent more scabs from forming? I appear to be going round in circles.. I clean and de scab and apply cream but then then area re scabs and so on!!
 
I spoke to them on the phone and they said it didnt warrent antibiotics at the moment. They said just to apply flamazine but not sure what to do about the reuccuring scabs! If I cant shift it beofere xmas guess he may well need antibiotics come the new year!
 
I'm a big fan of neem oil for this. As it is solid, I stand it in a jar of hot water to liquefy before applying liberally. Next day repeat if any red areas, or else spend ages massaging in sudocrem then plaster down to make a white sock and chuck out.( horse).Then daily sudocrem. I don't pick off scabs, just let them separate off by themselves. I'd expect the mud fever to disappear in a week, and if not would call vet.
 
I've fought with mudfever this year (the first time in the 19 years I've owned him). Have done the sudocrem, clingfilm, hibiscrub, nizaris and some expensive spray stuff that's in a purple bottle (the name escapes me). However really couldn't shift it so has to call the vet ( it was oozing badly, sore and he's really swollen) cost me £180 in vet bills last night :(. He's on antibiotics, bute and anti inflammatories, but vet said externally was healing so to continue with hibiscrub every 2-3 days, the spray stuff twice a day and sudocrem under clingfilm and bandages to soften any scabs. It's apparently been the worst year ever for mudfever and has been hard to shift on a lot ic horses :/
 
HAve you tried Nizoral Shampoo yet? You can buy it from the chemist
It's an antifungal shampoo that works really well. Dilute with hand hot water and lather up well, making sure that you wash well beyond the currently affected area. You can leave it on to dry. I've treated many horses with it over the past eight years and all have recovered fast. I use an old face cloth as being slightly rough it will gently remove some scabs.

I never pick off scabs as they are not true scabs but lymph oozed through the skin congealed around the hairs. Pulling off the scabs pulls hair out by it's roots and is so very painful for the horse.

To help reduce the isk of getting mudfever try to find a multi mineral block that has copper and zinc in it. Allow the horse free access to it. Since my Clydie has had this block she's not got mudfever or sunburn.
 
My old horse used to get mud fever pretty bad, had it REALLY bad when he arrived (my trimmer say it was the worst case she'd seen in a long time) I just made sure it was dry then smothered in sudo twice a day. It did take about 5-6 weeks to clear up properly. He got it mildly again last winter and the sudo didnt really work as well so I got some Filtabac cream off the vet. i could see a difference in 24hrs. I would have resisted starting to pick scabs off though as I have found in past, this just delays the healing process and you risk infection doing this. (just a personal experience!!)
 
as i always say on these posts KERATEX powder. It is brilliabnt its a treatment & a barrier. used it on my sensitive tb worked a treat.

clean the legs one night just with water. next morning on dry clean legs rub powder onto infected area and turn out.when you bring the horse in put them in stable with mud on you have to let it dry. next morning brush off mud, apply powder. repeat this and you will find after afew days the scabs start to come away when youre brushing in the mornings and applying the powder. then just keep it up as a barrier throughtout the winter.

its about £12 quid about the size of talc bottle.its excellent.
 
Ginger_2002 said:
as i always say on these posts KERATEX powder. It is brilliabnt its a treatment & a barrier. used it on my sensitive tb worked a treat.

clean the legs one night just with water. next morning on dry clean legs rub powder onto infected area and turn out.when you bring the horse in put them in stable with mud on you have to let it dry. next morning brush off mud, apply powder. repeat this and you will find after afew days the scabs start to come away when youre brushing in the mornings and applying the powder. then just keep it up as a barrier throughtout the winter.

its about £12 quid about the size of talc bottle.its excellent.
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It's mai ingredient is sulphur - you could probably make it up your self - the white powder is most likely either talcum powder or cornstarch.
 
Battled mud fever for years and tried just about every product both over counter and from vet.
This year his mud fever has gone, only change is that since spring he has been on glucosamine and msm. Can't help thinking the msm, which does say good for coat and skin has been the solution, buy I'm not taking him off it to prove it as he is much more flexible since getting joint supplements!
 
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