Preventative Leg Care in Muddy Fields

[h.coru.soph]

Opinions on leg care in muddy fields!
Buying a new 2 year old, who currently is healing from an abscess on leg, and also after having an experience of bringing previous horse in to thankfully discover under mud a serious cut on the fetlock.
Do you wash legs?
Is it okay to wash legs if they immediately have dry wraps/dryer with a towel?
Solutions/creams/powders to prevent muddy legs?
Want the best for new pony, and mud fever is not on the list!
Should add she is an ISH

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

I use pig oil on legs in winter and only wash if leg is damaged then follow usual cleaning drying and treatment cycle. I would be careful about the healed skin over an abscess site as it will be fragile..I think I would cover in a thin layer of waterproof cream/lotion/oil to prevent weakening of skin.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Spray plaster for over the cut while it is healing would help prevent infection.
Pig oil is handy.
If you are washing make sure you dry the legs off with a towel.

 

[h.coru.soph]

I use pig oil on legs in winter and only wash if leg is damaged then follow usual cleaning drying and treatment cycle. I would be careful about the healed skin over an abscess site as it will be fragile..I think I would cover in a thin layer of waterproof cream/lotion/oil to prevent weakening of skin.

Treatment with pig oil? It’s not something I’ve ever used

 

[Squeak]

I've washed legs off everyday in muddy winters and left them to dry and had no problems with mud fever.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Can pig oil be put on scabby legs? My old horse currently has a scabby back leg that I'm struggling to clear. We currently have no mud. Hoping to find something, so that when it dies get muddy, I can put on so his leg doesn't get worse?

 

[SEL]

Can pig oil be put on scabby legs? My old horse currently has a scabby back leg that I'm struggling to clear. We currently have no mud. Hoping to find something, so that when it dies get muddy, I can put on so his leg doesn't get worse?

I'd do a patch test on a healthy bit of skin first

 

[Tiddlypom]

Can pig oil be put on scabby legs? My old horse currently has a scabby back leg that I'm struggling to clear. We currently have no mud. Hoping to find something, so that when it dies get muddy, I can put on so his leg doesn't get worse?

Do a patch text before using pig oil. Is it a white leg? For a pastern dermatitis that doesn’t clear up with the usual topical treatments you might need to bear in mind the possibility of Equine leukocytoclastic vasculitis (ELV)..

Equine Leukocytoclastic vasculitis - Vet Help Direct

Equine pastern dermatitis is the name given to an inflammatory condition of the lower limbs in horses and usually appears as painful scabs and crusts. It is often termed mud fever. There are several known causes of this condition, including bacterial or fungal infection, environmental factors...

vethelpdirect.com

For general mud fever/pastern dermatitis this is a good article by Liphook.

https://liphookequinehospital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/mud-fever.pdf

 

[Birker2020]

Always hoses and towel dried. Applied sudacrem or keratex mud shield powder.

Treatment with pig oil? It’s not something I’ve ever used

In the 'olden days' lol we used to buy blocks of lard. Then we'd buy something called 'Flowers of Sulphur' from the garden centre. I was in a plastic tub and there was a yellow version and a green version although quite what the difference was I did never find out.

Then we'd get our marigolds on and mix the two together to form a thick paste which we'd stuck onto our horses legs from the coronet band to below the knee. We'd shape it over the legs like we were making a giant clay model and then it would be left until the following Saturday when we'd wash it all off with hot water and washing up liquid, leave it to dry overnight and reapply the next morning.

Then one day some bright spark decided that 'pig oil' sounded better and rebranded it. And charged a bucketful of cash too! That's about it in a nutshell.

The lard was to encourage water repellancy which was especially useful on horses with feathers and the 'Flowers of Sulphur' gad anti bacterial properties. No horses were ever harmed in the making of it! No allergies in those days, probably none now either.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

Flowers of the fen I wouldn’t put pig oil on scabby bits ..probably cover in a mudfever cream then apply oil around the legs and scabby sites to waterproof the skin. A friend is using Hedgewitch products to lift the scabs etc and she is very happy with the results…maybe worth a look..I think I will.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Do a patch text before using pig oil. Is it a white leg? For a pastern dermatitis that doesn’t clear up with the usual topical treatments you might need to bear in mind the possibility of Equine leukocytoclastic vasculitis (ELV)..

Equine Leukocytoclastic vasculitis - Vet Help Direct

Equine pastern dermatitis is the name given to an inflammatory condition of the lower limbs in horses and usually appears as painful scabs and crusts. It is often termed mud fever. There are several known causes of this condition, including bacterial or fungal infection, environmental factors...

vethelpdirect.com

For general mud fever/pastern dermatitis this is a good article by Liphook.

https://liphookequinehospital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/mud-fever.pdf

That's very interesting, thank you.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Flowers of the fen I wouldn’t put pig oil on scabby bits ..probably cover in a mudfever cream then apply oil around the legs and scabby sites to waterproof the skin. A friend is using Hedgewitch products to lift the scabs etc and she is very happy with the results…maybe worth a look..I think I will.

Thank you. I seem to make some progress then it's back to square 1. I don't want to .ake him sore. I've tried the cling film and bandage, which does work but again it comes back quickly.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I also like sudocrem, its quite costly to slather on but good for the stable at night after drying the legs

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Thank you. I seem to make some progress then it's back to square 1. I don't want to .ake him sore. I've tried the cling film and bandage, which does work but again it comes back quickly.

Look at the horses diet. I realised that linseed in a supplement was affecting my cobs legs, when I increased the linseed to try to support her scabby skin(!).
Now we avoid linseed like the plague. Now that we seem to be on top of the scabs, I spray her legs with Aloe Vera juice to keep the skin moisturised while the hair grows back. I also feed VitE.
It's taken a long time, with hiccups along the way and she is now unwilling to have creams applied, hence the spray but, touch wood, we have found the winning formula.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I don't hose legs it weakens the skin when done daily, i would wipe the worst of it off with bedding or an old towel then brush when dry, then apply mud fever powder I prefer that over anything that is greasy.

To protect cuts i would use silver spray.