Preventing mud fever - should I be doing something?

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Gorgeous George

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I haven't owned George through a winter yet, but his previous owner said he never had mud fever, but I am wondering if I should be doing something to prevent it, just in case? If he is not really muddy his feet are picked out when he comes in and I brush the dry mud off when I go up, if he is really muddy then our YO picks out feet and washes legs. He is not feathered and has his heels trimmed regularly - thanks.
 
Have any of the other horses at the yard suffered from mud fever whilst they have been there? If not then I wouldnt do more than you are doing now. The bacteria live in the soil and if theres no history of other horses there getting it you may be lucky!
 
Thats strange i never knew that.

Worries me a little though!

Ours have never had mud fever, but last year B bought Monty, and last winter Monty got mud fever. Does this mean that our others may now get it too?
 
I'll just add, try not to wash theyre legs, as if he does already have it, at the start you cant see it alot, then washing it doesnt help, as its something to do with the water keeping the infection in.

what do you plan to do if he does get it?
my mare suffers from it also!
 
One horse there has got it, and apparently he has had it at every yard he's ever been at - I assume some horses are more prone than others?

If he does get it I guess I will be on here saying HELP! I'm afraid I have to admit that I know very little about mud fever, I just remember looking after 20 or so horse/ponies as a kid in v. muddy fields and we hadn't even heard of mud fever!
 
as span says if no history at yard you should be lucky but also if your brushing leg down great, but IMO unless going to party i would avoid washing at all costs as your creating a lovely warm damp place for batercia to get a hold, esp if you have white socks.
Last year at our yard we had person who would wash mud off everyday and i've never seen really bad mud fever as she got. She stopped wash legs and hey presso, she got on top of mud fever not problem
 
When it gets quite wet and muddy I run some liquid parafin down the back of my horses legs and heels every few days which stops the mud getting too far in and makes it easier to keep legs clean.
 
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I'll just add, try not to wash theyre legs, as if he does already have it, at the start you cant see it alot, then washing it doesnt help, as its something to do with the water keeping the infection in.



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The reason people say dont wash is because cold water can make the skin more chapped and therefore weaker, giving more opporunity for the infection to spread.


Trish,

The best thing to do is allow George's legs to dry off naturally then brush off the dried mud, and check for scabs, but if I dont have time to let my horses legs dry off I hose them off and put leg wraps on, once they are dry I put a barrier on(I use Aromaheal as it also lifts off any present scabs and helps with healing), just on their white feet as they are the only ones that get mud fever in my two!
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I am using neem oil at present .I have had a real problem and just could not get rid even in the dry summer but a friend gave me some and it cleared it so I am still putting it on everyday to try to keep it away. I am not washing the legs at night and rubbing some in before he goes out in the morning. He is the only one that suffers with it at my stables.
 
Ok, my YO has always washed the horses legs when they're very muddy, but I'm sure she won't mind if I ask her not to - she's brilliant like that :-) Are white legs more susceptible then? George doesn't have any white on his legs, so that may help.

It's amazing when you become a horse owner how little you know!
 
try not to wash legs off as this doesn't help. When I got Pidge at the end of May he still had a huge scab on his hind leg
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took my vets advise "brush mud off if dry, if wet leave it alone" touch wood have survived 2 winters with no sign of any mud fever, despite his white legs
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Some horses are prone to it, they just have a different (or less) immunity to the infection.

Just check to make sure there is no opening in the skin for the bacteria to get in.

They can catch it by going out hunting even though they wouldn't have got it on their yard/field, they have to have some soreness or broken skin though in the first place. They can get lesions from wearing boots.
 
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try not to wash legs off as this doesn't help. When I got Pidge at the end of May he still had a huge scab on his hind leg
shocked.gif
took my vets advise "brush mud off if dry, if wet leave it alone" touch wood have survived 2 winters with no sign of any mud fever, despite his white legs
grin.gif


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Totaly agree, the only time I will hose off is if they are really bad and I need to ride and dont have time to wait for them to dry.

but if i do need to hose I always use leg wraps to dry them off ASAP.
 
think Pidge got hosed about 3 times in total last winter - but if you really have to hose then just do that and don't touch the legs with anything! then get some thermatex leg wraps and pop those on afterwards - they are fab.
 
My boy can get it quite badly, although he also suffers with mites (odd I know in a clean legged Arab!) I NEVER wash his legs off and just let them dry and then brush them. I also ride him in turn out socks when hacking so that I don't feel to paranoid and it keeps his legs clean. And just keep an eye. Something that my YO racehorse trainer recommended was putting udder cream I think it was on the affected leg and then wrapping it in cling film, the YO tried it on one of the ex-racers she has and it seemed to work a treat!
 
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think Pidge got hosed about 3 times in total last winter - but if you really have to hose then just do that and don't touch the legs with anything! then get some thermatex leg wraps and pop those on afterwards - they are fab.

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Thats what I use, they are fab arent they!
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Also be careful turning out in bright sunlight & dewy long wet grass for longish periods of time.
We;ve never had any mud fever caused by MUD but some of mine get exactly the same condition but caused by dew/wet grass and strong sunlight.
Vet said its been getting really common in the last couple of years (on white legs especially).
 
Avoid washing and if you want to be extra sure, I really can recommend pig oil and a little sulphur - yes I am addicated to the stuff
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Mix and paint legs from the knee/hock down. The oil will create a barrier and help mud fall off when dry and sulphur is wonderful for preventing skin problems and keeping skin healthy.

You could use baby oil - good, but not as good as P&S.
 
Dubh suffers from it really badly. My vet told us to use Sudocream on sore bits & to wash with Hibiscrub once a week.

If their legs have no scabs we waterproof with MFP. But if you use this on infected legs you are only trapping the bacteria against the skin.
 
Only one of mine has it and they are all in the same field. he had it in the SUMMER!!! only now he has turnout boots (lined with antibacterial powder during turnout to keep legs dry also) am I getting on top of it, hopefully by summer I will have it sorted!

He has it only on back legs (which are white - they are more prone), hibbiscrubbed every other day and powder applied to get it dry....

If he does get slightly scabby I use herbal essences conditioner with warm water to soak scabs off, then apply "NEEM OIL" which is also anti bacterial. If that does get scabs off and calm everything down I whack NAFF mud fever guard on with his boots and by the evening scabs are off start with Hibbiscrub and Powder again!

Its very important to get on top of it and manage it as whilst it may not go instantly, if you leave it a day or two it can really get quite bad and even cause lameness!!
 
My SJ had 3 White legs and our yard was terrible for mud fever. The sand in our school was very grainy and had to be washed off in the winter. As I was competing most weeks I washed his legs once a week. I washed them in warm water with Virkon E (think it's now called Virkon S) then dried them. He was the only horse on the yard to not to get it.
 
I use udder salve from farm shop, £4 for large tub. It's thick and waterproof. We haven't had any mud fever since we started to use it! A little bit goes a long way..
 
Echo what the others have said about not washing the legs. When a horse turned out with mine had it last year I asked the vet if there was anything I could do to prevent it and he said to spray the legs with baby oil (obv not in the summer) and only onto clean, dry legs and this should help.
 
My mare can suffer really badly from this. Agree - don't wash legs too much. Let them dry off overnight in stable and then brush dry stuff off.

I swear by stuff called "mudbuster", bit expensive but goes a long way, you only need to put it on about once a week and it works as a waterproofer and barrier, it also has iodine in so works on any infection that may be in there already. The mud just doesn't stick to it.

PS be careful when you goggle it, you get all sorts on the search engine coming up for that one!.
 
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