prevention of mud fever and turnout boots

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Mel1

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after suffering form mud fever badly last winter (and last summer!) for the first time, I have now developed a chronic irrational fear of mud fever!!!
so this year I already got a muddy field so I am full on prevention to stop the same nightmare as last year. I was looking at turnout boots. are they any good to prevent mud sticking to lower legs? I have the feeling they could trap the mud and moisture in and incubate it which would makes things much worse. what's your experience with them?
any other idea that you think might help prevent it?
I am already on;
- field mats,
- before she comes in at night: rinsing the worst off and drying the legs with clean tower or paper towel
- applying baby oil in the morning before turning out,
- feeding extra oil to condition the skin (also thinking about feeding lindseed instead)
 
First thing I'd recommend is stopping the rinsing! I'ts ok once a week, but adding more water to wet skin just helps to break it down. Mine had horrendous mud fever last year - about £700 worth, and I was told very frmly to not wash his legs! This year, he is out 24/7, and I use pig oil once a week (put it on dry legs). He has lovely clean white legs - unlike the other two, and not a hint of mud fever.
Turnout boots aren't great in really uddy conditions, as they trap dampness next to the skin, and creat a warm humid environment - perfect for bugs!
 
Having been through similar, I bought some turnout chaps (though wouldn't recommend for really muddy situations). If you do use them have a look for the ones which come down over the pasterns so the mud can't get to the heels. They're a ****** to clean and dry before morning so you'll probably need a spare set. Sometimes I find if they've slipped down a bit Ollie comes in with wet mud on his heels but never up as far as his fetlocks. When that's the case I dont wash as I believe this takes the natural protection out of their skin and dries it up. I think the cold water also closes the pores and can trap nasties inside which probably contribute to MF. I'd rather let it dry and brush it off before I put his boots back on in the morning.

Re the linseed, he's been on it since Feb and is so glossy it pretty much slides off anyway! I've heard good things about pig oil and sulphur as a prevention rather than baby oil.
 
My mare suffered bad last year but a combination of hypocare spayed on cleared it up then naf mud guard and grooming with knf99 brushes stopped it returning.
 
The boots are useless.

Pig oil or similar applied to clean and dry legs.

Don't scrubbed and pick all the mud off on a daily basis as it increases the chances of breaks in the skin, allowing the bacteria in.
 
I too have an obsessive fear of mud fever having had a youngster suffer with it so badly last year she ended up with a leg infection and cellulitis. Just awful.

Agree with no rinsing but I do appear to have combatted mine so far (fingers crossed and touch wood!) - disinfectant. 34p a litre from any supermarket, just put it in a little bottle and spray legs. Sometimes I spray over the mud and all over the legs and sometimes I brush it into the fur, mix it up a bit!!

Prevents the bacteria hanging about on vulnerable legs :-)
 
My boy had mud fever so bad 6 years ago he needed 2 courses of antibiotics. His legs were a mess. I started using pig oil with sulphur the following year and apply it 6 weekly throughout the year, all year round. He has not had mud fever since. Do a patch test on horsey first if you are going to use pig oil and sulphur though as some horses can take a reaction to it.
 
What I do;
Always make sure their feathers are cut short - wellie looks hilarious but he's not for showing and it's for his healthً - so he can deal with it!
Bring them in for night (saves the field) and dry legs and feet with towel, pick out feet and leave overnight. Then in morning spend a few minutes brushing legs clear of mud, then spray 50:50 vinegar and baby oil on legs - I think the baby oil prevents the legs from cracking, and vinegar is acidic so make legs bad environment for the bacteria to live in. Has always worked a charm.

Reason for not washing legs is because water opens up pores and cracks legs even more. Think it's okay to do it once a fortnight, maybe week if field isn't that boggy.
 
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