Socks for mud fever - tips?

[Crazydancer]

So my old lad who lives out has developed mud fever. Only the 2nd time in his life..... no option right now to move fields unless I leave the yard. The hay feeder which is a big metal thing that cant be moved has developed a few feet of nearly knee-deep mud around it. I am looking at buying some socks for mud fever, but have a few questions, if anyone who has used these successfully can advise? He is a WelshX so has quite fluffy legs. Would you leave the hair of clip it a bit? I plan to give him a dilute hibi scrub wash, thorough dry, and have some power type treatment I can dust his legs before applying the boots. He has a lot of bare patches that don't look unduly sore, not too many scabs either.
If anyone has any tips or success stories, I'm all ears.....
Thanks!

 

[Mule]

I find if it's deep clay type mud the socks don't help because the mud oozes in under them. They may work fine in dryer soil. The best thing for mud rash is to keep the legs dry until the scabs fall off. Which really means keeping them off mud.

If that isn't possible, then what I do is cover the legs in pig oil and sulpher. It works as a barrier against the mud. I reapply it every few days. While the sulphur in the oil helps kill the bacteria, it can be harsh on skin, so at any sign of sensitivity I would just use plain oil. Cheap vegetable oil does the same thing as the more expensive stuff.

I leave the hair on if the mud rash is mild, particularly if the horse is going to be turned out. I take off long feather because it's hard to treat the infection with it in the way.

 

[Crazydancer]

Thanks Mule - unfortunately I don't have any option right now. There are a few small areas where the skin is broken, so am guessing the sulphur would be too harsh. I didn't see too many scabs, (it was hard to feel as there was a lot of lumps of hard dry mud as well, and I had nothing with me to do any more than an inspection) there are just quite large areas of just bare pink skin..... There are no facilities at the field, so treating it will be a challenge.

 

[Mule]

I wouldn't use the sulphur on the broken skin. I think the best thing to use would be the plain oil.
I wouldn't worry, it sounds like a mild case and once you're on top of it it will clear up.

A warm hibiscrub wash will help with massaging off the scabs. Massaging the oil on to the legs is great for this too.

Once the scabs are gone the infection quickly clears up. One thing is, if a scab isn't ready to come off, give it time to loosen. You don't want to be too aggressive with removing scabs.

 

[Crazydancer]

Thanks Mule. Last time he had it was when the weather was very wet, and it was less about the mud. He's been in bad mud before with no ill effect, mud fever is a most peculiar thing.
Today, just watching him walk over to the feeder and drop 2 ft into that mud on the last few steps my heart sank and I did wonder how the hell I was going to manage it. Last time was more scabby for sure, and used a paste which eased the scabs off.
It's odd, he only seems to have it on the inside and outside of the fetlock joints - it almost looked like he's scalped himself, and I did wonder if he had done just that - but until I can get down with some warm water, towels, and plenty of time to dry him off I won't know what's lurking......

 

[Mule]

It's hard when they're in a field without hard standing. I was often in the same situation with my late mare (she got mud fever, guaranteed, every year).
Once you can clean the mud away and have a good look you'll know what you're dealing with. Don't worry.