Sorry, but need advise for Mud Fever

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spaceflower

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Sorry, I know this has been done to death but want to nip this in the bud before we get to winter proper.

I noticed at the weekend my 16 yo TB's fetlocks were slightly swollen, on closer inspection, sure enough a little scabby patch, probably the size of 2 1p pieces side by side, on one of his heels - typically, its his only bit of white coat! I couldn't find any obvious scabs on his other foot, but I know it only takes a little tiny bit which is easy to miss.

I hibi scrubbed him before I took him out, so his legs would be nice and dry before smothering him in Leg Guard before turning him out into a not too muddy field.

Next morning, swelling was down and looked liked everything doing well. In the evening I brought him in overnight (mainly because I want him to weight gain so to ensure he had a belly full of haylage) and then this morning...damn...swollen fetlocks again. So I've hibi scrubbed him again this morning, scratching off all the scabs I can see, and then smothered him in nappy rash cream before turning him out again in not too muddy field again.

So I'll check him this afternoon and see what state he's in. I spent last night reading up on every forum and vets websites to get as many opinions as possible - I was convinced of pig oil and sulphur until I read about problems with burning on horses with little feathering - hence using the nappy rash cream as its seems to be less of a risk.

Other than the slight swelling, he's not lame and doesn't seem to be in pain, while i'm picking away the scabs (and is that the right thing to do or not!) he's not bothered at all.

Really want to get this nipped in the bud now so I don't have a winter of battling mud fever, I guess as soon as its cleared up then as long as I regularly use a barrier cream 'touch wood' he should be ok.

Any thoughts, ideas, or miracle cures greatly received.

Thank you
 
The swelling is normal especially if he has stood in so as long as you get on top of it now that should reduce as the scabs heal and any infection goes, they sometimes require antibiotics if it gets infected and really sore.
I try and pick off any scabs that form, before putting on cream but avoid washing after the initial clean up as every time you put hibiscrub on you are destroying the good tissue that should be forming, I found that using leg wraps overnight worked well to keep it at bay last winter on one that had it the previous year.
 
Really great post from be positive.

I would just add that I've found udder salve to be a lifesaver in the prevention and treating of mf.
 
Off to search for udder cream/salve on ebay ;)

What about Sudo cream? is there any difference between it and nappy rash cream / udder cream - they all sound like they should do the same sort of thing?
 
Udder cream ( if you get the right one) has iodine in it and aids the healing process...get it from farmers shop as cheaper than horse shop ( double the price for everything)...I found pig oil and sulphur works without any burns but each horse is different. I bought equilibrium stable chaps for my lad and as well as keeping him toasty in the depths of winter, he has no swollen legs :)
 
udder salve ordered, with fast delivery so fingers crossed. I phoned my local agricultural supplies to see if they had the salve in stock, they only had the cream, and when I explained that it was for MF, he said no the cream isn't what you need. Thankfully he's not bad, in fact it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. Just like any horse lover, nothing other than tip top condition is good enough. Will report back.
 
I too have a TB with no feather at all. 2 years ago he had terrible mud fever which resulted in a vet visit and a week on box rest to clear it up. So last year I was ready and it couldn't have been muddier after the horrendous summer we had. I used nothing but baby oil from hock/knee to heel sprayed on with a plant sprayer and well rubbed in, and it worked fantastically. He had no scabs on his legs at all and the 'remedy' was the cheapest of all those I tried!
 
Exracers - hmmmm that is interesting! Its something that went through my mind too. I'll get this lot cleared up but yes I think a good covering of baby oil on every leg seems a very good idea. did you just let the mud dry naturally overnight with the baby oil meaning the mud dropped off even easier?
 
I used to have a TBX chestnut mare with two white socks (lived up to her chestnut mare reputation - she was a little nuts!) and she used to ALWAYS get mud fever on her white legs, every winter, without fail. Her non sock legs were fine though. Anyway, I tried and test literally anything I could get my hands on as she used to go lame with it fairly quickly. The last year I had her I used pig oil in a spray bottle directly onto her legs and into her small feathers. I made sure it was rubbed in well and I coated her legs in it up to her knees. I started using about Oct time (now) and that year was the worst weather/mud wise and she never got it! Pig oil is about £10 for a huge container of it, which I decnated into a 99p Poundstretcher spray bottle.

It's more of a preventative than a cure but it really worked a treat - the mud just didn't stick at all. Even when her legs looked like they were coated in mud, it just slid straight off. I hope that helps :-)
 
ok, now can't wait to finish work and get out there with whatever oil I can lay my hands on! I pretty sure there's a bottle of baby oil in the back of the cupboard in the bathroom - and if not I might just go for veg oil! I've seen people comment they've used this as a preventative too!
 
Echo the pig oil as a prevenative when you've got this lot cleared up.

I have big hairy beasties and pig oil is the best prevention for them, to clear it up I use zinc & castor oil cream and I do try to keep them in, if they have to go out in mud with scabs I wrap legs in cling-film :)
 
spaceflower said:
ok, now can't wait to finish work and get out there with whatever oil I can lay my hands on! I pretty sure there's a bottle of baby oil in the back of the cupboard in the bathroom - and if not I might just go for veg oil! I've seen people comment they've used this as a preventative too!
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Honestly, it really is the best thing. Pig oil is on ebay for next to nothing but most tack shops sell it. Just get a big container of the stuff and decant it into a garden spray bottle. I wish I'd known about it's magical properties for the 8 previous winters I stood for hours massaging off scabs! Good luck :-)
 
to get to the specifics re pig oil, did you use the one with sulphur in? I'm assuming that its the sulphur which some people have had problems with in the past ie sensitivity and burning? Pig oil on is own is only a preventative though - I still need to clear up his scabs etc before I can rely solely on an oil to stop the mud from sticking....is that right?
 
spaceflower said:
to get to the specifics re pig oil, did you use the one with sulphur in? I'm assuming that its the sulphur which some people have had problems with in the past ie sensitivity and burning? Pig oil on is own is only a preventative though - I still need to clear up his scabs etc before I can rely solely on an oil to stop the mud from sticking....is that right?
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No, just plain pig oil for me. Not keen on the sulphur and it turns white socks yellow! Arrrgh! Stay away from the sulphur in my opionion, I'm not a fan. The sulphur won't dissolve in the oil either so it just sinks to the bottom and then cloggs your sprayer up! Plain pig oil works a treat :-)
 
Oh and sorry - only answered half of the post. Yes, the scabs need to clear up first as the pig oil won't help them. Maybe just keep your horse in for a few days for the scabs to go if they aren't too bad they won't take long to heal. Then you can start a fresh with the pig oil once you have healthy legs again. Also, don't put anything else on with the pig oil to turn out with (eg creams etc) as it just stops it from working.
 
We keep legs clipped that way they dry quickly in good weather and you can really see what's going on .
It's important to try to work out if there's a fungal element ( sometimes there is and some times there is not ) to the horse getting mud fever if there is we find Malaseb or head and shoulders is the best thing .
It seems to take a bit of trial and error to find the best way with each horse.
 
spaceflower said:
to get to the specifics re pig oil, did you use the one with sulphur in? I'm assuming that its the sulphur which some people have had problems with in the past ie sensitivity and burning? Pig oil on is own is only a preventative though - I still need to clear up his scabs etc before I can rely solely on an oil to stop the mud from sticking....is that right?
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The udder salve you've ordered will help lift the scabs and clear the MF - and then help prevent it from occurring again.
 
thanks everyone for the advice. think i'm there with it and have a clear plan of action. My chap is a ****** to clip, and a full clip is very attractive option just for the day to day maintenance, but he's a sod to clip - I'm using dormosedan this year and its the best I can do to give him a trace come blanket clip. He's not got much in the way of feathering.

I'll pop up later today, smoother the rest of his legs in baby oil just to make sure nothing else crops up, use the nappy rash cream again tonight until my udder salve arrives, hopefully tomorrow and then pick up some pig oil (no sulphur) to use when hes in the winter field proper and knee deep in it.

What a mission ! lol
 
spaceflower said:
thanks everyone for the advice. think i'm there with it and have a clear plan of action. My chap is a ****** to clip, and a full clip is very attractive option just for the day to day maintenance, but he's a sod to clip - I'm using dormosedan this year and its the best I can do to give him a trace come blanket clip. He's not got much in the way of feathering.

I'll pop up later today, smoother the rest of his legs in baby oil just to make sure nothing else crops up, use the nappy rash cream again tonight until my udder salve arrives, hopefully tomorrow and then pick up some pig oil (no sulphur) to use when hes in the winter field proper and knee deep in it.

What a mission ! lol
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Such a pain in winter but we love them (although when I'm knee deep in mud in the p**sing rain whilst all my friends are having a glass of wine in the pub I sometimes think I must be mad!)
 
and then you end up falling face first into it with the wind driving the rain into your face like needles - yeah - love it, wouldn't have it any other way ;)
 
Some good ideas above, however, we have found a good product on our yard. We had a visit from a lady who worked for a company selling Aloe Vera products. My friend's horse suffers badly with the mud fever and she tried their product which is a wash, rather like a soap. She used this to clean up his legs, then applied aloe vera jelly and another cream called propalis or something like that. The lady worked for a company called Forever or something like that. We were of course all sceptical whether or not it would work, it took about 3-4 weeks but it did and its not been back since.

She stopped using Hibiscrub and regular washing too which will have helped. Hibiscrub is too harsh a product, it has its uses but not for this. I found on my mare that Keratex mud fever powder or the Lincoln Muddy Buddy powder worked really well, she lived out and had mud fever for the first time last winter. Clipped legs helped too to keep on top of this nasty fungus, it travels with the help of long fur.
 
Yes, I can understand the healing benefits of aloe vera, its a good remedy for so many things. Propalis is a 'bee' product I think, its recommended as a cold preventative as well as many other things. another horsey friend has been using manuka honey on an open wound her horse sustained applied a bit like a poultice using a sanitary towel to keep it clean !
 
quick update - just been and brought him in. Swelling down Yeehaaa! I forgot that in my panic this morning I also sprayed every inch of his feet with purple spray and then applied nappy rash cream - I'm sure it wouldn't be a recommended combination, but his scabs are soft, no heat as like I said, swelling down.

And follysmum I think I've got some wondergel - thats the gold label stuff isn't it? I rubbed it into a scurfy patch he had the other day!
 
I have been battling a mud fever type problem in my cob all summer. Allthe hair on pastern had gone and it was scabby and breaking down constantly. Vet thought was chronic skin infection so 10 days antibiotics which as soon as they stopped it got worse, then wash off the scabs and flamazine. I was getting nowhere and she was very sore so I stopped washing, just covered in Flamazine and bandaged every day, gradually it dried upand the scabs fell off, leaving healthy skin. Now most of the hair has grown back but it does break out in crusty scabs and the best thing I have found is plain pig oil rubbed into the scabs, which then fall off easily. Washing definately made it worse.
 
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This morning both back fetlocks a little swollen but no heat. applied more nappy rash cream on his scabs (whilst waiting for the udder salve to arrive) I'm mildly relieved simply because he doesn't seem to be getting any worse.

I guess that when the uddersalve arrives I need to wash off all the nappy rash cream, purple spray etc using something nice and mild like baby shampoo, dry thoroughly and then apply the salve with pig oil everywhere else.

Phew!
 
spaceflower said:
This morning both back fetlocks a little swollen but no heat. applied more nappy rash cream on his scabs (whilst waiting for the udder salve to arrive) I'm mildly relieved simply because he doesn't seem to be getting any worse.

I guess that when the uddersalve arrives I need to wash off all the nappy rash cream, purple spray etc using something nice and mild like baby shampoo, dry thoroughly and then apply the salve with pig oil everywhere else.

Phew!
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Glad to hear things are clearing up. Let me know how you get on with the pig oil :-) Fab stuff - you can also use it in hooves when it's snowing to stop feet being filled with balled up, compacted snow!
 
Sounds like I could do with a great big bath full of pig oil and just dip him in it up to his knees lol
Pinky flesh instead of scabs this morning , both fetlocks still swollen though :(
 
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