Spotting mud fever - help!

[Swift08]

6 weeks ago my pony injured himself and cut the back of his pastern and is only coming back into work on saturday. The last bit of the cut is now only a bald bit but before that we found out that he had a rope burn in the same place in may so the new cut damaged the scar tissue.
We have been told to watch out for mud fever by the vet as it is also on his white sock so the skin is ment to be more sensitive (never sure if that is more true) and that area is weak from the injury.
The fields are clay and very muddy so we are using camrosa as a barrier cream and will be buying udder cream as we have been told it is very good as a barrier cream.
I have never had to deal with mud fever before so i do not really know what it will start off like. Help please

 

[brightmount]

Mud fever is scabby, and the bacteria live under the scabs which is why they need to come off. Horses with mud fever may object to this as it is sore, so it helps to soften the scabs with cream first. Some people put cling film over cream to soften the scabs.

A lot of people use hibiscrub for mud fever, but this is quite harsh. It's not a good idea to routinely wash mud off the legs as it also washes away the horse's first line of defence - it's natural grease in the skin.

If you don't already have mud fever it's best to let the mud dry, and then if you have to, to brush it off gently.

As a preventative, Sudocrem is good as it stays on in wet conditions. The vet gave me Flamazine when my horse had it, but this washes off in the wet so it's really only any good overnight. Keratex Mud Shield powder is another good preventative.

You can also protect from mud fever by using Equilibrium Close Contact Chaps. They cover the pastern and fit right under the heel bulb. They are best hosed off and dried each day though.

Bad mud fever can lead to lymphangitis, very sore, hot and swollen, so it's worth preventing it and treating it in the early stages. An affected horse may need to stay in or be moved to a better drained field.

 

[Swift08]

Thank you

i will have to keep an eye on it and i hope he wont get it.