Summer Mudfever ??

kickandshout

kickandshout

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I was wondering is it normal to get mudfever in the summer ?

my horse is in a field with no mud, or doesnt mud actually cause it ?
he has no feathers (warmblood) but has got it on 2 white legs at the back just above his heel.
ive been applying gold label stuff so far and the scabs come off and it looks good but the following day its just as bad.
any more i can do ???
got any tips
 
It's not mud fever it's photosenitisation. One of mine had it badly a few years ago, & a steroid cream cleared it up.I think he also had a steroid injection. It's caused by the sun exagerating the reaction to certain plants on the skin. St Johns Wort can cause it as can buttercups.
It's a vet job I'm afraid, as you won't be able to get the right steroids over the counter.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I was wondering is it normal to get mudfever in the summer ?

my horse is in a field with no mud, or doesnt mud actually cause it ?
he has no feathers (warmblood) but has got it on 2 white legs at the back just above his heel.
ive been applying gold label stuff so far and the scabs come off and it looks good but the following day its just as bad.
any more i can do ???
got any tips

[/ QUOTE ]

When my horse had that problem in the summer, the Vet said it was 'heal bug' and was advised to wash it in Hibiscrub and leave on for 20 mins then wash off and dry .... perhaps you could try that first
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I've been struggling with a similar thing for weeks with one horse, but have finally got it under control by using fungatrol by Equine America.
I am normally red hot with mud fever but this defeated all my usual methods of sudacrem/cling film then keratex afterwards. etc.
It worked for me so perhaps try it?
 
My horse never got it this winter and yet has a tiny patch in the heel of her white sock at the moment. It seemed to start after a lesson in my instructors very boggy arena last week. I think its partly due to the abrasive action of the sand fibre in the surface coupled with the deep boggy areas allowing the bug to penetrate the skin. It seems to be clearing quickly now though.
 
My horse had this so bad last year that I ended up with a £750 vets bill. This year I have found that washing with hibiscrub, using fungatrol shampoo/spray, course of antibiotics and finally some aromaheel cream has finally cleared it up. Also feeding mudguard supplement has made a big improvement.
 
It's quite likely to be this; pastern leukocytoclastic vasculitis.

There's info about it on this link here, but it's a pain to scroll through, never mind the horrible other skin diseases on it.
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There are other bits and pieces out there if you google it.

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/pubs-HR24-1-bkm-sec.pdf

I have one horse with this, both front white feet were affected and he had access to a river in the summer. I struggled for a couple of summers with it, using all sorts of treatments like hibiscrub, iodine washes, Dermobion etc, but nothing cleared it up fully. He had time off one summer, and it went totally out of control in about three days. The vet gave him a series of cortisone injections and it cleared up within a few days. He didn't bother with a biopsy aqs he knew what it was. After that, everytime it appeared I immediately treated it with Dermobion, and it didn't ever take hold again. He doesn't get it now, and I think it's without the opportunity to get his feet wet in a river. It can't just be heat or sunlight, as he's now here in France where it's much hotter and sunnier!
 
My horse also gets like cracked heels this time of year - pink and scabby on her white legs I find that sudocrem works well on this if I apply i reg
 
Mine has it too, hibiscrub and sudocream works wonders,give a try before you get the vets. if it doesn't start to clear in a few days then vet
 
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doesnt mud actually cause it ?

[/ QUOTE ]
No, it is causedby bacteria getting into skin which has been softened by being wet. ( In USA it is called Dew Scratches.)

Our cob gets it in summer - his is not photsensitisation as he has a good six inches of thick feather, so no exposure to daylight of his skin.

Hibiscurb, rinse and dry well, hen pig oil and flowers of sulphur
 
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