Vetting/Mud fever question

[0ldmare]

I had the vet out to my new horse as about 4 days after she arrived her legs swelled up and I realised she had mud fever. OK, at this point I accept a big slap on the wrist for me not noticing she had it, but I normally dont clean their legs off in winter and neither of the other 2 have ever had it. Basically it doesnt get that muddy here so at worst they might get a bit of mud up to their fetlocks, but no more.

The vet said that the horse has chronic mud fever and she has scabs scattered about up to her knees/hocks. This could not happen here as I just dont have deep mud! The question is - I had a full 5 stage vetting - shouldnt mud fever have been noted? I thought so, but then again it was 2 weeks after the vetting before she arrived. Would this have been long enough for her to go from clean healthy legs to getting such wide spread mud fever do you think? (Have to assume here that the old owners turned her out in a swamp after I paid for her). Just curious

 

[piebaldsparkle]

2 weeks is ample time.

My mares mudfever can flair in a matter of days.

Also when I used to work on a hunt yard there was one area they used to go, and if you didn't wash every scrap of mud off one particular horse when he had been out, you could garentee a bald horse in the morning (literally hairless legs and stomach, where ever the mud had been).

 

[Tia]

I'm really not sure whether it should have been mentioned on the vetting if it was there at the time. It makes sense that the vet wouldn't have mentioned it though as Mud Fever is just a transient thing and not a conformational issue or permanent blemish. I wouldn't have expected it to be noted.

 

[madhector]

I had jerry vetted last week, he had a touch of mudfever which i noticed when i tried him, vet made no comment about it in the vetting

 

[henryhorn]

Mudfever is just a name for a condition, it dosn't have to be caused by any mud I'm afraid!
It's related to the same thing that causes rain scald, and they can get it from a tiny cut when the bug enters the skin and thrives in the mild damp conditions.
Even stabled horses can get it, so it's pointless blaming anyone, some horses especially those with sensitive skin or white legs just are more susceptable than others, and it's best to discover what your particular horse responds to ad treat it every time.
One of ours is great with an indian herbs cream, another with sudocrem, I've even sprayed athlete's foot spray on before now to see if that worked!
It can flare up quickly too, so she needn't have been turned out in a bog to get it..

 

[vicm2509]

When I bought Baron last year it was noticed on the vetting and mud fever is excluded from his insurance.

This year he got it again, he went from no scabs at all to having a large bald patch in his fetlock in 24hrs and 2 legs were very scabby. If I had left him for 2 weeks without treatment Im pretty sure it would have spread much further. Luckily i got it cleared in 3 days.

So I would say even if he came to you with 1 little scab that you didnt notic then this could have easily spread even if the fields were not muddy.

 

[vicijp]

[ QUOTE ]
mud fever is excluded from his insurance.


[/ QUOTE ]

I find that very odd. Does it actually state 'Mud Fever'? Or 'bacterial infections caused by ....(whatever it is - long word, cant remember)'. Or simply 'bacterial infections'?
If it was the last I would be changing insurance companies! If its the first it doesnt make sense and means nothing. If its the middle how the hell do they expect you to confirm it each and every time?

 

[the watcher]

I had a horse vetted that had rain scald, they mentioned it and I was stuck with a permanent insurance exclusion. My best guess is that your neddie was known to be prone to it so they kept the horse in until after the vetting, after that they had nothing to lose, and there is no way the vet would have known

 

[zoeandmerlin]

Dermatophilis???? (not sure on the spelling but this is the bacteria that causes mud fever) I think!!

 

[custard]

I'm convinced it's something in the soil depending on where you are and it can just flare up given the right conditions. My old mare used to get it really bad on one yard then I moved and had no problems after that but one thing I did find was Thermatex leg wraps are a godsend never mind the creams and potions. Getting the legs dry overnight was they key to getting rid of it

 

[Tia]

Yes they do say that Dermatophilis lives in soil which is why it reinfects year after year.

However I also have another theory - it may be airborne or come using rain as a vehicle. The reason for this thought-process is that over here we have ice and snow covering the ground. The ground totally freezes and there is no way that any of it could come off on horses.

Therefore I do believe that there is a lot more to Dermatophilis than meets the eye.

 

[Mbronze]

If yur horse has mud fever, once it clears up what is the most effective solution to getting the hair to grow back..my poor girly has bald patches at the mo on the back of her legs....

 

[_daisy_]

my horse has an exclusion from her insurance for Dermatophilis (sure thats the word). it literally covers the whole skin thing so shame I didnt just pick the scabs off her legs the day she went for vetting

if i had known I wouldve done something about it.

 

[welshies]

My friend had her new (now sold) horse veted and on arrival i noticed she had mud fever, quite badly and had had for some time, the vet din't notice a thing!

 

[flyingfeet]

Mud fever is a very strange beast - I have 3 horses all related; 2 full brother and their half sister.

So kept in same area, indoor barn with outdoor sand coral (kept as a herd, little mucking out for me!!)

Sister has mud fever when she was 6 & 7, now 11 and not had it for years.

Oldest gelding has it whilst 7 & 8, now clear

This year youngest gelding (7) has it on back feet. I shifted it from one hind leg, now working on the other.

So its caused by bacteria, but they are all kept together. Seems bizarre, but they do grow out of it. Otherwise would have all 3 with it.

If you PM me I can point you in the direction of some seriously good products.