When to call the vet and is it worth it?

[parsley]

Bomber has dreadful mudfever - it is all up the side of his legs and now both back leg heels have got really big cracks in them AND his face - all around his chin is scabby.

I managed to get the scabs off his leg on Sunday by applying loads of udder cream, wrapping in a bread bag and bandaging for a while - all the scabs were off after this. He REALLY doesn't want me to touch his heels - I can usually boss him into standing still but this evening he accidently kicked me trying to make me let go. I had a look at the mudfever treatments today - they basically seem to be mixes of sulphur and zinc - I have been applying a mixture of sudocream and sulpher but I am not sure if its holdiing its own. His leg is slightly scabbed from sunday now, but I can't get the scabs off of his heels.

ANYWAY - when should you call the vet and what can they do about this? I did remember this evening he gave me some fuciderm in the summer for his heels and will try this????

 

[GTs]

I call the vet when I have a concern - I let them know what is going on, how long it is going on, all the details answer their question and let them determine if they need to come out: on an emergency call, this week, if it gets worse, etc.

 

[LauraBR]

That sounds like pretty bad mud fever?

I'd call the vet, they might be able to give you some AB cream to help without having to come out.

 

[samerlin]

my old horse had mud fever on his back legs and the hair came off right up to his hocks.
try using camrosa ( can only get through mail order expesive but cheaper than vets) I washed his legs with baby unperfumed soap. dried with a hair dryer and applied Camroas bandaged overnight. Scabs literlay fell off the next day. washed and blow dried every night for a few days replacing the camrosa and within a week nice fresh pink skin and new hair growing through.
my horses legs were so sore that he was begining to be lame.
Camrosa I swear by it.

 

[Tierra]

Im with GTs. If im in any doubt I always call my vets and let them decide whether or not they want to see the horse and how fast

 

[Louby]

My last mare had very bad mud rash and I was on the verge of calling the vet but it wasnt on her face. I tried all sorts including the clingfilm, udder cream, nappy cream, trying to pick off the scabs etc and although I knew it was wrong I washed her legs every night and dried them as best I could really for fear of infection. I was told by someone to leave them alone and do nothing. It was hard but I did and a few days later they all dried up and the scabs just flaked off. I then used Gold label mud guard as a barrier. It was the first winter Id had her and she never got mud rash again. I remember talking to a Baileys feed rep who said that after the first year she would become immune to the bacteria and she betted that it wouldnt happen again.

 

[Quarrybank]

I'd def call the vet. My horse had a bout of it on 1 leg after he's cut himself on his pastern (with his other leg.....he's a bit gangly as he's 4!!). I'd stupidly kept washing it but it was spreading, both round the side of the pastern & the backs of the heel. The vet advised me to apply udder cream to soften the scabs, wrapped in cling film & then bandaged, until all the scabs came off. She then gave me some other cream to heal the cut & encourage the hair to grow back (again with a bandage applied. He also had a 5 day course of antibiotics. It took about 10 days but it all cleared up & he now wears equichaps to prevent any re occurance. I think without the vets intervension it would have just continued to get worse.

 

[fairhill]

I would call the vet - mine had mud fever grumbling along all winter, in the spring it started going septic, swollen legs, and bare patches appeared. Because the skin was open, she'd also got a fungal infection that was spreading up her legs...

She needed antiobiotics, a fungal shampoo and flamizine cream (replacement for dermobion) to clear up the mudrash - two weeks later she had normal legs again!

 

[claire1976]

Yeah def get vet out and request some flamezine cream, my mare had very bad mud fever last year and she was actually lame with it on all legs. Flamezine cream made huge improvement in 3 days.

 

[AmyMay]

Is there any signs of infection - i.e are the legs swollen. Are you still putting him out??

If there are signs of infection - then you may need antibiotics - so yes vet. But if you are essentially just needing to treat the problem - and can remove the case then maybe not.

Depends on weather you think you are making any progress really.

 

[ticobay831]

Sounds really sore, poor boy.
I would definatley get the vet. Im not sure your doing the right thing picking the scabs off. A scab forms as part of protection for the wound if you pick it off and its really deep it will take longer to heal, theres a higher risk of infection and it will only scab up again. The scabs will come off on there own, in time. By that time hopefully uderneath should be healed nicely.
By the way ive used camrosa on my old horse, he suffers with sore heals and its brilliant. But please follow the instructions.
Hope he gets better soon.
Debs x

 

[Alibear]

get the vet , sometimes there can be other things going on along side the mud fever that mean you require antibiotics to get it undercontrol and pain killers/anti inflams can make the horse more comfortable. You might even have to go as far as stabling him for a while.

Good luck with him and let us know how you get on. My mare only got it once but it was horrific when she did and she had to have all the veterinary care as above, vet kindly said it wasn;t anything I had/hadn't done , just one of those things I'm afraid.

 

[fizzer]

had a an arab with horrendous mud fever all up his legs to his knees, the vet told me i had to get the scabs off with warm water dry them and i used wonder gel with antibiotics, worked very well

 

[parsley]

Thanks everyone! The vet came out today. He said to shampoo the legs everyday with hibiscrub mixed 50/50 with water, leave it on for 10 mins. Rinse and dry, apply flamazene to the big sore areas and some other stuff (cow udder antibiotic ointment) to the smaller areas. Apply Dermosan every 3 days with clingfilm and bandages to get the scabs off. When I ride smear the areas with petroleum jelly stuff (like vasaline). Turnout is OK providing the heels don't keep getting muddy. Check again in a week.

AND he has taken hair samples to see if the stuff on his face is ringworm