would mud fever cause the whole leg to swell ??

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MILLGREENLADY

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HI all,

advise/help please.
horse had very swollen leg friday from hoof too hock under the heel i found mud fever, and been hibi scrubbing it and putting cream on it, the horse has been on antibiotics and bute. The swollen leg has gone down a bit but still filled around fetlock area. Their is no heat and isnt painfull. The horse was lame in trot on friday but havent tested since. Would mudfever cause the whole leg to blow up i thought it had done something else to its but theirs no heat ! also been lightly bandaging! has any one else had this happpen?? what would you do ??

thanks guys
 
MILLGREENLADY said:
HI all,

advise/help please.
horse had very swollen leg friday from hoof too hock under the heel i found mud fever, and been hibi scrubbing it and putting cream on it, the horse has been on antibiotics and bute. The swollen leg has gone down a bit but still filled around fetlock area. Their is no heat and isnt painfull. The horse was lame in trot on friday but havent tested since. Would mudfever cause the whole leg to blow up i thought it had done something else to its but theirs no heat ! also been lightly bandaging! has any one else had this happpen?? what would you do ??

thanks guys
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Hello - had exactly this happen the week before last, except not going all the way up to his hock...he did have some heat though..did pretty much what you are doing...brought him in for a few days and swelling all came down gradually within about a week, though the most dramatic swelling was gone in 24 hours...I thought he'd done something else too, but after chatting on the phone to the vet (who advised what you are doing), treated as mud fever swelling and now all seems well. I must say, he had no other visible symptoms of mud fever (ie no other scabbing, no inflamed patches) so were it not for this sudden swelling and lameness and a TINY scab at the back of the fetlock, I wouldn't have known. He's now back out happily and I'm bringing him every couple of days to get a break from the mud, and plastering with udder grease and pig oil. This seems to be keeping anything further at bay.
So, yes, have had it happen, and yes, it did seem that it was MF that caused it. ;)
Hope that helps!
 
I'm afraid it can, and indeed could have developed into cellulitis which is a vet job. I wouldn't hang around with getting them in.
 
How sound is horse? Yes, mud fever can cause awful swelling, but tbh, if its going down, i wouldnt worry. Are you turning out at all? Is it going down then? I would bandage overnight if in 24/7, give bute and if not down by mid week i would call vet.

Tbh, unless really really lame or under the weather, i wouldnt panic. My mare is puffy as hell, any excuse, but goes down instantly with turnout and she gets mudfever as well. Just try to keep on top of it, and call vet if serious serious swelling....ie. up to hock straight up and down !
 
Yes - my young gelding got a big leg with mud fever. He's had it mildly once since the first bad attack but now I've got the right regime sorted out (with a little help from my vet who helps me save money. Odd I know!) It involves doing a clingfilm sweat-off on the first night which a lot of people don't like but is good for getting scabs off so you can get the ointment to penetrate the wound better. He only advises for one night and make sure the leg is clean (we use hot water with salt or v.dilute mild antiseptic) rinsed in clean hot water and dabbed dry (ish) with clean cotton wool. Then apply a soothing cream like sudocrem, dermisol or mudbar and wrap the clingfilm around while still warm then gamgee and light bandage. Turn horse out if dry. The next morning, most of the scabs will be loose. Never pull them off. Re-wash and dry gently as before but this time don't use clingfilm. Apply Mudbar Plus or Flamazine instead of the soother before wrapping. Do this for 2 days twice a day. Then hopefully you can carry on without the washing. Just bandage over the ointment for another 2 days then leave off the bandage and keep going with cream only for a few more days until all dried up. With Mudbar Plus you can keep going for up to ten days then switch to the plain Mudbar or similar to use as a barrier.
 
Yes, mud fever can and will do this.... for every body saying get the vet in, I am pretty certain they have already been as the OP states the horse is already on antibiotics! OP keep in touch with the vet and they will be able to advise the best course of action if this doesn't start to clear up soon... I would be expecting this to be looking a whole lot better by now!
 
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