your experiences of mud fever, cracked heels etc

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niko

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Last wed my mare trotted up lame in her hind leg, my trainer and I thought it was high up in the leg, most likely muscular. There is no heat, pain or swelling, anything visible, not un-even and her hips are aligned.
She is only lame in trot, sound in walk and canter. My vet is on hols for a week so we have box rested her since on his advise. On Saturday while i was checking her legs like i do everyday and more importantly now she's standing in out of her routine, i noticed scabbing like grapes on one of her pasterns. It was sore and it smelt BAD. I have been hibi-scrbbing and putting caneston on since which has taken away the smell and the scabbing has reduced and she did not object to the cleaning for the first time last night.
My vet gave me trimedyzine (cant spell!) yesterday in case they is an infection and kill anything off faster.
I trotted her up this morning and she is better but still lame
mad.gif

Is this cracked heels or mudfever and can it really make a horse lame? i have had no other dealings with this and would be the only explanation for her lameness if its very sore (like us i suppose with blisters) or she pulled something messing about in the field.
 
Skye had stinking mud fever a couple of years ago and it made her lame ( in walk never even tried to trot her), hers was really sore and when she walked all cracked open ( which is why she was lame) hers however was nothing like a bunch of grapes it was scabby very pink and all cracked skin.
I had the vet out and he gave antibiotics and left me with some antiseptic i had to smother it on wrap with clingfilm and leave for 24 hours he then prescribed betadine ointment to be put on twice a day, he told me not to touch it with hibiscrub as it is too harsh and advised not to wash the legs if i could get away with it, as we didnt have a paddock that was mud free i also kept her in and turned her out in the school morning and night for a few hours to help prevent her legs swelling to much.
Took a couple of weeks to clear and touch wood she has never had more than a couple of scabs since.
I think if i was you i would maybe have the vet out to have a look at least then you will know what you are dealing with.
 
I m still having problems with mud fever as my mare now has cellulitis.Buy a good barrier cream we use nex tex muddy marvel to keep legs clean and dry hibiscrub aggrivated her legs she was better once we towel dried rather than washed.My vet gave me betnovate.She finished a course of ant biotics last week as infection spread up her leg.If you want to use hibiscrub then I suggest you rinse it off then dry , it is very strong and seems to destroy al good bacteria too.
 
warm animalintex is brilliant for mud fever. wrap it on overnight with vet wrap and generally once is enough and all the blisters pus and gunk has come away leaving only the raw skin behind. put plenty of barrier cream on this (a healing one if poss) and you are away.

this is much kinder than hibiscrubbing which just hurts and scab picking which hurts even more
 
Mud fever baffles me - some people say pick the scabs, some people say leave the scabs.
I just had the vet out last week for mud fever - we have no fields without mud. I had been washing with warm diluted hibiscrub (a capful in a pint), then rinsing this off and totally drying the leg. The vet prescribed me a cream which they make themselves - it has steroids and some antibiotics in it I believe. He has been given a small area of our carpark to stand in during the day and play with his football and this is clearing up his leg no end. Only trouble is - I cannot turn him back out until we move fields in the Spring! My vet advised me to pick scabs - she said if you don't then the bacteria just sits under them, however if you remove the scabs (the warm hibiscrub softens them) then you can get the bacteria out.
 
Wash it daily with diluted hibiscrub or dettol soap, then towel dry and then smother in the magic potion that is sudocream - works everytime!!!
 
Mad isn't it? My vet said that picking scabs was "old thinking" and not a good idea at all. I've had great results on even field-kept horses by just towelling off excess mud and slapping on Barrier Hygiene Heel to Hoof gel. Took a couple of weeks, but the scabs just fell off and the skin was healthy. It is a good barrier to use out in the field too.
I love the mental picture of that horse playing with his football in the corner of the car park, it really made me smile.
smile.gif
 
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