# Best way to treat mud fever?



## tobyiscool (1 October 2010)

Basically, what is the best way to treat mud fever? Bandage or not bandage etc? There seem to be so many different approaches and I am quite desperate.
Thank you for your help.


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## sbennison (1 October 2010)

Hi i have had the same problem and tbh honest as many diffrent ways there is people kept telling me to soak the scabs and pick them off put antiseptic on and not bandage please DO NOT do this.

My mares went worse i would ring the vet and ask them for the cream for mud fever it is really good and not too much cost compared to what you would buy normally.

Basically you put it on and bandage and leave open in the day.


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## intouch (1 October 2010)

Buy a big jar of emulsifying ointment from the chemist's, keep it at room temperature (it goes very hard in the cold) and apply it liberally where required.  As you rub it in the spots will loosen and come off, don't wash, just allow it to stay to protect the legs.  Apply every day for 3 days then every 2nd or 3rd day for protection.


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## xloopylozzax (1 October 2010)

we used pig oil and sulpher.

pig oil drove the water off the skin, flour of sulpher is anti fungal/bacterial.

worked for us, didnt bandage.


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## Noodlejaffa (1 October 2010)

Use Sudocrem on the worst bits and turn them out with boots on. I use Premier Equine turnout boots and have an event horse who is as white as white but has seriously pink, sensitive skin and is a mess without his boots. PE boots have been fabulous!


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## Tnavas (2 October 2010)

Best treatment ever - Nizeral a human anti dandruff shampoo containing Ketaconisol. You can buy it from the chemist.

Dilute with hand hot water and using a face cloth lather up well and work well into hair right down to the skin. You will find that some of the scabs will come off with ease. Allow to dry - no need to rinse. Make sure that you wash beyond the current affected area too.

Wash daily until all the scabs have gone and there are no new patches - usually only a few days

There is no need to bandage or poultice or wrap with cling film, don't force off the scabs it hurts the horse and risks the introduction od bacterial infection. This shampoo works amazingly well on mud fever, greasy heel and rain scald and is so easy to use and does not put your horse through any discomfort.

Protect your horse from within and feed copper and zinc supplement, both minerals assist in producing strong healthy skin.


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## Doncella (2 October 2010)

If the horse comes in at night, wash with mild Hibiscrub then bandage and for turn out use Barrier Health Mud Fever Cream or Protocon.
Repeat as necessary.  It worked for one of mine who I bought with bad mud fever.  He had very fleshy heels and they were very badly cracked they were white/pink as well.  Subsequently I was able to keep the mud fever/cracked heels at bay.


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## Faithkat (2 October 2010)

I recently took on a loan horse who arrived with patches of mud fever on two legs.  I cleaned them up with Hibiscrub and applied Sudocrem daily.  To my horror, it just got worse and worse until she was hopping lame so I consulted the vet who gave me 10 days-worth of ABs (one sachet twice a day).  That worked a treat and she told me to leave the legs completely alone which is what I think I should have done in the first place!! 
A friend of mine has had a couple of horses susceptible to mud fever and she has tried all the solutions known to mankind but it seems that some horses respond to daily cleaning and application of cream whereas others do better if you leave it alone.  It's a case of finding out which approach works for your particular horse


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## celfyddydau (5 October 2010)

My horse can get quite bad mud fever.  I worked with Dodson and Horrell to produce a herb mix which is the only thing that works for him.  You should be able to get it at your feed store although they may need to order it in.  It's called Mud Fever Mix and has a lot of marigold and echinacea

Mainly I use barriers so that we don't get to the point of needing treatment but every so often scratches start to appear.


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## Ted's mum (5 October 2010)

udder cream


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## beckieswann (5 October 2010)

barrier cream when out and pure aloe vera when in! 

I have heard many good things about pig oil as well!


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## bensonthewonderhorse (6 October 2010)

Also don't forget prevention is better than cure, Don't wash the horses legs unless absolutely necessary. We used to wash mud from our horses legs every day when they came in. A couple of the horses suffered quite badly with mud fever and we tried all the different creams etc. For the last two winters we have not washed the legs and miraculously no mud fever!

The other thing that I feel has helped is a multi vitamin supplement which keeps there immune system functioning well and makes them less suseptable to infections!


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## Ashf (6 October 2010)

Another vote for Sudocreme - it works for ours where the vet recommended potions have failed !


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## mongy46 (6 October 2010)

xloopylozzax said:



			we used pig oil and sulpher.

pig oil drove the water off the skin, flour of sulpher is anti fungal/bacterial.

worked for us, didnt bandage.
		
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Where did you get this from? as i've also heard this is v good


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## kellybrown11 (6 October 2010)

i have just bought some off of ebay to try!


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## TPO (6 October 2010)

I had a mare who had white socks. She was photosensitive so her white hair would fall out in summer and in winter she got really bad MF.

I tried everything for the MF as it was horrendous and really sore for her. The only thing that really worked for her was wearing FAL Silver stable boots at night. 

Id wash her legs in lukewarm water with a bit of antiseptic. Id dry her legs with blue paper/kitchen towel to ensure she was really dry. Then apply sudocream to soften the existing scabs and as a barrier. Shed have the boots on all night and I couldnt believe the difference within two weeks. The scabs were all gone (had previously left her legs naked, bandaged, wraps etc) and the hair even grew back. 

Once it was all gone Id cover her in barrier cream to keep it away. Ive tried the equilibrium mud fever boots with limited success.

I bought a grey gelding with white legs who I was assured didnt get MF. When he arrived his hind legs were swollen with it, hot and sore to the touch. I washed his legs in hibiscrub as a one off and used sudocream on him. I also put the FAL wraps on him at night and the scabs were nearly all gone within a week and the filling went from his legs. I had him for 18mths and through 2 horrible wet winters and he never got it again. When I spoke to previous owner and said that he did in fact have MF she said she knew and that hed get it most winters in the mud so something was working when hed never got it since.

On an aside a lady at a yard I was on had a cob with skin problems on his lower legs. Shed tried everything and it had cost a fortune trying everything the vet could think of. I told her about the FAL boots so she bought him a full set and within a week hed stopped scratching himself raw and the scabs went. The silver does certainly seem to do what it says on the tin.


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## Ted's mum (6 October 2010)

udder cream/salve for cows is the best imo - had an old grey TB mare who had it to the point she was lame with it - at the time I bought her - stuck some udder cream on it twice a day - was much much better within few days


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## ImogenBurrows (6 October 2010)

Shudder 

There are so many opinions on this - everyone does and sings the praises of something different.

The worst thing about this condition is everyone likes to try and use the homebrew methods first. Sometimes they work, sometimes not.  Problem is when they don't the mess is a nightmare to clear up. 

Every case is different and so what works for one won't work for another. Bacterial (or poss fungal) causes will vary case by case and will show different resistances in different yards and horses let alone counties. 

The key factor is it get worse if the leg is warm and moist often so moisture trapped there exacerbates the problem - locking bacteria in is initially done by mud....then helped by oily based products e.g. pig oil, sudacream you name it it can make it worse.  

Yeah true, some get better with this - generally mild and probably without infection as the big problem.  

Do your horse a favour and get a vet to see it.  Appropriate treatment for your specific case will be provided (hopefully ) and avoid the million and ones steps before you get to a disaster. 

Good luck
Imogen


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## brucea (6 October 2010)

I've always preferred dry, no gunks, and open to fresh air myself.

I have had some success wiht Keratex Mud Guard Powder - but honestly udder cream etc., just made things worse. Gettign it dry, keeping it dry semed to help most

Some yards and some fields sem to be very badly affected - we had awful mud fevern on three of ours at one yard - and none after we moved to another yard (with the same _quantity _of mud - must have been a different _quality_! )


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## ImogenBurrows (6 October 2010)

brucea said:



*I've always preferred dry, no gunks, and open to fresh air myself.*

I have had some success wiht Keratex Mud Guard Powder - but honestly udder cream etc., just made things worse. *Gettign it dry, keeping it dry semed to help most
*
*Some yards and some fields sem to be very badly affected *- we had awful mud fevern on three of ours at one yard - and none after we moved to another yard (with the same _quantity _of mud - must have been a different _quality_! )
		
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Ahh I love it!!! Yay - I agree!!!


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## frazzled (7 October 2010)

Have been dealing with this for the last month. It has finally healed. What I did was wash the legs with antiseptic and dried thoroughly(just the once).Was applying flamozine morning and evening. Keeping legs scrupiously dry. He has been in at night or on very wet days to try and maintain dry legs. Then after some research tried athletes foot spray and that has been amazing. Have alternated that with either sudocreme or flammozine. He is now completely healed and we are working on prevention by using barrier creams every time he goes out.
I think no one method works as it is dependent on the type of bacteria infecting. Our boy obviously had some fungal infection going on as well which is why the athletes foot spray worked so well. Sometimes I think you have to approach things from a variety of angles to get the best result. 
It is important to keep treating until every tiny bit of it has gone otherwise it just reoccurs. I will keep treating for a few days after it looks all clear just to ensure no reinfection.
This was all done after the vet had checked it out and with his ok!


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## cptrayes (7 October 2010)

Faithkat said:



			I recently took on a loan horse who arrived with patches of mud fever on two legs.  I cleaned them up with Hibiscrub and applied Sudocrem daily.  To my horror, it just got worse and worse until she was hopping lame so I consulted the vet who gave me 10 days-worth of ABs (one sachet twice a day).  That worked a treat and she told me to leave the legs completely alone which is what I think I should have done in the first place!! 
A friend of mine has had a couple of horses susceptible to mud fever and she has tried all the solutions known to mankind but it seems that some horses respond to daily cleaning and application of cream whereas others do better if you leave it alone.  It's a case of finding out which approach works for your particular horse
		
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I have had two horses produce strong reactions to Sudocrem , literally running with serum/plasma? until it was washed off again.


For curing it I am "old school" and don't think you can beat the Dermobion every vet used to hand out (at a price!). It's still available as Ilium Dermapred from vetorder.com  I struggled with mud fever for a year with my white legged boy, with Fuciderm curing it only for it to reoccur as soon as it was stopped. Dermapred? Gone, never came back.


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## ImogenBurrows (7 October 2010)

cptrayes said:



			For curing it I am "old school" and don't think you can beat the Dermobion every vet used to hand out (at a price!). It's still available as *Ilium Dermapred from vetorder.com*  I struggled with mud fever for a year with my white legged boy, with Fuciderm curing it only for it to reoccur as soon as it was stopped. Dermapred? Gone, never came back.
		
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Really?? the same thing - if so we'll all love you forever - another great drug gone


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## cptrayes (7 October 2010)

Oooh yes DEFINITELY the same thing, the green version. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same, works the same - it's the real thing!

I understand that as it has not been licensed for horse use in the UK that it is illegal for them to sell it to us. But it is not illegal for us to buy it from them  Which is just as well for me or I would lose my job! It passes customs fine, and although the payment is a bit odd, through a vet practice in Kent the last time I bought, it is a 200gm jar of the real article. 

Incidentally Imogen, though I had no diagnosis, my boy's "mud fever" met the criteria for verruccal dermatitis spot on, and application daily until all the warty bits were healed has resulted in a total cure, including a gradual disapearance of the residual keratinised (horny) scar tissue. He had six sites on each foot, one at each fold in the heel area each side of each hind foot and one on a front foot for the best part of a year. All gone. I LOVE the stuff!!!


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## cptrayes (7 October 2010)

just checked, vetorder.com and theanimalpharmacy.com (same thing) are currently out of service. let's hope they are back soon. Imogen I understand that as a vet you can get it direct from the manufacturers, Troy of Australia even though we ordinary mortals can't


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## TracyP (8 October 2010)

Hi,
I used Red Horse Products Honey Heal last year, it was absolute magic! The horse came in every night so I dreid his legs off with a clean towel and popped this on warm (it spreads better than when cold).

good luck!


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## TheBlack (8 October 2010)

I've said it more than once Athletes Foot Spray will clear it up. £3.50 Don't get it wet or let it sweat or clean it with hibi!!


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## JamilaParr (8 October 2010)

tobyiscool said:



			Basically, what is the best way to treat mud fever? Bandage or not bandage etc? There seem to be so many different approaches and I am quite desperate.
Thank you for your help.
		
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with this stuff called 'heel to hoof' it's literally magic!!


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## ImogenBurrows (8 October 2010)

cptrayes said:



			just checked, vetorder.com and theanimalpharmacy.com (same thing) are currently out of service. let's hope they are back soon. Imogen I understand that as a vet you can get it direct from the manufacturers, Troy of Australia even though we ordinary mortals can't 

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oooh thanks!!  I'll have to get the clinic to look into that!!!


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## TheBlack (14 October 2010)

Finally someone who agrees! It's amazing and cheap!


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## TheBlack (14 October 2010)

frazzled said:



			Have been dealing with this for the last month. It has finally healed. What I did was wash the legs with antiseptic and dried thoroughly(just the once).Was applying flamozine morning and evening. Keeping legs scrupiously dry. He has been in at night or on very wet days to try and maintain dry legs. Then after some research tried athletes foot spray and that has been amazing. Have alternated that with either sudocreme or flammozine. Our boy obviously had some fungal infection going on as well which is why the athletes foot spray worked so well. Sometimes I think you have to approach things from a variety of angles to get the best result. 
It is important to keep treating until every tiny bit of it has gone otherwise it just reoccurs. I will keep treating for a few days after it looks all clear just to ensure no reinfection.
This was all done after the vet had checked it out and with his ok!
		
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I agree!


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## ecarylloh (14 October 2010)

My girl had this last year so bad that the scabs were literally covering her lower leg. We rubbed in udder cream/sudocrem morning and night, picked off what scabs we could then rinsed the leg with diluted hibiscrub and toweled dry. We also found some little breathable, stretchable boots that cover the whole lower leg and even go over the hoof a little bit. That way she could still be out but her legs would stay dry. Cleared up after about 2 weeks with intensive treatment.


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## ecarylloh (14 October 2010)

My girl had this last year so bad that the scabs were literally covering her lower leg. We rubbed in udder cream/sudocrem morning and night, picked off what scabs we could then rinsed the leg with diluted hibiscrub and toweled dry. We also found some little breathable, stretchable boots that cover the whole lower leg and even go over the hoof a little bit. That way she could still be out but her legs would stay dry. Cleared up after about 2 weeks with intensive treatment.


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## Carajack (15 October 2010)

My arab mare had terrible mud fever, I washed, rinsed, and thoughrally dried morning and night, put no cream on until turned out next day, then used udder cream, it cleared up in about two weeks.  Have used udder cream as a barrier since when wet, no more problems so far.


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## Carajack (15 October 2010)

Sorry should have mentioned it was hibiscrub I used.


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## Azmar (15 October 2010)

Agree with all who say leave scabs; and I work in flower of sulphur into udder cream and use daily. Hair grows back and scabs come away naturally with each application until all have gone. Also rub over larger area than scabby bits. I find best uddercream is Equimins. Don't know why, just found by trial and error. Trouble is all horses react differently so it often is trial and error.


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## fawndashaw (10 November 2010)

Use an antibacterial shampoo twice a day, rinse well, dry with a clean towel and try to keep dry and out of the mud. This has worked well for many horses i know


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