# mud fever and hunting....



## L&M (22 February 2016)

My cob has been affected by mud fever this season, not had it before, but given the current conditions not really suprising...

Anyhow I have now got on top of it, but am musing on how to keep his legs safe for the last few meets - if I was just hacking I would use a barrier cream and avoid the worst of the mud, but obviously out hunting the mud is unavoidable.

To make matters worse he is grey, and mucky in the stable, so has to have his legs washed for every day he hunts, and he normally hunts twice weekly.

So any advice please, both for barriers and before and after care.


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## Goldenstar (22 February 2016)

You need to experiment to find what suits your horse and the country it covers .
I always use a barrier on the tummy and legs for hunting 
Liquid paraffin works well applied on a pice of old towel or a sponge .
I put sudrocreme or udder cream  in the heels .
I clip the legs so I can keep them clean and dry them easily .
I wash after hunting ,thoroughly ,I make sure the water rinses away clean then I scrape and dry with towels .
Thermatex leg wraps are very good for drying legs fast .
If there's a fungal element to the mud fever head and shoulders is worth trying for washing this works very well on Fatty who suffered badly till I discovered it helped him.
I buy big buckets of udder cream so I apply it liberally when needed .


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## Meredith (22 February 2016)

I do very similar to Goldenstar but use baby oil on clean dry legs regularly not just for hunting as it makes it easier to brush the mud off. After hunting or bringing in from field I brush off all the dry mud and put on wicking leg wraps. I don't wash legs too often as I find it softens the skin more but I do wash if we've been through filthy mud. My horses are bay with no white and a chestnut with white legs so their legs quite often look a bit dirty. I know you are supposed to turnout beautifully for hunting but I gave that up a long while ago. Grubby legs are a price I pay for keeping mud fever at bay.


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## wilsha (22 February 2016)

I used to use baby oil on my grey that got mud fever


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## spacefaer (22 February 2016)

Keratex powder - absolutely brilliant.  You don't have to wet the legs or get them greasy. 

Haven't had mud fever all season and we have 5 greys


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## Goldenstar (22 February 2016)

Kerratex powder is good but it irritates some horses skin I can't use it on Fatty .


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## Orangehorse (22 February 2016)

Well, cover legs and belly with something - baby oil, vaseline, or some people use the cheapest cooking oil. Anthing to try and provide a barrier.  It does help with the brushing off.  There are two schools of thought with this.  1)  Completely wash off horse's legs, might also include shampoo when you get home and put on wicking bandages to dry.  Or 2) Let them dry naturally and brush off the mud in the morning.

Personally I always did 2, but mine wasn't susceptible to mud fever.  I'm one that agrees that too much washing is a Bad Thing.


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## sunshine100* (22 February 2016)

hi would not ride a horse that had mud fever-needs to rest and heal-can you not borrow another horse to go out on?


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## L&M (22 February 2016)

sunshine100 - his mud fever is healed (has been stabled/no hunting for the last 2 weeks) - I was looking for ideas on 'preventative' measures (see opening post).

Am thinking along the lines of starting with clean/dry legs, with sudocreme from fetlocks down, then re washing after hunting on a really muddy day, then wraps on overnight? On a less muddy day brushing off in the morning, but suspect these will few and far between in the next couple of weeks.

Will try this regime from tomorrow's meet......

Thanks all.


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## frostyfingers (23 February 2016)

I have a grey and wash his legs with cold water only the night before, bandage with wraps overnight and then in the morning before hunting rub in pig oil.  I also put it on his belly, between his back legs, around his chest and elbows.  Usually I have at least 30 mins travel in the lorry and find that his legs are nearly always dry enough to brush off when we get home, and with the pig oil the mud doesn't stick much and slides off quite easily. I use a cactus cloth for his belly etc.  He is then turned out, with another rub of pig oil if his legs are dry enough.  So far so good - and we are on heavy clay.

I am fanatical about keeping the mud off and when for whatever reason we haven't hunted I've made sure that the legs are completely dried and brushed off 3 times a week.  Fingers are definitely the best thing for finding and removing the last bits of mud, it's amazing how often you think you've got it all off, run your hand down the leg and find yet more!

My previous horse was bay and I only washed where absolutely necessary as he was TB and prone to mud fever - his white socks got a wash, the rest was rubbed in pig oil (great on dark legs as they go beautifully shiny!) and I always left the mud to dry afterwards and brushed it off.  Where mud fever showed I spot treated with Sudocrem, on one occasion though he was completely overwhelmed and ended up off the road for over a month and on antibiotics/flamazine and goodness knows what else to try and get rid of it - hence why I'm so fanatical now!


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## Christmas Crumpet (23 February 2016)

I too have white legs and so wash with head and shoulders before hunting and leg wraps then before hunting that day put gold label mud guard on (I do this religiously through the winter on clean legs 2-3 times a week so mud falls off) legs, tummy, armpits, in between legs and top of legs/flanks. I always put petroleum jelly on heels/back of pasterns. I hose off legs with cold water after hunting and under tummy. Anywhere else is with warm water with lavender wash and malaseb on saddle patch. I find its far better to use a sponge to get the excess water off than a sweat scraper. We live in the wettest part of Dorset and it's a bog 6 months of the year but we seem to cope just fine!!


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