My horse has mud fever, sores are oozing, legs are swollen, horse is quite sore. Looking for suggestions.
Answers:
Sounds like it is time to trailer the horse and take him/her to the Vet. It might also be a mineral deficiency, or in particular a copper deficiency. Most of everything people are saying on here are good ways to control or manage your horse condition but only a properly trained Vet can tell you for sure what it is and how to properly treat it as well as prescribe the correct medications for your horse in the quantities needed. I would strongly disagree with the twit that said put the horse down simply because of Mud Fever.
You can promote quicker healing by keeping the horse stalled as it sounds like rain is your problem if it is Mud Fever. Along with Mud fever comes what is called proud flesh and the wounds have got to be cleaned regularly and thoroughly to promote good healing. Contrary to what most people think circulation is very very poor in a horses lower extremities and healing is much slower because of it. Hoof and leg injuries on a horse need to be aggressively treated like yesterday to prevent long term problems.
Good luck!!
Oh boy, better call a vet. If your horse is suffering that bad, maybe it needs to be put down.
clip the hair around the wound, clean it thoroughly and try to soften scabs. Wash all the area with medicated shampoo and then apply a peoduct like Greezy Heels Kit. If it's all swollen you'd better give it some antibiotics, but let the vet prescribe them or ya. If after it heals, the skin remains tender, apply castor oil on it twice a day for 1 week.
Frem my experience you use Nitrofurizone Spray to dry out a sore and to moisten cracked heels or such I have simply used good old fashioned lard or bacon grease.
You can find out more in depth info at:
http://www.aromesse.com/pages/mud_fever..
take the horse to the vet i know they are expensive because i took my cat to the vet just for a check up and med it was over $500
Soak the legs to loosen the scabs and then use betadine scrub like surgical scrub and scrub off all of the scabs.
Then cover in antibiotic ointment. I like nolvasan then cover with telfa non stick pads and wrap with vet wrap.
You can leave in place for two days and then change.
It works well and if wraped and coverd they should heal in a couple of weeks.
Try to keep area dry and clean.
found this article on the internet by some equine magazine
Mud Fever hits my one horse (Traveler) every year. This year (2005) rain has continued long past its due. I have treated his feet now 4 times with the treatment since the end of April and still the rain comes and the mud swallows his feet-
So what is Mud Fever and can it be prevented?
Mud fever is known by other names, cracked heel, scratches, rain rot, muddy heel, mud rash. It seems to be attracted to horses that have white feet. Constant exposure to muddy fields allows the bacteria in the mud dermatophilus congolensis to infiltrate the heel of the horse.
The result can vary depending on the time of exposure, but with added contact to the muddy ground, the scabby sking can suddenly become an open, weeping wound, raw and bleeding. For some unknown reason, the back legs are affected more than the front legs.
Mud fever is stubborn and hard to treat. It clings to the feet and the horse becomes sensitive to you handling their feet. In severe cases, getting the horse onto dry areas and out of the mud will help to speed recovery, but then you have a stalled horse that will grow bored out of his mind.
I tried this year to prevent mud fever from forming, and was quite unsuccessful. First, I shaved off all the hair on the back of his feet. Then as the rainy season hit, I tried coating his feet with vaseline to keep the moisture away. Well folks, it didn't work. Trav got mud fever this year worse than ever! The only cure I have found to effectively treat it- is called Aromaheel. You order it out of the United Kingdom and I highly recommend that you do. There is nothing else that I have found that touches this and cures it as quickly as Aromaheel does, that is, if the rain stops! I found out the hard way, you can't cure this until the mud dries up.
It's quite nasty to treat, because the scabby portion of the mud fever sores needs to be removed in order for the ointment to have proper contact to the skin. This involves some scraping and thankfully Traveler is a mellow and tolerant horse and scraping his feet doesn't bother him. I hope that the mud fever will be gone in about a week
I have had this happen. I clean the area with bedadine scrub and warm water. Be thorough but gentle as they can be quite ouchy. Pat dry with new white paper towels (I like the Shop Towel brand). Cover the area with Desitin and stall in a dry deeply bedded stall. If you turn out, turn out in a dry area only, and cleanse dry and reapply the Desitin as soon as they come back in. After 3 days of Desitin, you will cleanse Pat dry and squirt on Gold Bond powder in the green canister 3 times per day. If you can not wash and dry, be sure to apply the Gold Bond powder 3 times a day without fail! It may take up to 15 more days, but the scratches will be completely gone and it will be healing. I like to apply the Desitin after grooming for the next month or so - just to be sure.
This never fails! Be sure to give lots of carrots as your horse is in a lot of discomfort right now.
first off you should not have allowed your horse to have develop mud fever to this degree. I would suggest you call your vet immediately let him deal with it initially. Then you need to keep your horse off the wet muck - if he has to remain outside Id recommend buyiing him a pair of field boots - these will protect the legs from the harsh ground. You need to wash his legs EVERY day with something like dettol mixed in warm water, then dry them downwards with a towel to remove excess water and then apply very generously a cream like sudocream. You need to watch this horse very carefully - it can develop to very serious infections etc if you dont
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My mare is going through this right now. She is 24 and has never had this problem before. It developed very quickly near a recently healed wound even though I have been trying to be very diligent. Am treating her with a good daily scrub with antibacterial soap, dry the heck out of it, then nolvasan and fleece bandages. Fleece won't stick to the wound and is not painful to remove. Two days and she is showing a vast improvement already. Don't worry. With proper care you can take care of it but I am told that it can be frustrating because it sometimes takes a while to cure completely.
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