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Post by katherine on Apr 7, 2013 19:34:06 GMT -3
Jazz had mud fever very badly on both of her back legs last year. One leg has white scarring where it had peeled off. Last spring I used diaper rash cream (zinc) to heal it up, and found it worked well at keeping mud and moisture out. However, it was very difficult to remove and she had white cream on her legs for at least a month.
I was just wondering if there is a good way to prevent mud fever this year. I read that over washing the legs can cause infection of the bacteria in mud, so I only brush it away once it's dried rather than hosing. I'm always feeling around so that I can catch it early and nip it in the bud if she does get bad legs again.
What does everyone else use to treat/prevent mud fever?
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Post by chels on Apr 7, 2013 19:45:09 GMT -3
I've luckily never had to deal with mud fever with Roxy, but when a horse I knew ever got it, I recommended Penaten cream. I've seen it work wonders.. Fiskes have products for mud fever too that work really well, I think you can get them at the Co-op.
Keep her legs clipped (if she has feathers) and keep them dry/clean once she comes in for the day.
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Post by katherine on Apr 7, 2013 20:25:39 GMT -3
A lot of people seem to swear by Pig Oil and Sulfur, but I'm not sure where I could get that. I'll have a look at Co-op and see what they have.
Mud Fever seems to be more common in horses with white legs, so a lot of the treatments happen to be white cream or powder. Just my luck. Maybe I'll just paint a few socks on her legs with a cream.
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Post by charismatic on Apr 7, 2013 21:48:03 GMT -3
Your local pharmacy can often help with strange ingredients. Myself I swear by Tea Tree Oil. I have an Ointment here that I put on everything that isn't a cut.. Works well. But I agree, keep it clean and dry.. Best you can often difficult when the mud is up to their knees this time of the year..
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Post by Becca on Apr 8, 2013 13:27:47 GMT -3
I swear by the zinc oxide cream (baby butt creme) I found it wasn't too bad to get off with baby wipes (ones that aren't dried out work best) she should be ok at clovelly because they manage there paddocks well so is not standing in a couple inches of mud / poop.
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Post by Rodeo on Apr 8, 2013 15:36:08 GMT -3
I HATE mud fever. It killed a horse that I had, and he was in a minimal amount of mud.
I've always heard that the baby bum cream is great as well.
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Post by katherine on Apr 8, 2013 15:58:23 GMT -3
I tried EVERYTHING last spring to get the baby butt cream off! Baby wipes, shampoo, brushing, you name it!
The base of her paddock is pretty muddy right now, so I'm just being a worried mama!
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Post by jpoole on Apr 8, 2013 18:58:42 GMT -3
There is a powder we had at coop. I can't remember off the top of my head if its called kereplex or if that's the brand name, ill check tomorrow. Also can't remember if its a treatment or preventative.. Hmm I'll have a look!
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Post by katherine on Apr 15, 2013 17:14:17 GMT -3
^ Thanks! I appreciate it.
There are a few scabs formed on her legs now. Fingers crossed it's just old cuts, but if they start to grow larger I'll be slathering her in bum cream again. It doesn't help that she tends to pee on her back legs, so it's just a big bacteria party all over her. Messy mare!
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Post by happilyeverafter on Apr 15, 2013 18:15:45 GMT -3
Katherine- You can buy specialized (equine) creams that keep the mud and wetness out. I've seen them in the catalogues here in UK, so I'm sure they exist in Canada.
If you're able to be up at the barn twice a day, you can wrap her legs... put them on before she goes out, take them off when she comes in so that she's clean and dry. That's how we always kept the mud-fever-prone ponies healthy back in Ottawa, and there was times they WERE standing in 6 inches of mud for a while. Again though, you have to be able to change them regularly, or pay someone to do it, haha!
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Post by Jacqueline Pike on Apr 15, 2013 20:43:04 GMT -3
I know Josh is prone to it as well so I shave his legs and keep them as clean as possible. Does she wear boots in turnout?
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Post by katherine on Apr 15, 2013 22:30:24 GMT -3
She doesn't wear boots in turnout, as I can't be up there daily to clean/change boots or wraps. Do you shave the entire leg? She gets the scabs up the front of her leg, not where the tufts of fetlock hair is.
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Post by happilyeverafter on Apr 16, 2013 9:30:56 GMT -3
Weird that they're up the front? How high up do they go?
I've never seen mud fever go up the front of the leg in my years in Ontario. My experience with it is all around the pastern, fetlock and the backs of the legs about 4" about the fetlocks. Weird.
Has the vet diagnosed it as mud fever? Is it possible its something else?
Seems odd that she would get it up the front of the leg if that part of the leg isn't submerged or covered in mud.
If you intend on clipping, clip from below the knee/hock down to her pastern. The hair needs to be really short so you can keep it clean with daily grooming, and so the mud doesn't get in the hair and stay wet in there.
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Post by Jacqueline Pike on Apr 16, 2013 10:52:40 GMT -3
i shave up to just below the knee using a 10 blade.
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Post by katherine on Apr 16, 2013 14:01:13 GMT -3
Weird that they're up the front? How high up do they go? I've never seen mud fever go up the front of the leg in my years in Ontario. My experience with it is all around the pastern, fetlock and the backs of the legs about 4" about the fetlocks. Weird. Has the vet diagnosed it as mud fever? Is it possible its something else? Seems odd that she would get it up the front of the leg if that part of the leg isn't submerged or covered in mud. If you intend on clipping, clip from below the knee/hock down to her pastern. The hair needs to be really short so you can keep it clean with daily grooming, and so the mud doesn't get in the hair and stay wet in there. It hasn't been diagnosed as mud fever by a vet, however, the front of her leg tends to always have mud on it when I'm grooming. Someone at the barn told me last time that it was mud fever, and it went away after using the bum cream, so I didn't think much else of it. It only came when the paddocks were muddy, and I haven't seen any more raised scabs until a year later. This is a picture from when she had the scabs on her legs so you can see the location; one had just peeled off: fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/205300_10151025045421760_1597653386_n.jpgThis is from a few days ago, so you can see the white scars on her legs where it had scabbed and peeled. fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/482680_10151538187101760_778653476_n.jpgIt was on the front of both hinds, though the left was the only one that scarred. Now I'm wondering if maybe it is something else that caused the thick scabs.
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