how serious is mud fever?

Question

my friends horse is covered in mud several inches thick and she doesn't clean it off and all his feathers are matted, on his back legs it's reaching his hock, how serious is mud fever?

he has to stay out over night because they are having new stables being built so he can't really be taken out of the mud as there is no where to put him

Answer 1

It can be serious if left untreated.

My horse had it and the skin just fell off his legs, literally, and then infection can set in and it can cause serious problems.

It is important to pull all loose areas of matted hair off on the legs. You may find it comes off very easily and there will be a lot of gunk underneath (yuk!) The skin underneath will be red raw and sticky and sore. Use hibiscrub to disinfect and clean the area and then apply an ointment especially for mud fever. And then keep the area dry.

Mud fever will not heal if you keep sending the horse into the field, it will just get worse. I put vaseline on my horses legs before he goes out to form a barrier between the mud and the leg, but even that does not stop it completely.

Answer 2

Mud fever is an infection of the horses skin and requires vet treatment. You also get cracked heels which are like chapped hands but can be very severe. Again this can require vet treatment. However, just because the horse is muddy doesn't necessarily mean it has mud fever, but this horse sounds like it needs a bt of grooming as if it is thickly covered in mud, then it would be difficult to see the horses legs to see whether or not the skin was still healthy.
As to the feathers being matted, then no horse that is turned out in this weather could possibly have clean legs, however every horse should be checked daily to ensure they are healthy and free from injury, and excessivly muddy legs would prevent this.

Answer 3

Unless there are signs of mud fever then I wouldnt worry too much, some horses are more succeptible to it than others, one of my horses even gets it in the summer when the ground is dry. It can sometimes cause more problems to keep washing the mud off especially in heavily feathered horses as it is not possible to dry the skin properly, this leaves it more porous and makes it more likely for infection to occur. However if the horse is already scabby around the heels and fetlocks then it will need to be kept dry until it has cleared up, to leave him standing in mud when he is already displaying symptoms of mud fever will greatly increase the risk of an infection developing which is not good.
Should infection occur, the scabs will become filled with pus and eventually the leg will fill with serum, causing swelling which can become pretty severe in a very short space of time, and if left untreated can cause lameness and even flu like symptoms.

In short, if he is at all scabby and sore then it must be addressed promptly before it escalates into a very costly problem.
Good luck, hope he's fever free!!

Answer 4

I had a beautiful black arab mare with four white socks and I live in Wales!
Thats a recipe for mud fever! Thin skinned arab, four white socks and lots and lots of mud!
As you can imagine it was a constant battle. I found prevention much easier than a cure. I would bring her in at night and wash her legs and shampoo with a shampoo I got from the vet, the name eludes just now but it was meant for dogs fungal conditions and it began with M.....meta......something.
I dried them as best I could too, so I always had an array of towels hanging up to dry. This would not however prevent mud fever from breaking out. As soon as I noticed anything untoward on her legs I would plaster it morning and night with an excellent cream called 'Dermobion'. Designed specifically for mud fever. I would say it's the only stuff on the market that really works. There are many things that claim to but don't. I know - I've tried them all!
However, your friends horse sounds like a cob with feathers and cobs are tougher skinned than arabs, especially if the skin on his legs is black. Having thick layers of mud could actually prevent the wet from reaching the skin, depending on if it's ever allowed to dry. But you'd have to cut the feathers off by the sounds of it just to check the skin to see as when mud gets really thick and mats the hair it's impossible to clean off.
If mud fever is allowed to go on unchecked it can actually cause blood poisoning, which I'm sure you know can be fatal.
I also know the golden rule of 'Never interfere with other peoples horses!' This can easily cause divisions between good friends!

Answer 5

Hello,

Mud Fever is a skin disease caused by infection with Dermatophilus congolensis, a bacteria which is often found in the mud in paddocks where horses live. The bacteria is only able to start infecting the skin when the skin has been damaged and skin damage most commonly occurs in winter when conditions are very wet. Wet conditions make the skin softer and more easily scratched and abraded. Mud Fever is seen mostly on the lower parts of the leg and feet but the Mud Fever bacteria also causes other diseases like Rain Scald and Cracked heels and Greasy Heel.

Once a horse has had Mud Fever, infection is much more likely to occur in the future because scarring in the skin results in a loss much of much of its natural protection. Treatment of Mud Fever is normally achieved by using antiseptics such as chlorhexidine. When it gets more serious antibiotics by mouth or injection must be used to control the infection. Creams containing antibiotics are also very commonly used.

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Answer 6

sounds like that commence of dirt fever, yet even even if it isn't a superb antiseptic sparkling talked about through something like sudocrem will basically help it. it would also be some style of reaction to flies or similar. you opt for to provide a superb scrub with hibiscrube, not adequate to reason discomfort yet you truly opt to get it onto the floor less than the hair which if you're too gentle with would not be so valuable. Use a sparkling brush and dilute some hibiscrub and use it correct round all the legs. note sudocrem or similar liberally afterwards, then confirm you're cleansing the legs each and each day to give up extra an infection. keep her off very muddy parts until eventually that's healed. keep an eye fixed on it for the subsequent week or so. If it improves and he or she is pleased with it then that's taken care of. If not, or if she maintains to seem itchy with it then i'd supply a vet a hoop and get them to come back take a seem.

Answer 7

Mud fever can be pretty serious if not treated. I had a horse that had it I had the vet come out and she wanted me to wash her with a betadine solution etc. What I found worked the best was trimming the hair rubbing mineral oil to loosen scabs and brush daily.
someone told me they washed their horse with Tide and that got rid of it also( I think that would irritate the skin)

Answer 8

yes it can be, i typed in ( horse mud fever) came up you can print care sheet good luck,

Answer 9

ask the vet quick to check the poor horse

Answer 10

get in touch with a vet!!