Mud fever

At DocHorse, you find a wide range of products to treat mud fever.

Mud fever is a skincondition that occurs mostly at the lower part of the horses leg (at the pastern area). You can recognize mud fever by crusts, wounds and cloves in the affected area. Depending on the severeness of the condition, mud fever can be painful and can cause lameness. Mud fever can occur when horses are kept in a wet environment (when they’re out in the field on rainy days for longer periods of time, or when the stables aren’t mucked properly and the bedding is wet, etc.). The (soft) skin on the lower legs will weaken, making it more accessable for bacteria to create infections. Mud fever is more common for horses with feather on the lower legs. When the skin underneath gets wet, it takes more time for the skin to dry. The longer the skin stays wet, the more chance the bacteria will have to create an infection. Mud fever is also more common for horses with white hair and pink skin underneath. Apart from wet environments, sunburn, mites, fungal infections, or inflamed hair follicles may cause mud fever.

If not treated correctly, mud fever can cause Einschuss or blood poisoning. Therefore, it is important to treat thouroughly to improve the healing process.

When your horse is suffering from mud fever, make sure to rule out the cause of the mud fever. When it is caused by fungi or mites, the skin has to be treated with a specific product to eliminate the cause. When in doubt, always contact your veterinarian. If the mud fever is caused by wet environments, make sure to keep the skin dry. When the legs are wet (from washing or riding on wet ground), dry them with a clean towel. Keep the stable as clean as possible, so urine and manure won’t irritate the skin.

We advise to treat mud fever as following:

Wash the infected area with a desinfecting shampoo, for example Cojosol Gel Shampoo. This is both cleaning and softening the skin. Be careful that crusts which are on the skin are not pulled off. This may cause new infections. After washing, dry the skin with a (clean) towel. After washing and drying, apply a mud fever ointment or cream, for example Animaderm Derfongen, Phytotreat Equi-Leg or a silver based ointment. You can also wrap the leg with a bandage with silver-ions, or put on a stable boot with silver and carbon. Bandages and stable boots with carbon and silver will eliminate the bacteria that cause mud fever. Make sure to follow instruction manual for the best results.

We also advise to clean your brushes (especially the ones that are used on the legs) with Imaverol or Fungatrol. This helps to prevent cross-contamination.

To prevent your horse from getting mud fever, you can apply Animaderm Natjelly in the pasterns when the horse spends time in wet areas. Animaderm Natjelly is a product of 100 % natural ingredients that hydrates the skin but repels water and dirt. For protection from the inside out, you could use Puur Moc or Hilton Herbs Mud Defender.