Scratches and mud

[Corbyville283]

I know this has probably been done to death but here it goes again. Just moved my gelding to a new barn - it's spring and there's tons of mud. He had scratches mildly last fall - treated and over about a month we got it cleared up. So how do I prevent it from coming back this spring. He's brought in every night but I can't get there every night to wash the mud off - and I'm sure that I've heard that washing his legs every day isn't a good plan anyway. Any suggestions? Please help I really don't want him to go through another season with sore legs. thanks.

[Flash44]

Mix desitin, triple antiobiotic ointment, and antifungal cream together and slather it on before he goes out in the mud. You'll probably need to trim down any long hair so that you create a moisture barrier at the skin.

[LauraKY]

Muck Itch really works. We've been dealing with mud fever on an OTTB ever since we bought him and have tried everything. Finally did a round of IV antibiotics and it still came back. Muck Itch really works. It's oily enough that it repels the mud.

[Equibrit]

NOLVASAN cream.

[Thomas_1]

I know this has probably been done to death but here it goes again. Just moved my gelding to a new barn - it's spring and there's tons of mud. He had scratches mildly last fall - treated and over about a month we got it cleared up. So how do I prevent it from coming back this spring. He's brought in every night but I can't get there every night to wash the mud off - and I'm sure that I've heard that washing his legs every day isn't a good plan anyway. Any suggestions? Please help I really don't want him to go through another season with sore legs. thanks.

I don't know how much you already know but you need to understand that it's not caused by mud at all. If it were then every horse in the UK would have it permanently!

Read my posting on this link for further information about what it is and isn't and how to treat it if your horse gets it:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3931050&highlight=mud+fever#post3931050

Basically being in mud and permanent moisture can detrimentally affect the integrity of the skin and make it more likely to be very soft and then let bacteria enter it and if it's always nice and dark and wet then you have a great environment for it.

There's very much 2 schools of thought about washing mud off etc.

I'll tell you what I do though to ensure I've never had a horse of my own with it. I hasten to add too that I've brought in a lot of horses here either bought or to train that have had a history of it.

I trim feathers (particularly in winter) to make it easier to keep their legs clean. If the horse is brought in and the mud is dry then it's thoroughly brushed off and the pasterns and hocks are carefully checked to ensure there aren't any lesions.

Hosing off the legs isn't bad for them at all and neither is it a bad plan PROVIDING you're going to allow them to get dry. If it's constant water and mud then constant washing mud off is just wasting your time.

If the mud is wet then their lower legs are hosed off before they're put in on sawdust or shavings to stand to get dry (that bedding helps to get them dry and is much better for that purpose than say straw or rubber mats).

I do also use the likes of vaseline or sudocrem (baby nappy rash cream) when the legs are clean and dry and prior to turn out. I put a generous dollop on the heel bulbs and pasterns to act as a barrier. You must make sure though that the legs are clean and dry if you do that.

[WB Mom]

Keep the legs clipped short - especially during the time of year it's most likely to happen. If the hair is short, drying time will be vastly reduced, which, if you're lucky, may be all you need to do. My boy has 4 high whites, and I fought it right after I bought him. Started clipping him and he hasn't had it in 2 years. Good luck!

[Perfect Pony]

Keep the legs clipped short - especially during the time of year it's most likely to happen. If the hair is short, drying time will be vastly reduced, which, if you're lucky, may be all you need to do. My boy has 4 high whites, and I fought it right after I bought him. Started clipping him and he hasn't had it in 2 years. Good luck!

Wow, I totally disagree with this, and have been advised the opposite by a dermatologist. It's fine to cut off the extra feathers (I use scissors) but the hair is there for a reason, and clipping white socks causes "scratches" more than it helps. Skin problems on horses legs are typically caused by the skin being compromised in some way, by cuts or irritation from mud/dirt on the skin, or from sunburn.

The best thing to do with mud is leave the hair on the legs to protect them, let the mud dry and then brush off with a stiff brush. Use as little water as possible and try to keep the mud off the skin.

[tpup]

My horse had them a month or so ago - we were battling it during the snow too. He has one white leg and that's where the scratches are. He had 3-4 dime to quarter size areas.

Here's what worked for us (they are GONE now!) :)

I clipped the areas. Every day or every other day, I applied Betadine with a gauze pad - let it sit on the areas, and then dried each area completely with paper towels or more gauze. Then I applied triple antibiotic creme (the gel stuff that looks like vaseline...) and then a THICK layer of Desitin on top to coat and protect. Then turned my horse back out. That was it! Worked beautifully.

Good luck!

[kkindley]

One product, Bickmore's Gall Salve!! Love it, love it, love it!! My TB mare got them after the bad snow. About a week of daily heel slatherings it was gone! She lives out 24/7 so no time in a stall to dry for her. I bring her in every day, brush her legs off and now slather her up every other day to prevent them. We used to use this at the TB farm I worked at for scratches from dew too.

[mkevent]

My guy has 4 whites, and scratches were a constant battle. The best product for us has been Animax (rx only) but since it contains steroids, it will test positive if you compete.

Ironically, I think I've found something else that really makes a difference. A boarder's horse had a history of chronic tail rubbing and in an effort to get him off of steroids, we put him on a flax supplement along with MSM. It seemed to really help him-the tail was no worse than when he was on steroids, if not a bit better.

Since my horses sometimes battle some funky skin issues, I also put them on the flax/MSM combo. Since doing that (maybe a year ago?), I have not had a single case of scratches on my gelding. I don't think that it is coincidental since I haven't changed anything else in my regimen and we've had a record rain/snow/mud season this year.

FWIW, I buy the Bioflax 20 (www.horsetech.com).
MSM is easy to find and inexpensive.

[equi-jumper]

I would first give Cocosoya daily in order to prevent this from happening in the future. It has a balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 which is excellent for healthy skin.
http://www.farmvet.com/p-610-cocosoya-oil.aspx
Then to treat what is already there my vet says the only thing that she thinks actually works for fungal and bacteria infections is this:
http://www.farmvet.com/p-1461-micro-tek-medicated-shampoo.aspx

You can also get a spray and a gel..I used the gel on rain rot once..worked good never got rain rot again once I was supplementing the diet with Omega 3's :)

[naturalequus]

Wow, I totally disagree with this, and have been advised the opposite by a dermatologist. It's fine to cut off the extra feathers (I use scissors) but the hair is there for a reason, and clipping white socks causes "scratches" more than it helps. Skin problems on horses legs are typically caused by the skin being compromised in some way, by cuts or irritation from mud/dirt on the skin, or from sunburn.

The best thing to do with mud is leave the hair on the legs to protect them, let the mud dry and then brush off with a stiff brush. Use as little water as possible and try to keep the mud off the skin.

I have also been instructed to leave the feathers on, that they help protect the area (which makes sense to me because if you check, the mud is caught in the feathers, dries, and falls off, rather than reaching the skin). I do not touch feathers until show season, if I absolutely must even then. I just find when I leave the feathers the pasterns stay rather dry and uncompromised and any scratches that occurs naturally clears on its own without any issue whatsoever.