Sores on Bens heels

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins

Well-Known Member
Oct 10, 2004
13,741
4,836
113
Visit site
Ben has some sores on his heels. They are small and circular and look a little scabby. He also has been stamping his feet and they are obviously itchy. He has got a fair amount of feather and I know that mites are common in heavy horses. Someone on the yard said they were just bites and will go away on his own but I'm not sure. I have got the Yard Manager looking at him tomorrow for me, but has anyone got any advice? He has got 2 sores on one leg and one on the other.
 
popularfurball said:
Also mud fever as its warm and damp is worth considering :)
Click to expand...

Well I thought that it looked like mud fever, but the other liveries on the yard dismissed this because there is no mud. Does there actually have to be mud to get mud fever? We have been doing lots of hacking recently and this has all been over fields but we don't go through any muddy bits really.
 
Mine are all suffering with something similar at the moment, they are all feathery so prone to itchy heels.

I find that pig oil and sulphur sorts it right out as the sulphur sees to any mites/mud fever and the pig oil keeps the skin hydrated. Feathery horses can suffer from dry, itchy skin which can look like mites, the heavy horse and gypsy cob breeders all use PO&S to keep feathers in good condition and to stop mites.

If I'm putting it on, I put Sudocreme over the sores as an anti-bac then apply the PO&S liberally.
 
Dunno which it is, with mites Flipo never got any sores but did stamp itchily.
I'd put money on mud fever even though you don't appear to have any mud (aren't you lucky - although not so lucky to not have any problems like the rest of us!). If its mites I'd treat for them first before putting on the PO&S. If its just mud fever then slap the pig oil on as the sulphur has the antiseptic properties in it.
 
Sadly you don't need mud to develop mud fever, mud fever is caused by a bacteria that can come alive in lovely warm and humid conditions such as we are having now.

My boy has come down with it two and although he's had his feathers hacked off, he does still have ample covering of an inch or two all over.

If it's mites I've had really limited success with the Dectomax injections, but it can do no harm for you to have your YM to have a look. PO&S is a lovely mix anyway and good for their skin, does he have a lot of feather ?
 
Our Joe got mud fever from the sandschool when we were on a yard. He didn't even get any proper turnout that winter and still managed to end up with it!
 
I would have said mud fever too, as people have said you don't need mud to get it.

I put sudocreme on my boys and he seems to do better when he has his feathers kept on.

Caught him stamping in the field yesterday so I will have a root around tonight and make sure he doesn't have any sore bits.
 
Mud fever is a bacteria which thrives in warm damp environments - the mornings are "dewy" and temps are still quite warm so provides an ideal environment.
 
I'd go for prevention once you get this sorted. I pig oil and sulphur all year round now no matter the weather. No stamping, happy horse, happy owner. (well almost happy!!)
 
We have a horse on the yard that got mud fever while on box rest...def not mud in there!!!

Agree with FM - prevention with pig oil (with or without sulphur depending on what suits Ben) once you get this cleared up.
 
Thanks everyone. What exactly is 'pig oil'? Is it oil made from pigs??? Also, where is the best place to buy it and how do I apply it? Does it come ready mixed with sulpher or do I add it in myself?
 
Its parafin oil (used on pigs hence the name) I get it in my local tack shop, think the last time I attempted to be smart and got spray stuff but S hates sprays and its thinner so have to apply more often...total fail tbh! :giggle: I now just use the plain stuff as S is sensitive to sulphur but as far as I know it comes ready mixed....there is probably a cheaper way of doing it tho.
 
Robinsons also do a Pig Oil spray. This looks much easier to apply but obviously doesn't have sulpher in it. Does anyone use Pig oil on its own? Why would you use pig oil without the sulpher if they are best together?

I'm getting very confused!
 
Ebay Link Pre Mixed

This is the easier way to buy it, pre mixed. But I did just buy a 5 ltre tin from my local tack shop and brought the 'Flowers of Sulpher' seperately and mixed them myself. There are various methods of putting it on, I used to decant the oil into a bucket, add a bit of sulpher to it, crumble the sulpher in my hands if it didn't mix down that well then slosh on with a sponge. However it was quite messy that way, a brilliant tip that I found was to use an old Fairy bottle, decant the Sulpher and Pig Oil mixture into that and then dribble it over the areas you want to apply it to. Massaging it in as you go, just a light massage to ensure even coverage.

I'd try a small bottle like I've quoted there as it would be less mess and less fuss. I would imagine Ben's feathers are probably not as thick as my cobs so you wouldn't need as much as me and with it only being 1lt if you don't want to use it any more then not so much waste or impact on the purse !

Must do my boys next weekend after the farrier has been. On that note, my tip, DON'T do it 2-3 days before a farrier visit :redcarded:
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back