Treating mud fever

Morganna

Morganna

Active Member
Feb 23, 2006
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North Lanarkshire
So, I received my piggy oil and sulphur order yesterday and promptly headed to the yard to treat my boy today as I had an unexpected day off work. I was full of anticipation and very much looking forward to the oh so glorious results that everyone who uses it has raved so much about. Arion had other ideas. I could not for the life of me get him to stand still to let me treat him - he was hopping and skipping and waving legs around, swinging his back end at me and tried to bite me twice, and he would have had he not been tied up securely.

I did manage it in the end with the help of my YO and 4 other people and that was after I had been trod on, shoved against the stable wall and almost flattened and had several near misses with hooves flying past my head (had my hat on though - safety first). So he now has lovely yellow white bits on his legs and is not a happy boy at all - last I saw him he was stomping his back feet and looking very grumpy - poor boy must be terribly sore :(

So, anyone got any innovative methods of keeping a horse from jumping on my head when I am applying this stuff as I have to do it all again tomorrow and I would rather not have the drama that I had today.

Suggestions please...pretty please? :D
 
Try getting someone to feed him carrots at the same time that's what I do :D
 
It takes a couple of goes for the horse to realize it isn't going to hurt, especially if he has had the traditional hibiscrub,picking scabs etc... done to his legs :eek::)
I know from experience!!:D
 
mikh said:
Try getting someone to feed him carrots at the same time that's what I do :D
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The "Carrott Distraction Method" was our first effort, unfortunately he is not easily fooled and managed to stand on 3 legs, waving the 4th leg in the air whilst at the same time, reaching for the carrott. He appears to manage perfectly well in manouvering on 3 legs as was proven when we pulled the carrot back and he actually hopped forward on one front leg so he could stretch that little bit further for it, still waving one leg around - it was rather impressive actually :D
 
Wow u must have the twin of my horse, have you tried picking up other legs etc? Or picking up the foot you're treating and applying then (that confused my mare). I'm going through the exact same MF and treatment at the mo!
 
I had this problem with treating mud fever....I ended up using Keratex mud fever powder as you can stand several feet away and just PUFF it towards the affected area!
 
mikh said:
Wow u must have the twin of my horse, have you tried picking up other legs etc? Or picking up the foot you're treating and applying then (that confused my mare). I'm going through the exact same MF and treatment at the mo!
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That was one of the more succesful attempts today. Two people at his head keeping his head up and steady, another girl holding one leg up and me applying the piggy oil to the other leg and trying to avoid his swinging back end. It was at this point that I got slammed against the stable wall and the air went kinda blue for a bit - my language can be appalling at times:eek:
 
cariadbach10 said:
I had this problem with treating mud fever....I ended up using Keratex mud fever powder as you can stand several feet away and just PUFF it towards the affected area!
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Haha - I was doing exactly that for a few days while I waited for my piggy oil to arrive - ever seen a horse dance? :D
 
I tried keratex too but my mare could feel it and tried to get me she is also very good at cow kicking, just persist some days we have no dancing or today where there was no chance in horsey hell. :D
 
Carrot distraction method and can you do it while you pick out his feet? Have to do this with my mare who is a demon on the ground. Trying to get her to stand still to spray frog disenfectant is a total trauma.:eek:
 
At least you know that once this little load has gone that treating with piggy oil and sulfur will act as a preventitive so this shouldn't happen again
 
coyote said:
once the pain association is eased ,things should improve in the behaviour area.;)
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So agree with this

Voltan had got really bad before i actually found something that worked. It looked like someone had skinned his legs.

He was literally try to kill me before i got near his legs. I had everything from full rears kicks. sitting down on himself the works. He would work himself in to a state and i just felt awful trying to do it. I opted for the twitch approach but he could easily get out of the twitch - don't ask he just did. So in the end opted for hand twitch. haha yup i used my own hand and it killed :D While marsden applied.

I would say i needed to twitch for the first 3 applications as he was that bad to control and it was for his own good, Then we tried to build up his confidence again as all he associated with touching legs was pain. So we stopped twicth and went down the carrot distraction route etc. Its taken a while for him to come round cos even brushing he would have kicked out at. In time he has built trust again. In fact just yesterday i just tied him up outside and did it all by myself. He didn't move an inch and was so content. I tell you a time i never thought i would see again a few months back!!!

I never tied vol up when he used to freak when i first started using pig oil - he would have broken his neck before he gave in - but really depends on the horse. I find vol too intelligent and i have go about things that let him think hes in control yet hes not??! if that makes sense. So he would allow me to twitch him at first and then he was still able to move (not far) but it made him feel comfortable then being tied up short.

Keep with it is all i can say!! will come a treat in no time
 
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OK, had absolutely no luck getting near his legs on Monday, so went up and tried a different approach this morning. He had a few hours out in the outdoor school to let off some steam before I got there, and managed to cut his neck too - he is such an accident prone boy, he hurt his nose on Saturday and his face just below his eye the day before that.

Anyway, I digress. So this morning, I started with a groom working my way down his legs with one hand rubbing and one hand brushing. I did this for about half an hour until he allowed me to stroke his legs with my hands and did not move. I then filled a cup with the piggie oil and went back in and resumed stroking his leg with my hands then dipped my hand in the piggy oil and rubbed it on. We had a little bit of resistance at which point I stroked a little further up his leg until he stopped waving it around then moved back down again applying more piggy oil as I went. I managed to get one leg done like that but when I went to do leg numero two he had obviously sussed me out and decided to start dancing around.

In the end I had to approach with caution, start brushing his back and work my way down a bit then literally pour the piggy oil over the worse affected areas at which point he would leap forward and start stomping his hoof on the ground. I managed to get another 2 legs done this way then went back to try and rub the stuff in a bit, managed to do a few minutes on each leg. One leg went undone though as he had started to go nuts at this point and I didnt want to push him as he had been very good and whilst he was kicking out it was never aimed at me and not in a malicious way and he didn't get really mad at me like he did on Saturday. So I will go back up in the morning and do the last leg using my sneaky brushing and stroking method.

I will keep you updated :)
 
Hi,

I REALLY sympathise with your situation as I have been going through the same events for the past 5 - 6 months!! Firstly what have you already tried? I.e creams, what antibiotics where you given by the vet etc?

I have a number of ideas / tricks that have helped me along the battle but what I would say is that although pig oil and sulphur is fantastic as a preventative the infection / scabs need to be completly clear first or else the oil will have the adverse afect as it will hold the bacteria agaisnt the leg.

let me know what you've used so far and then I can post my experiences but without going over anything you've already tried.

xx
 
Hi Alexia and thanks for your post.

So far, I have tried Hoof to Heel ointment, Sudocrem, oil on it's own, can't get near him with Hibiscrub which is what my vet recommended, I can barely get near him with the piggy oil.

Really, feel free to suggest anything - I am pretty desperate and will give anything a go:)
 
Ok well I'll go through some of my experiences and of just recently my successes 'touch wood' and hopefully fingers crossed some my work for you. If your pony has scabs that need softening then 'udder cream' is very good for this it will soften the scabs making the experience of 'removing them' for your pony a little easier.

I went through sudocream, and udder cream, and then after sedation was able to semi apply hibiscrub to my boys legs this being after an hr and 1/2 of battling!! About a week later it looked worse then ever and so I called my vet. He advised to completly clear the area of scabs, then he gave me an anitbiotic cream 'flamazine' and told me to keep my pony on 24hr box rest as you are probably aware the key to beating it is a completly dry environment!!
He also advised a course of bute to ease the pain and inflammation.

So the udder cream worked to soften the scabs, I have now been using the flammazine for just over a week and it has worked miracles, his skin is a beautiful pink colour again, no scabs and beginning to heal nicely.

Now as far as being able to apply anything to the area I also work with the technique of 'pressure and release' monty Roberts / Richard Maxwell. When my pony objects I place pressure on his flank and ask him to move round in a circle until he decides to stop I then release the pressure as his reward, after a few turns from this I usually find he accepts that I'm trying to help him. Yesterday however he was not as accepting so I got a lunge line and made a slip knot which I got him to step into and then secured around his fetlock. I gently asked him to left his leg by applying pressure on the line, this way when he kicked out the pressure remained but I was at a safe distance and being a slip knot the pressure released as he stopped kicking. (The idea is that you use the line as if you are asking you pony to pick up there foot, so you would put the foot back down once then stopped moving around or kicking) Just make sure the pressure on the fetlock doesn't get to tight. After about 5 mins I was able to hibiscrub both legs with fantastic results.

You need to get ontop of the pain issue first, so I'd strongly reccommend a wk or so of Bute and and antibiotic cream from your vet. after about a week of this I'd then attempt to hibiscrub off any remaining scabs or infection and then continue with an antibiotic cream until skin remains completly clear. Only then would I suggest switching to the pig oil and sulphur as a barrier cream to keep from any re precutions

Hope this has been of help, any other questions just ask I really do sympathize with your situation but keep at it you'll get on top of it xx
 
Thanks Alexia

He has just finished a weeks course of antibiotics and anti inflammatory from the vet. Will definately be giving your slip knot idea a bash though. I will let you know how I get on.
 
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