Not Your Regular Saturday Night Fever – Getting rid of mud fever

Getting Rid of Mud Fever

First things first. Take a good look at your pasture. My pasture has a lot of ALSIKE CLOVER which is a known cause of skin issues including mud fever or scratches.

Identify alsike clover here…

Helping your horse deal with the scratches is important. I had always used zinc-oxide (diaper cream) and it helped sooth and protect the area.
You can use a product called Sugardyne – which is a mix of sugar and providine concoction. I say… make your own.

Making and Using Sugardine

It is easier than you think…
mix 1 part providine, (or betadine) to 2 parts plan old white sugar! That’s it!
You can adjust the mix to your preferred consistency. Add a bit more sugar for a thicker mix, or less for a runnier mix.
Keep the mixture in a glass container with a secure air tight lid.

Other mixtures to try
You may have similar success by using natural means such as melaleuca and helichrysum. I have used a mixture I call Velvet muzzle on mud fever with success.

What is Mud fever?

Mud Fever is a terrible nuisance for me this summer. We have had lots of rain and the moist conditions that have hastened the development of mud fever.

For the uninitiated, mud fever is a painful red rash on the back of the horse’s pasterns and can even afflict the fetlocks. I have seen it mostly on the white legs and the pasterns of the legs with white hooves. Left untreated this rash will develop into painful, inflamed cracked skin.
Once the horse’s skin is inflamed and cracked, you develop a cycle of healing, cracking, bleeding, then, dirt and mud gets into the moist cracks causing more pain, slowing the healing process. I think you get the picture. Systematic treatment is key to the healing process of mud fever.
I think, however, that some horses are susceptible to mud fever and that the bacteria that causes mud fever lives in the grass/mud or soil making certain areas mud fever ‘zones’. My farm is one of those zones. Each time a new horse, with white feet, comes on my property it invariably contracts mud fever. Even in the driest of summers, mud fever is present.

Here is the treatment I use. The treatment must be systematic and thorough. If you suspect your horse of having mud fever or cracked heels: