What is “Mud Fever”?

‘Mud Fever’ is a common skin condition usually affecting the legs of a horse, typically the heels and pasterns.  Most commonly seen during wet winter conditions, Mud Fever, which is also known as greasy heel, cracked heels or scratches, is more correctly termed Pastern Dermatitis. 

Bart was recently treated out at our Wolfgar Clinic. He has a troublesome Sarcoid, near his wither, that was being rubbed by his saddle.

Bart was sedated and local anaesthetic applied to the area.  A surgical laser was used to remove the Sarcoid. The surgery took less than 5 minutes!

Very quickly Bart was back in his stable eating his haynet. He will now have a few weeks rest to allow his skin to heal. 

Keep checking back for photos of his progress!

It certainly feels like winter is on its way this week! Many horse owners have started to dig out winter rugs, so if you are tempted to start rugging, you may be interested in the following advice from the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School, Edinburgh.

- Horses and ponies that are obese, unclipped and live out do not require a rug! Use winter to your advantage – allowing your horse to use their fat reserves to keep warm will help weight loss and dramatically reduce the laminitis risk next spring!

Gastric Ulcers in a Nutshell!

As part of our series discussing gastric ulcers, a common but often preventable and treatable condition, we ask:  How can we prevent and treat them?

How to treat and help prevent gastric ulcers

As the horse’s digestive system was designed for roaming the Great Plains and eating almost constantly, the key to managing our domesticated companions is to mimic nature as closely as possible.

Gastric Ulcers in a Nutshell!

As part of our series discussing gastric ulcers, a common but often preventable and treatable condition, we ask how and why do our horses get them?

Whilst about 60% of performance horses and 40% of leisure horses and ponies are estimated to be affected by stomach ulcers, many still go undiagnosed. This is because the signs of ulcers can be vague and could apply to a number of other conditions such as back problems, teeth problems, or hormones, or even put down to just being a ‘stressy’ or ‘poorly behaved’ horse!

So how can you tell if your horse has ulcers?

Over the next 4 weeks, we will be discussing gastric ulcers; a common but often preventable and treatable condition.  We will cover the following 4 areas;

1.The risks and what to look out for

2.How and why do our horses get them?

3.How we can prevent and treat them

4.Success! Owner experiences

For more information on EGUS and gastroscopy, you are invited to join us for a FREE client evening at 7pm on Thursday 10th August at the practice in Crediton.

St Boniface Equine Vets are excited to be able to offer laser surgery for the removal of skin growths, including sarcoids, at our Wolfgar Farm facility.

Often carried out under standing sedation with local anaesthetics, laser removal is very quick, results in minimal post-operative pain, swelling and inflammation and low rates of post-operative infection. 

We know how hard it can be to make sure you are spending money on a good quality supplement for your horse!  With the plethora of tubs, tubes and boxes for sale in tack shops and feed stores, how can you be sure you are feeding a good quality supplement that really will do what it claims?