Mud fever (equine pastern dermatitis) is a painful skin condition caused by prolonged wet and muddy conditions. Prevention through management changes protects horse welfare throughout winter.
Mud fever causes significant pain — the scabs form over raw, inflamed skin, and their removal during treatment is particularly painful without adequate analgesia. In severe cases with lymphangitis, horses become severely lame, reluctant to move, and deeply uncomfortable. The condition recurs every winter for susceptible horses without management changes. Prevention requires genuine commitment to infrastructure and management changes that protect horses from prolonged mud exposure. For horses kept in poor field conditions with no winter management, mud fever represents chronic seasonal suffering that is almost entirely preventable with appropriate facilities and care.