Horses living in mud 24/7

[SEL]

I feel for you OP - I left a livery yard after one winter where it was either keep in 24:7 or turnout in knee high bog. No relatives to upset then either!

Straw works well if you keep topping it up but if funds will stretch then mud mats around that feeder would make a huge difference

 

[Birker2020]

Lari is out in 40 plus acres shared with about 20 other mixed herd horses and ponies at retirement.
His feet are always muddy but because the fields are so large he spends a lot of the day out of the mud. The mud tends to gather around the gateways - YO has put down mud control mats leading up the field and these work a treat but in order to get from one field to another, and from the field to the mud mat pathway involves walking through thick mud.

There is also hardstanding where they go from around 4pm - 7am the next day and eat ad lib hay. Luckily Lari doesn't get mud fever but he's had plenty of abscesses although these are probably an abscess that hasn't drained fully despite valiant attempts from the YO.

But it is what it is and hopefully come the spring it will be different again. This was Sunday, you can see how deep it is, but like I say its only for a fraction of the day so I don't mind. But I wouldn't be happy if it was in a small paddock and it was all day long. Other photo of mud control mats

 

[GrassChop]

I would definitely be rotating between fields to stop them getting churned up so much or the straw area for temporary relief is a good idea. I would worry of injuries and the feet being so soft that you end up with loads of abscesses too.

 

[Melody Grey]

Be careful if your muddy ground is hilly- my horse’s hind suspensories didn’t fare well after a wet winter on a hillside… not a mistake I’ll make again!

 

[PeterNatt]

Jess M. This is too muddy to keep a horse in and your horse will suffer from long term damage. Either move to the other field or find alternative accomodation for your horse.

 

[AmyMay]

Rather than a round feeder could you put piles of hay out to get them off the mud?

 

[Boulty]

The riding school I kept my pony at as a teenager had worse mud around the feeders than that & the RS horses were out 24/7 in it. Unideal but they coped. The livery horses were also on it during the day & again they coped. The yard I was at for a few years with the Welsh D before leaving had winter paddocks that looked worse than that. Again not ideal but they came in overnight & they coped. Parts of the track my horse is on atm have standing water & mud slop, again not ideal but they’ve just massively increased the amount of mud matts to increase the dry areas they have with the aim to create a path pretty much the whole way around which is something daft like about 1km of various mud matts.

If the field is particularly wet atm then it may benefit from horse being brought off part of the time (ie in either during day or overnight) until it dries up a bit to reduce the churning up but you can do what you can do at the end of the day.

I really really would look into mudcontrol, jelka or racing (can’t remember the actual company name but there’s a thread on them somewhere!) matts all of which can be used on pretty sloppy mud with zero ground prep. A lot of what my YO has used are similar to what gets used on building sites for vehicles to drive over and they work well and are much bigger than a lot of the other options. That said to get the best out of them I’d probably re-site your hay feeder to fresh ground to minimise sinkage, ideally create a patch big enough that horse can lay down if they want although gonna be honest every horse I’ve had has been more than happy to lay down on mud as long as it’s not got a load of standing water on it which it doesn’t look like you have.

Have seen concrete sleepers used for a hay area to good effect as well (again don’t think much ground prep needed but would try to lay on soft ground rather than complete slop) but may need to put some rubber matting of some kind on top if shod to reduce slip risk perhaps?

Alternatively could look into laying proper hard standing of course but rather spendy.

 

[Purplerain123]

He is being moved fields and mud mats will be used before it gets to that state around feeder.
Thanks everyone for messages. Glad it’s not just me that felt it was no way to keep him so had a good chat with parents in law.

 

[Widgeon]

had a good chat with parents in law.

I'm glad that went well And lucky you getting mud mats!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

He is being moved fields and mud mats will be used before it gets to that state around feeder.
Thanks everyone for messages. Glad it’s not just me that felt it was no way to keep him so had a good chat with parents in law.

Well done for asking for advice and rapidly acting on it. This year has been ridiculous for rain and the resultant, inevitable mud.

 

[Purplerain123]

I'm glad that went well And lucky you getting mud mats!

Well we have to find some first. Ideally second hand haha.

 

[Purplerain123]

Well done for asking for advice and rapidly acting on it. This year has been ridiculous for rain and the resultant, inevitable mud.

I’ve got to put up electric fence in the other field yet as he gets his feet stuck in it all the time which is why he was restricted to only a few fields as he wrecks everything, but hopefully moving this week.

 

[exracehorse]

Jess M. This is too muddy to keep a horse in and your horse will suffer from long term damage. Either move to the other field or find alternative accomodation for your horse.

Agree. I’d tape that really boggy bit off. The legs are way too deep in mud. As field looks better at the back

 

[Honey08]

Another option is tipping some hardcore with road planings on top at the gate way/area where you put the feeder. It’s worked really well for over 12 years on our clay land.

As a caution - using straw or shavings on top of our mud only worked for a couple of months, then it turned into mud itself and made the problem much worse! It is probably only any good on slight mud.

Edited to add, I think feeders cause these problems in fields. It wouldn’t happen if the hay was spread about in piles.

 

[Purplerain123]

Agree. I’d tape that really boggy bit off. The legs are way too deep in mud. As field looks better at the back

He is being moved soon I’ve had a chat with land owners.

 

[Surbie]

Well we have to find some first. Ideally second hand haha.

If you can find some locally that would be brilliant.

BUT a huge plus for the mud control slabs is how well they hold value. 2ndhand slabs are now about £7-7.50 each, new are £8.10 and the price does seem to climb in line with the new ones. I bought mine a few years ago and could now sell them for more than I paid for them - which might be a point to make with the in-laws.

 

[Quigleyandme]

We made a mud free area in a gateway by constructing a box out of two by fours, setting down ground reinforcement and filling it with sand. It cost very little and worked a treat.

 

[Purplerain123]

We made a mud free area in a gateway by constructing a box out of two by fours, setting down ground reinforcement and filling it with sand. It cost very little and worked a treat.

Do you have a picture of that?

 

[Quigleyandme]

Do you have a picture of that?

I don’t I’m sorry. I don’t live in the UK anymore.

 

[MissTyc]

I built a "life raft" around my feeder, although I also scatter feed hay around the rest of the field on dry days to encourage movement.
The lift raft is lightweight EVA mats, cable tied together (super thick cable tie!) and then held in place by a ring of mud control slabs. This gives me an area much bigger than I could have afforted with the slabs (which would have been the dream), sufficient for three big horses to stand fully out of the mud. Over time, I've extended the ring of slabs when I could pick up second handers, just to make more space. It's going into year 5 and not sunk yet, which surprised me as much as anyone else.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Well we have to find some first. Ideally second hand haha.

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Secondhand are usually posted on their facebook page but go for nearly new price. They don't rot so hold price well.

 

[Ditchjumper2]

Mine were kept on 7 acres on clay and pretty much out 24/7 clipped and hunting at least once a week. One end was probably worse than yours. Hay fed on the ground created a firmer area. Rest of the time they generally kept to the other end. We never had mud fever as I'd leave the legs alone other than before hunting so they almost had a permanent crust. All stayed sound and hunting into their 20s. They were happy and could be stabled if necessary. All were heavier types or ID x. Worked for us and you have to do what works for you too.