Mud Mud glorious mud

Denzil Penwerthy

Denzil Penwerthy

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 August 2010
Messages
52
Location
Swindon
Visit site
Me and mate friend were stood in our local saddlery this weekend staring at a row of different mud fever treatments and preventitives.

We both have horses in fields with a fair bit oof mud, especially after the recent gorgeous weather.

They dont suffer from mud fever, well havent in the past but should we still put some sort of barrier cream on just in case....... if so which one!!
 
I don't, others do, seems to be individual choice!

With mine I never (unless 110% necessary - cut that needs treatment perhaps) wash the legs down, I don't rub down the legs either. If she needs to be tidy then I put clean stable wraps over her muddy legs to dry them out well and then gently brush off in the morning.
Despite being a delicate flower she has never had a hint of mud fever.

I think it is more down to what I don't do than what I do do (if that makes sense!). Many on the yard are always rinsing, washing, drying, putting on creams/lotions/turnout boots etc and have no end of problems.
 
I spray the mud off when I bring him in and then pick his feet out and comb his feathers, I am kinda the person that looks at things with a "if it isnt broke, dont fix it" attitude.

I am a little bored at work so thought I would see what people thought!!
 
Got to agree with ThePony here. I don't interfere with my horses legs - and they live out 24/7/365, none of them have mud fever and three of the four are greys with white legs too. The only horse I've ever had to suffer from mud fever was Polly (another grey with white socks) who passed away last summer (bless her). And where the others showed no signs of mud fever, Polly always would. I found through many years of trial and error (going through phases of washing, scrubbing, booting, hibiscrub, powders etc. etc.) that for Polly, the best treatment was NOT to wash and scrub, but to leave her legs well alone except to simply apply copious amounts of Sudocrem to the affected parts (leaving the mud to dry naturally on the unaffected parts). Not saying its the same for all horses, but in Polly's case, I can honestly say, the simplest treatment, with least faffing about, worked the best for her.
 
i get some funny looks on the yard because i don't wash my horses legs off when they come in but they never get sores or muc fever, the ones that are constantly washed and have creams/lotions/potions on them are the ones that normally have some kind of problem.
 
It is so refreshing to hear this, I am a firm believer in all your views. I have seen so many over pampered horses that are always sick / lame / injured etc. Thank you all for reassuring me that I am a lazy cold hearted mum!!
 
The only time my TB has ever had mud fever was when i was desperately trying to make sure he didnt get it..... so i echo the 'if it aint broke dont fix it' sentiment.

what seemed to spark his off was the use of vaseline as a barrier. Id turn him out with it on, he'd come back in with mud stuck to it, then had to hose it off with hibiscrub, dry the legs, and start all over again in the morning. after day 2 of this, i switched to baby bum cream, which had similar results, so i hibiscrubbed for the last time, gave it 24 hrs to dry out and decided on a new routine.

Now he only gets hosed if the mud on him is wet, then towel dried. If he starts to look slightly dry (which happens rarely), i use carr day and martin dermoline-style cream, which sinks into the skin and leaves it realy soft.
 
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I was taught the old fashioned way that trying to remove mud normally pushes it through the hair into the skin.

I never brush or rinse mud off unless i really need to, just wait till it dries then brush off.
 
Denzil Penwerthy said:
It is so refreshing to hear this, I am a firm believer in all your views. I have seen so many over pampered horses that are always sick / lame / injured etc. Thank you all for reassuring me that I am a lazy cold hearted mum!!
Click to expand...

I did laugh at this - you are a brave lady to admit this in NL, or maybe its because all the NL Nutters are out working/riding/doing whatever they do, as your responses have been very sensible and reasoned. I have a mud fever sufferer and I keep things very simple. If he's got not sores, its just left alone. If he has sores, he stays in till they heal up completely and then its either pig oil or barrier cream if its really bad. Really cant be doing with all this pampering and fussing. They are horses! I love mine to pieces and if I put my mind to it I would spend all my time pampering, in fact when I first bought them I did. I learned my lesson the hard way. They are wel cared for, loved, well fed, turned out as much as possible, but not pampered (well, they do get lots of cuddles and kisses, but I dont think that really counts as pampering).

If its not broke dont fix it - totally agree with your philosophy and you are just being a normal person, not lazy or cold hearted.
 
I dont do anything much with mine either (3 of them).......now and again I slather them in pig oil, the mud just slips off this - no need for hosing down etc.

I bring them in at night and by morning the thick straw beds have dried the legs and the muds dropped off.

Sorted:D
 
In my experience some pasture is more prone to mud fever. Our fields are. If we have a horse/pony which is run down or unwell it will probs get mud fever. Most of the horses live out all year round without a hint of it.

I am always amazed at people who manically hose and scrub at their horses legs every day and then wonder why they get mud fever.

In terms of treatment I do find that different things seem to work for different horses also. Some have responded brilliantly to loads of sudocream, but that was disastrous with my grey horse (who is a spotty teenager), I treat him with Gentian Violet and Aloe vera.
 
TheoryX1 said:
I did laugh at this - you are a brave lady to admit this in NL, or maybe its because all the NL Nutters are out working/riding/doing whatever they do, as your responses have been very sensible and reasoned. I have a mud fever sufferer and I keep things very simple. If he's got not sores, its just left alone. If he has sores, he stays in till they heal up completely and then its either pig oil or barrier cream if its really bad. Really cant be doing with all this pampering and fussing. They are horses! I love mine to pieces and if I put my mind to it I would spend all my time pampering, in fact when I first bought them I did. I learned my lesson the hard way. They are wel cared for, loved, well fed, turned out as much as possible, but not pampered (well, they do get lots of cuddles and kisses, but I dont think that really counts as pampering).

If its not broke dont fix it - totally agree with your philosophy and you are just being a normal person, not lazy or cold hearted.
Click to expand...

NL??? sorry for being dumb?

I love my horse ridiculous amounts but I am a firm believer that they get hugs and cuddles and love and a basic diet and dont start with lotions and potions unless needed. I do however think the same with all animals including humans, so maybe I am harsh!! Half the cr$p on the market is rubbish and marketing schemes anyway!!! HA HA
 
NL = New Lounge.

Denzil P - I agree with your sentiments entirely. I too will be bold enough to admit here in NL that I'm a lazy. cold-hearted Mum!

My horse-keeping theory (which works brilliantly, if you go by the wellbeing of my horses) is KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
 
Faro said:
NL = New Lounge.

Denzil P - I agree with your sentiments entirely. I too will be bold enough to admit here in NL that I'm a lazy. cold-hearted Mum!

My horse-keeping theory (which works brilliantly, if you go by the wellbeing of my horses) is KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Click to expand...

Should I be posting my neolithic view horse keeping views on a different part of the forum? ha ha. Sorry i am not posting to offend anyone, horses for courses and all that! I just think that my boy is looking great, shiny black coat and a thick full mane & tail, he has long feathers too which supposidley helps with the whole mud thing. i comb them to get the worst out and wash his hooves off just to stop the entire contents of the school sticking to them!!

Loving the KISS!! I am proud - I am a cold hearted mum with a happy horse ha ha ha.

(disclaimer - no offense made to anyone)
 
Denzil Penwerthy said:
NL??? sorry for being dumb?
Click to expand...

Sorry to sound a bit harsh, but lets just say some of the people on this part of the forum can be a bit, err, over the top. I spend most of my time in CR, only venturing into this part of the forum if CR is a bit quiet. Having seen some fairly nasty mud slinging on NL, with threads being pulled as a result, and having been shot down in flames when I posted on here asking for advice, suggesting I was something less than a perfect horse owner, is where I am coming from. Quite a few of the posters who post more often in CR have admitted to having the same problem.

Dont worry, I think your attitude is probably the same as mine.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Sorry to sound a bit harsh, but lets just say some of the people on this part of the forum can be a bit, err, over the top. I spend most of my time in CR, only venturing into this part of the forum if CR is a bit quiet. Having seen some fairly nasty mud slinging on NL, with threads being pulled as a result, and having been shot down in flames when I posted on here asking for advice, suggesting I was something less than a perfect horse owner, is where I am coming from. Quite a few of the posters who post more often in CR have admitted to having the same problem.

Dont worry, I think your attitude is probably the same as mine.
Click to expand...

OPPPSSS LOL dam me for being a novice forum user!!

I will venture to CR and see what the score is there!!
 
I hardly ever wash off his legs only if I have a lesson and got in him late for example. I either leave his legs be or brush the mud off if he needs boots on, never had a problem others are forever cleaning there horses legs and I do think it makes things worse.
 
I echo several replies. My boy is out 24/7, He's has had mud fever once, the week i got him! All i did was smother it in sudocrem. Didn't wash, pick, scrub or anything. Now the only time i wash his legs off is if they are caked in mud and he's having his feet trimmed. Otherwise i wait for it to dry before brushing it off. I don't think any of the liveries wash their horses legs off very often and none have probs. The ones in the riding school however are a completely different story!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top