Mud protection help pleàse

[webble]

This year I have gone from hairy gypsy cob legs to fine SB hair free ones, we are on clay soil that gets pretty wet so I want to plan ahead to prevent mud fever.

I always used to oil the hairy one then brush any mud out when dry but I think the new boy will need a more proactive approach. What do people with non hairy legged ponies do? I looked at mud socks but I could see mud getting in them and them rubbing? Any good suggestions please?

 

[milliepops]

what is your management? out all the time or in at night etc? I would not assume you will have a problem - my finer ones have all been stabled overnight and because they don't have loads of hair the skin dries out pretty quickly. so unless they are particularly prone to skin problems or getting little injuries you may find you don't need to do anything particularly.

 

[webble]

Out in the day in at night. I'm going to put down some wood pellets in a corner under a tree when it's wet so he has a drier patch to stand in, they worked wonders with my gateways.

Ah good point I hadn't factored faster drying times into my thinking

 

[MereChristmas]

I found one horse was fine all winter another had mud fever. They were both TB x or similar.
After patch testing I oiled all legs regularly and often used wicking leg wraps over the mud for a few hours ( bringing in time until my bedtime) in cold damp weather. When it was wet but warmer the wraps weren’t needed as legs dried more quickly. This worked well. The mud falls off much more easily. My horses were at home though.

 

[tda]

I think it's still worth lightly oiling them regularly as it does help the mud come off better when dry

 

[HashRouge]

I can't use oils as my mare reacts to them, but I've had some success with the powders. I think the one I have atm is the Muddy Buddy powder. It creates a water resistant layer and has worked well on my sensitive skinned mare. As others have said though, I wouldn't assume you'll have a problem, especially if the horse lives out. Just be wary if he has lots of pink skin (mine does).

 

[Griffin]

I like the Lincoln Mud Buddy range too, if you use the shampoo and then pop the powder on, it works really well. The other product that I really like is Thomas Pettifer's Leg Shield which is a gel.

 

[milliepops]

Yeah my new horse arrived with pretty bad mud fever last December, the muddy buddy stuff did a great job and then he was fine after that. ? he'll be ok this year, he was generally a bit run down when he came so more susceptible to things.

 

[iknowmyvalue]

If your horse can tolerate oils I quite liked the hedgewitch horse oil stuff that I used on mine last winter.

He’s not particularly prone to mud fever but he’s grey, so anything that helps mud not to stick and stain ? I found it easier to use a brush to apply rather than the spray nozzle it comes with, but it did definitely help!

 

[Carrottom]

I find the powders easy to use, less messy than oil or barrier cream.

 

[webble]

Well this us a whole new world, I didn't even know there were powders.....goes off to google

 

[PSD]

Well this us a whole new world, I didn't even know there were powders.....goes off to google

I’ve just done the exact same thing haha! The powders sound fantastic and way less mess than oil

 

[Noble]

For a finer horse prone to mud fever but in at night I found washing once a week and applying gold label leg guard in the morning when dry before turn out kept it at bay. It is silicone based I think and even sensitive ones didn't react. I didn't mess with the legs other than this and the mud, even clay, slipped off on the next wash.

 

[TPO]

I bought the Woof Wear mud fever boots for a horse with cellulitis to protect his sores when hand walking. Sadly he was pts before I could use them so they are still new in the box waiting to go on ebay.

I had previously used the equilibrium chaps for a mudfever prone horse. I have to say upon investigating the WW boots I much prefer them and how they appear to fit. They are possibly an option worth looking at?

Silver Whinneys Sox fot Horses might also be useful for when he is in at nights. They get really good reviews for dealing with mudfever.

They can also be worn when turned out but using the WW mudfever boots to keep them dry. It was via the forum that I found out about the sox foe the cellulitis horse and another reason why I purchased the WW boots.

 

[NinjaPony]

I spray my pony’s white, pink skinned legs with pig oil every other day or so in the morning before he goes out. Then he comes in overnight and his legs dry out. He’s very prone to mud fever but this regime seems to do the trick.