mud, rain and stress!!

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lunarlove

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New years day and I'm already stressing about my horse!! He has always lived in at night during the winter months but I am keeping him out this year, mainly due to finances, having a baby and him being a bit of a plonker on the ground. He has his own paddock but as he is so naughty to catch it's only a tiny field, prob the size of an average outdoor arena and it now resembles a ploughed field, it has surface water all over it, you cant see his hooves in the mud and has already had a touch of mud fever, BUT he seems to love being out, he is never stood by the gate, still plays up to catch unless I'm armed with feed ,I have cracked and bought him in twice for a rest as he won't lay down in all the wet but he dug his bed up and generally seemed like he couldn't wait to get back out, however he is a creature of habit and I wonder if hes only behaving like this as that is the routine he is into now and would soon settle into coming in at night as he always used too. Half of me says he's fine, he has hay and feed and is toasty warm under his rugs but the other half see's him struggling to pull his feet out of mud as he walks and not a dry, mud free area for him to stand on or rest up and just wankts to bring him in!! What would you do?
 
Bring him in each day for a few hours - get his rugs off his back, let his legs dry, plaster them with a protective layer when dry, let him have a kip, then put him back out again - it will make you feel better at least !
 
they get used to a routine. as long as the mud fever is not too bad keep him out, but i would be worried with all this wet weather it will get worse :( although lots of people have posted tips on what products help keep it at bay even on horses living out.
 
Agree with gingerwitch.

Mine are out 24/7 but the only mud we have is around the hay feeders. The rest is fine although we have some standing water today. They also have a shelter which is dry under foot
 
Really am in two minds about bringing him in at night, only issue being it doubles my livery bill and then I still have to find money for shavings on top, not too sure the other half will help me so unless I can find more work to fit around the children I cant really afford to bring him in. Very much like the idea of bringing him in for a few hours a day as we dont get charged to use a stable for just a few hours a day, but all the others on the yard are out during the day and in at night so he'd stress in on his own. Ohhhhhhh for an easy life with a normal easy horse with an endless pit of money haha!! :/
 
Find a part loaner.... or just bite the bullet and bring him in - face it if he gets bad mud fever and needs a vet visit or visits and antibiotics and needs full box rest whilst it clears up..... then having a stable will seam a cheaper option - also you will be stopping the pain of mud fever and face it - it must hurt !
 
The problem you have is that he may be living out but the field, if you can call something that tiny a field, is just not up to supporting a horse in any way, if you were on my yard I would not allow a DIY to leave a horse out 24/7 if the only turnout available was so unsuitable for the purpose.
Is there nowhere that offers proper grass livery where he could actually live out with some grass, have company and your hay bills would go down, he wins so do you, as for not being able to catch him if you are not riding him let him have the rest of the winter off and work on the catching once the weather is better, I am sure you will be able to get him when required for any treatment he needs.
 
I would bring him in at night

If you live close to the yard you could always bring him in with the others (im guessing here that the come in from around 4-5pm?) then nip back about 9pm and put him back out?
 
Sorry to hear you are having a problem, but you will have to bring him in either overnight or a few hours everyday. If the paddock is as bad as described and you can not see his hooves for the mud and standing water then he is on his way to getting foot rot, mud fever etc...... which will cost you more in the long run to treat. I would also see if there is anyway you can give him a free standing area away from the mud and water. I would also use some sort of barrier cream when you turn him out, I use sudocrem every few days and it works a treat. Good luck.
 
Thanks for your comments everyone and yes I totally agree that bringing him in is a much cheaper option then dealing with the effects of mud fever and foot rot, might just bite the bullet and stick him in one the bigger paddocks that only have bad mud in the gate way and risk not being able to catch him for a while, I only ride twice a week in winter if that anyway so it wouldnt really hurt, so long as hes getting his hay and feed he'll be fine.
 
lunarlove said:
Thanks for your comments everyone and yes I totally agree that bringing him in is a much cheaper option then dealing with the effects of mud fever and foot rot, might just bite the bullet and stick him in one the bigger paddocks that only have bad mud in the gate way and risk not being able to catch him for a while, I only ride twice a week in winter if that anyway so it wouldnt really hurt, so long as hes getting his hay and feed he'll be fine.
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I really do think that this would be your best option - i have only had cracked hands and a blood posioned foot... and oh my did that hurt ! i just cannot bear the thought of a horse that cant even put his feet up for much of the day has swollen cracked and sore legs :(
 
I think if you want him to live out 24/7 you do need to put him in a bigger field that will support that amount of turnout. I appreciate you might have trouble catching him but hopefully a feed bucket will help to win that battle. My 2 have their own paddock, its about 2 acres or just over. I have just started bringing them in overnight to save the ground and give them a chance to have a snooze and some hay without being battered by the weather.
 
You really need you get him out of the mud, as if he already has mud fever, chances are you are likely find it will get worse, and you may need a vet if it becomes infected.
I have one turned out on a slightly bigger area, but due to the excessive wet on clay soil his turnout has been severely limited. Half the area is trashed, and although the mud isn't deep, I don't really want to encourage either mud fever or an accident from the slippery conditions.
 
You can put aromaheel on horses that live out, just get him in, dry his legs and smear it thickly on, works a treat, do that for a few days,,, then go onto pig oil and sulphur ... that keeps the mud fever away... as for living out, he obviously loves it so id find a decent field, as others have said, with company and grass and let him enjoy living like a horse..
 
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