Muddy fields

Horses in fields = mud I'm afraid!

You can get rubber mats that you can put in gateways to protect the ground but I think you need to lay them before the mud starts.
 
Once the mud is there you dont seem to be able to do a lot !!!! we have tried allsorts , straw, hay from the muck heap , hardcore etc . it makes it better for a few days & then comes back - The best thing to do is count the days till Summer xx :)
 
Thank you doesn't seem to be bothering the boys but I'm worried about mud fever (mainly because the lady I brought them from was not happy when I found out about her (ie found guilty of £100,000 tack theft!) and asked her to remove her horses from field I rent -and said I didn't know what I was doing she would have to report me if she thought they had mud fever - been checking and they look fine but worried:(
 
She's just being nasty.
It helps if there is a piece of high ground to feed the horses on and give them somewhere dryish to stand. Also don't try to wash or brush the wet mud from their legs, let it dry first.
 
Mudfever is caused by a bacteria that lives in the soil....not every field carries this bacteria so yours could be up to their elbows in mud and not get it. Ignore this silly woman, sounds like she is being spiteful. As to the muddy gateways...sadly its something we all have to put up with until spring arrives again!
 
Horses are most likely to stand in gateways if they are hungry, so if the rest of the field is still OK, make sure they have plenty of hay in the drier patches to stop them standing in the muddy gateways.

As said above, it is not the mud that actually causes mud fever, but certain types of bacteria which may lurk in the mud, and you may be lucky and have a field free from such bacteria.
 
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