Muddy legs

Sparkeyboy

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Hi All,

I've been reading the threads on winter preparation and hoped you might be able to provide some tips and advice on handling the mud this winter! I have 4 ponies who will be turned out during the day (with hard standing) and brought in at night. How do you manage with mud on legs?

The field does tend to get quite wet, hence not wanting to leave them out 24/7.

They come in around 5.30pm, would you hose off mud if it's really bad or do you let it dry and brush it off in the morning? I've heard of people putting grease on the horses legs to prevent the mud from sticking?

None are of the 'feathery' variety, so not dealing with lots of hair.

What do you guys do?
 

Surbie

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I have a hairy cobbus on shavings for the same reason as SEL. He comes in and dries out overnight - the mud gets brushed off in the morning ready for him to start over again.
 

HeyMich

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I put pig oil on weekly, and then just let the mud fall off when it's dry. The pig oil is a lifesaver actually, my mare used to get mud fever and since using the oil she hasn't had a single spot of it.
 

MuddyMonster

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I've never hosed off either, but am considering using pig oil for the first time this winter as he's out much longer and we now are on clay after years of being spoilt by non clay soil!
 

hopscotch bandit

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In the late 90's before the fashion for 'pig oil' came about we used a lump of lard and a tub of flowers of sulphur from the garden centre. Mix them together in a tub and spread over the legs and then leave on for a week, before using copious amounts of washing up liquid to remove it, wash the legs, dry them and reapply. Ours never got mud fever. However it was a messy process and you couldn't then put boots on your horse for obvious reasons. But it was how we rolled in those days :)

I believe Pig Oil these days isn't anything to do with oil or fats from a pig, but its a mineral oil and flowers of sulphur are mixed. Much easier than how we used to do it!
OP in the winter the staff bring my horse in at 3pm to start with and when it gets very cold/wet they get her in at lunch time. On my request they leave legs/feet and by the time I've come up after work they are mostly dry and certainly dry enough for the bioflow boots to go on overnight.

The only reason I would wash legs in the winter is if I get my horse in myself i.e. at the weekend when I can spend time drying the legs with a towel so that I can put Westropp knee/brushing boots on to hack out.
 
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dogatemysalad

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I never used to hose legs off until I moved to an area with clay soil. It's similar to concrete in that it burns the hair off legs and irritates the skin so much that muddy legs get mud fever if left alone.
I think it depends on the type of soil, the amount of mud and bacteria in the soil
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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In the late 90's before the fashion for 'pig oil' came about we used a lump of lard and a tub of flowers of sulphur from the garden centre. Mix them together in a tub and spread over the legs and then leave on for a week, before using copious amounts of washing up liquid to remove it, wash the legs, dry them and reapply. Ours never got mud fever. However it was a messy process and you couldn't then put boots on your horse for obvious reasons. But it was how we rolled in those days :)
I didnt 'roll in those days'.

In the 70s, 80s and 90s and even to date (as I mentioned earlier) I never hosed or washed mud off, still dont now. Even in my BHS days they were not hosed or had applications added.

Never used lard, sulphur or latterly pig oil. Still got feathered fuzzies even now and no feathers lost to mud or bog burn :)
 

hopscotch bandit

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I didnt 'roll in those days'.

In the 70s, 80s and 90s and even to date (as I mentioned earlier) I never hosed or washed mud off, still dont now. Even in my BHS days they were not hosed or had applications added.

Never used lard, sulphur or latterly pig oil. Still got feathered fuzzies even now and no feathers lost to mud or bog burn :)
Well when you had 30 geldings in a 40 acre field that were all gathered around the gate fighting to come in for their tea and the mud was halfway to your horses knees (I exaggerate not) you may have felt differently. Ours was clay soil and thick and clingy. You can't even check for cuts or anything else when its that deep and thick on a leg. This was when I first started going into to horse ownership and certainly wouldn't be on a yard like that now.
 
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