so much mud - so many abcesses

Orthe's Daystars

Orthe's Daystars

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Hi everyone - taking the plunge so please forgive mistakes/spelling.

As this hideous soggy weather continues we seem to have another casualty every day - abcesses, seedy toe, corns etc (won't even start on mud fever/rain scald). These are tough NF ponies used to wintering out 24/7 but last week even my husband's Arab/NF is hobbling with yet another abcess. Poulticing not helping and both pony & OH grumpy!! Any suggestions?
 
Do you have any way of making/access to a hard standing?

We have a slab of concrete under a lean-to and feed and hang haynets there. This means that they come in with muddy feet and by the time I go to give them their evening feed their feet are generally dry, I can then brush the mud off and apply a barrier cream if needed.

If you are getting lots of abscesses then I would guess it is as a result of feet being wet and soft all the time. If you were able to get somewhere that is hard for them to stand and eat hay during the day this will help the feet harden off a bit.

My youngster had very soft feet, to this day I have no idea how she never abscessed, any ways, I cut out mollasses, started feeding speedi beet and fast fibre, and started her on pro balance + supplement which seems to have made a huge difference to her feet, and seems to have staved off mud fever too.

Hope things improve for you, winter is tough enough.
 
Thanks for the suggestions - unfortunately at DIY yard with massive muddy fields and no field shelter! So many ponies lame we are running out of stables. New ask - vet diagnosed abcess & cut down to show small black line (close to inside seat of corn). Despite poulticing 2 x daily still no pus found & pony still hitting the roof when hoof testers used. Any ideas on alternative causes/treatments? Many thanks in advance.:confused:
 
Hi I read on a forum a story about a young horse who had many foot abcesess by chance she spoke to next door farmer who told her that the land was deficiant in copper she gave horse a supplement and had no more problem I would feed a balancer great for hair hooves and well being Good luck
 
Hi everyone - thanks for your suggestions. I'm really interested in the copper/mineral deficency scenario as last summer several ponies (including my lovely boy who suddenly had to be pts) developed white spots where the hair itself turned white. I did some research and it seems that these spots are a sure sign that copper deficiency is present - in fact I was about to put him onto a copper supplement when white spots became the least of our problems.:( The land was previously used for cattle for many years and I am thinking mineral deficency could be worth investigating. Shall def put OH's pony onto best supplement I can find. Thanks for your help:)
 
Due to the problems you've been having I would start off with one of these then for six months. I've just switched to the new hoof health balancer myself. These have the best copper and zinc profiles I've found in ready mixed ones. My lot have been on other balancers from here for a year now and the changes in their coats, hooves and demeanor has been remarkable. Less noticeable problems and others would be more than suitable. It might even be worth emailing them to ask their advice. http://www.forageplus.com/

ps. It isn't cheap but hey it's been worth it for mine.
 
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