sure this has been done to death but...

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clairefeekerry1

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is it better to hose mud off horses leg after turn out and leave to dry or leave as it is and brush off next day if iriding etc? my boy has very muddy turnout (there fault, they've charged round in it no end!) and comes in caked with thick mud. has no history of mud fever but i would always normally hose his legs down as i usually ride but wondering if its worth it or whether i'm doing more harm?
 
My horses legs are clipped and so more vulerable to mudfever as she has sensitive skin. So I wash her legs off every time she comes in and then towel dry before putting her in the stable
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Time consuming but it not only stops her getting mud fever, but also helps keep her bed clean and dry
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Hosing is fine but do not rub with a towel, the skin is tender when wet and it is easy to rub in any grit that may be lurking.
 
Yup - hose off, towel dry.
Don't be tempted to get a bristly brush and scrub it as that can leave their skin raw and prone to infection - use it on the hooves by all means - although a reasonable pressure on a hose will sort it out (not blasting though........you might squirt them off the ends of their legs! nawww!)
 
I just leave the mud to dry and then brush it off - but Scooby's feathers are so thick that the mud never actually penetrates all the way through, there's still about an inch of hair at the roots that's spotlessly white. So I don't feel the need to worry too much about mud fever at the moment.
 
well I suppose one could say rubbing with a towel might cause irritation - but you're not going to be sat there for 20 minutes rubbing one leg giving him friction burns!!
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they towel dry pretty quickly so shouldn't be too much of a problem.
 
Charmaine. My pony tends to be the same but i found last year that his hair would break where the mud has been left to dry
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I've been putting pig oil this year but not sure how well it will work.

Do you have the same problem and if so is there anything you've found which can help.

Cheers
 
My old horse was happy to let me dry his legs with a hairdryer!

I personally am not a fan of constantly washing a horse's legs off. I have seen too many horses end up with mud fever by over enthusiastic washing and towel drying.
 
I always hose off too - if leaving him in his stable I leave him in wraps, if need to get on board I towel him dry - can't see how you can cause friction burns though or maybe I am just a little bit lazy when I towel! however, I really cream up his legs 2 - 3 times a week with cow udder cream to compensate for the constant removal of all natural grease and protection. I clipped out his heels as well.
 
I have always hosed the mud off and left to dry in a deep clean bed. Sometimes I will also then towel dry my warmblood mare and put leg wraps on. I then smear equimins udder cream on all four pasterns and heels every morning before she goes out. She has had no problems. ( she has 3 x white legs too! )
 
I leave to dry and brush off the next day. My horse has 4 white socks and (touch wood) I have never had a problem with mud fever even when I was at a yard where it was rife.
The horse I had previously suffered really badly and the vet told me only to wash her legs if I was going to dry them with a hair dryer, otherwise I was making the problem worse.
 
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