Thick caked mud on horses belly!

Lucy Isbell

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My horse has terrible , thick , caked , cemented mud on his belly! I have been trying to get some of it off with brushes but I don’t even think it’s working! It’s horrible because my horse is already so sensitive about being touched/groomed on his belly and me brushing the dry mud off must be soo uncomfortable for him! He kicks his legs at his stomach when I’m doing it because the mud is soo thick! How do I get rid of the mud effectively without hurting him too much ?? The mud is soo bad!

thanks for any replies :)
 

windand rain

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Hose it off, wash well with conditioning shampoo and warm water, rinse well dry with towels and spray with coat shine, mane and tail or some other shiny product. Patch test everything first. I found a wide toothed comb helped a bit by combing through the conditioner. If it is so bad it is hurting him then leave well alone until he sheds his coat and it will all fall off with the hair.
 

yhanni

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Won't it come off when he moults? Does he need to be clean? Is it bothering him? If so, can you crush the mud lumps, they should then drop off. I bought a youngster once (unseen!!) and when he arrived, he had thick lumps of dried cow dung stuck on his belly where he'd been kept in a barn with cattle over winter. I managed to peel them off once he started to lose his coat.
 

twiggy2

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If his belly is coates in a thick layer of mud than something about how he is being kept needs to change- I had a mare who when away for breaking was in a field with a mud soup in the area around thw gateway she ended up with infected mud fever all over the underneath of her belly and up the insides of her thighs, I went onto visit and found her like this and her belly was all swollen due to infection.
 

tankgirl1

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If his belly is coates in a thick layer of mud than something about how he is being kept needs to change- I had a mare who when away for breaking was in a field with a mud soup in the area around thw gateway she ended up with infected mud fever all over the underneath of her belly and up the insides of her thighs, I went onto visit and found her like this and her belly was all swollen due to infection.
Don't be so judgemental, a lot of ponies are caked in mud at this time of year mine included!
 

Pippity

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If his belly is coates in a thick layer of mud than something about how he is being kept needs to change- I had a mare who when away for breaking was in a field with a mud soup in the area around thw gateway she ended up with infected mud fever all over the underneath of her belly and up the insides of her thighs, I went onto visit and found her like this and her belly was all swollen due to infection.

Mine has mud caked on her belly because she likes to find the biggest mud patch in her field and roll in it.
 

twiggy2

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Don't be so judgemental, a lot of ponies are caked in mud at this time of year mine included!
Was not written meaning to judgemental however in over 35 yrs with horses my own have only ever once had what I would describe as a 'terrible, thick, caked, cemented mud' that is 'so thick' on their bellies and that was when she was not in my day to day care.
Mud splatters, yep fairly often but not what the OP is describing and I would say something needs to change.
 

SEL

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Mine is the same and he's not happy about it being brushed because I think it pulls and hurts. Luckily he isn't ridden so when it's dry I'm running it with my glove to break the largest bits but otherwise I'll leave alone.

Horrendous year for mud but I would rather turn out and see hippos than stable for weeks on end
 

meleeka

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If you can wash with warm water I’d do so. Failing that a spray of mane detangler and a magic brush will help. It might take a few goes though.

Mine also have muddy bellies. Only one is pretty bad, but that’s because he’s a cob with a thick coat and hates being brushed. I can scratch him all over so I’m just doing that. He’s started moulting now too which will help.
 

Mum4b

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Mine is part hippo and loves wallowing in the mud! He gets caked on his belly and isn't keen on having it brushed off. I sponge his tum with warm soapy water, usually with a gentle no-rinse shampoo and then dry with a micro fibre towel, followed by a good layer of pig oil sponged on.
This creates a bit of a barrier for a few days.
 

Leo Walker

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I used a tail rake to break some up last week. We have a top layer of clay and if it gets chance to dry it does this. Tail rake first to break it up, furminator to take out any loose hairs, then a magic brush to give it all a good brush, followed by silicone based coat shine to help stop it sticking again. Water wont work unless its still wet.
 

abb123

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Mine was like this and this and when I started riding her again I needed it clean. The only thing that worked was warm soapy water and a sponge that massaged it off. Once we got it off I clipped her belly and then put pig oil and sulphur on it. Easy to brush off now.
 

meleeka

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My mini shetland gets a very muddy belly. I use something similar to the link below, except mine has longer spikes.

Not only does It get the mud off but she absolutely loves me scratching her belly with it.

https://www.viovet.co.uk/HySHINE-Ho...n94XvbmBAP-m7qoles92D6uJ2PXjZ7ZIaAhm7EALw_wcB
I’ve just ordered one based on this. My cob hates being brushed and I do it as rarely as possible. He loves a good scratch all over so hopefully he won’t mind it.
 

atropa

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I bought a Highland pony in October 2018 and set out with good intentions to keep her the way a native pony 'should be' kept....unclipped, unrugged and living out 24/7. She ended up with dreadlocks of dried mud under her belly due to lying down sleeping in it. I had to ride her bareback the whole winter as it just wasnt coming off, and even if I did get it off for one ride, by the next day she would be caked again.
This year, she's had a blanket clip, is lightly rugged, comes in at night and is sooo much easier to manage and ride.
 

MummyEms

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both my ponies have this. with the one i ride I hose it whilst brushing it with a soft body brush whilst he has his outdoor rug still on. I then remove the outdoor rug, sponge the area smooth and pop a warm dry rug on to let him dry off with plenty of hay. he doesn't mind at all and hes a beautiful show pony hippo (unclipped) :D
 

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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I sympathise with OP's problem as my mare is really ticklish around her tummy and particularly her teats area, and right now I'm struggling too!

I wonder whether washing with nice warm soapy water would help? Failing that, you might just have to be brutal and go at it with a hose, end of, just to get the stuff off and see what you've got.

In one of the storms we've had (can't remember which one!! There's been sooohh many every weekend now), my friend and I rode after it had just been raining (when isn't it?), and there were a lot of puddles on the road everywhere. We started off with two horses who were filthy on their legs and underneath their bellies; we returned home after trotting through a lot of standing water, with two clean-as-a-whistle horses! and not a trace of mud anywhere!

Sorry (edited) meant to add that IF horse is becoming really very distressed over having his belly touched, then it might be an idea to just leave the mud until he loses his winter coat. The other thing to do would be to take him out and really work up a good sweat, which would shift it!

IF you can get the gunk off, then I'd be inclined to apply an oil to the area (patch test first for 24hrs to be sure). I'd recommend Mitey Feathers, or perhaps pig oil (on its own, not with the sulphur as that can be very caustic). Or even baby oil. Anything to discourage mud from sticking in future.

If you do think there's something really nasty underneath the mud, and your boy won't let you near the area, end of, then I'd get your vet to sedate and then get the stuff off - and while vet is there perhaps ask him about why he's so ultra sensitive - ulcers would be on my list of suspects for why this is, tho' appreciate that some horses (like mine) just don't like being touched in that area. Is your horse OK to girth up? Does he pull faces? I'd need to be reassured that all is well down under.
 
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Lucy Isbell

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If his belly is coates in a thick layer of mud than something about how he is being kept needs to change- I had a mare who when away for breaking was in a field with a mud soup in the area around thw gateway she ended up with infected mud fever all over the underneath of her belly and up the insides of her thighs, I went onto visit and found her like this and her belly was all swollen due to infection.
And who do you think you are commenting about how my horses are kept ? Utter disgrace . This place is somewhere where people are friendly and can ask questions with confidence . Everyone else on here has answered politely . You did not need to comment anything did you ? So get the hell off my post :)
 

meleeka

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Mine are miraculously mud free now! I haven’t brushed it off it’s just disappeared with the mud in the field. They’ve transformed in the past week from ugly ducklings to beautiful swans ?. Their coats are shiny where before they weren’t. Only one is really moulting so I can’t be just that.

It seems my idea of just not looking worked after all :)
 
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