To Hose or not to hose......

What events do you stable at?

  • Total voters
    0
In winter I hose my horses legs every day when he comes in from the field to get the mud off and hose off the underside of his hooves and dry it off with kitchen roll as hes prone to thrush and white line disease.
I also cold hose his tendons after work on sticky/hard ground or strenuous exercise
 
I never hose, just don't see the need. He has short feathers, and providing his mud fever is not present then I just leave his legs muddy.
 
Depends, W is a bit prone to mud fever but if the mud is almost dry I leave well alone and put Thermatex leg wraps on. If he comes in with horrible wet muddy legs and I'm riding in the school then I hose them after riding and he goes to bed in the wraps, never gets mud fever these days
 
I don't hose at all in the winter as mine guys are hairies and their skin is lovely and dry even if the feathers are muddy and wet, hosing them just gets the skin wet and then they get mud fever etc.
 
The varying answers are what I expected and echo the yards I have been on.

There seems to be one school of thought that hosing can lead to cracked heels and mud fever and another saying the opposite.

I personally hose every few weeks unless he has stupidly muddy legs as his feet seem to do better when left alone.
 
Pidge's only get hosed down when he has a bath or if hosing him down and very hard or hot work. He then has his thermatex leg wraps on.
In the winter he has his legs washed perhaps 2 or 3 times during the winter and then always has his wraps on. If the mud is dry it gets brushed off if wet I leave it well alone. He has 3 white socks and very pink skin too and touch wood has not had a trace of mud fever since doing this regime
grin.gif

Sunny, sis hairy cob on the other hand has his legs washed quite frequently and again always has his thermatex leg wraps on afterwards. In the winter he has them hosed and shampooed twice a week to remove his mud dreadlocks, the mud thankfully never penetrates anywhere near his skin
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't hose at all in the winter as mine guys are hairies and their skin is lovely and dry even if the feathers are muddy and wet, hosing them just gets the skin wet and then they get mud fever etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

same
 
Pickles legs are never hosed, unless were doing a show and his feathers need to be white, he isnt prone to mud fever, and only has short feathers, hosing too much causes him to get this greasy build up
 
It depends on what state they come in in. If it's just mud I'll leave it to dry over night in a deep bed. Brush off first thing and check for mud fever etc.
If it's sopping wet mud I'll hose off and dry with a towel, the leave on a deep bed.

Many years ago i had a pony who'd never had mud fever. YO told us we should hose legs every night in the winter to get mud off. By the end of the winter he had the worst mud fever I had ever seen. I'm convinced that over hosing his legs caused it.
 
Found this poll and comments very interesting as I had been wondering about this issue.
I have been told that hosing daily can aggreviate the skin and contribute to mud fever.
However I have also been told that leaving mud on the legs to dry is also detrimental as the legs warm slightly against the drying mud and can lead to mud fever.
I suppose it is a case of finding which practice works for each individual horse.
Bl****y mud!!!
 
When I bought Pidge 27.5.05. he had a very large patch of mud fever on one hind leg. Took the advice of my vet and got rid of it. He recommended leaving wet mud alone in the winter and only brushing off dry mud. The reason being that the horses skin is more porous when wet and by wetting the legs you are encouraging any bacteria to penetrate, hence mud fever. However by brushing dry mud off there is no problem. Pidge only has his legs brushed off totally on a Sat and Sun morning as in the week I brush off what I can at night and then just turn out in the morning. Touch wood he has had no signs of mud fever in the 2 winters I've had him
grin.gif
 
I hose Pips legs after work partly for his tendon an because if i do it regularly his sock can clean up nicer for presentation.

He has no feathers, his lower legs are clipped! In the winter i dont because he has his winter coat and he get to stand with wet mud when he wants in the field, so i leave mud to dry, and to let his hooves dry over night.

Haz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top