Mud, mud and even more mud!!!

[Contessa]

I live in the NE, Pennsylvania to be exact. I have one 4 stall barn that has 2 20x50 paddocks and one 2 stall barn that has a 50x75 paddock. They are currently 100% MUD and have been for 2 months. OH! I have been throwing out bales of straw to help the minis navigate so they don't slip and slide but it seems to be only a temporary fix because that gets mushed down into the mud. I have been picking their feet more often because I don't want thrush. They had their pedicures today and the farrier said their feet are looking good.

I don't want to stall them as that is just not fair to them. How do you handle the mud?

 

[Marty]

This is so difficult because it is such a small area and the horses keep churning it up.

The best idea is to provide yet another area so you can move them around and rotate them accordingly.

When spring arrives, try some creative ditching around the area.

Then try to establish a good grassy route system and keep up with it.

In the fall, be sure to add winter rye grass seed.

This should help a lot.

For walking areas for me, I have gravel paths running all over my place where I walk.

I am sooooo done falling in the mud.

 

[drk]

I'm in Maryland and have also been miserable from all the mud. It's been the worst I've seen for quite some time. I can even see that the horses are tired of walking in it. Thank Goodness it went down in the 20's last night and the ground froze. For the first time in months I walked on top the mud instead of 5" down in it. YUCK...

 

[Katiean]

I guess I am lucky. We don't have any mud. The ground drains so fast that even when we had a flood in town we were mostly dry here. good luck keeping them clean.

 

[Contessa]

I haven't fell into the muck yet but it's coming! We have a 2+ acre area adjacent to the barns that is scheduled for fencing this coming spring. We could do it now if it were not for the mud and general wetness of my land. That will be divided into 2 or 3 sections to allow for rotation. I have 6 minis now and am expecting 2 foals this summer. I know things will be better then when I can get them out of their close quarters. I also have a round pen that I sometimes put my stud and the one mare into because it actually still has grass in it, but that too is becoming a bit soggy. We have been calling them mud puppies lately-poor things...

 

[maestoso]

I have no solutions on getting rid of mud. We have that problem in the Spring really bad. One suggestion is to try, if possible, to move the gate around, as well as their water bucket and hay area. This will keep them from trampling one spot any more than another.

Something to watch out for when horses are walking in mud, especially if it is ankle deep, is scratches, a bacteria that grows under their fetlocks and can affect the front and sides of the cannon bones as well. They are the result of constant mud and moisture. It is important to make sure their legs are as clean and dry as possible for as much time as possible. Scratches are a lot easier to prevent then they are to get rid of. I hate mud!

 

[Contessa]

Matt, they all get fed and watered in their stalls. I have 2 horses (2 stalls) open to each paddock so they can choose to be in or outside. Scratches was another thing that concerned me. I brush them all, especially their legs every couple of days when I pick their hooves.

 

[Leeana]

I have a big problem with mud in my drylot, or should i say mudlot. My dad has a larger grass pasture and really doesnt have any issue with mud. I have a few horses who are out 24/7 on my 'drylot', that use part of my barn as a run in and since they are out 24/7, they generally just do allot of standing around. On the other hand, i have a horse or two that are that are stalled that i know when i put them out they are just going to ZOOOOOOOOM around the drylot, and personally ..with wire fence being about 1/2 of my pasture (the other half is wood, we started putting up the wood fence ..then the ground froze), i just worry about them flying around in the mud and going through the fence.

I guess, unless you can keep them in for long periods of the time ..you just have to learn to get use to the mud or work around it. Luckly we have a larger grass pasture that is on the other side of my drylot that doesnt get all that muddy.

 

[Jill]

We have mud, too, and do every year around this time. Like someone else said, I love it when it freezes to solid form

Every one of our paddocks has significant areas of mud but thankfully also areas that have stayed dry (plus dry stalls and run-ins). I just hate the mud!

 

[Leeana]

Like someone else said, I love it when it freezes to solid form

We USE to have that problem, what we now do in my drylot which is only like 2.5-3.0 acres or so, is we go in with our small john deer tractor that has a bucket (the wide flat on) on the front and we smooth it down before it freezes and the outside horses go over to the pasture for that night. Its allot of work, we dont do it often unless its really bad in my drylot and i worry about it freezing and one of them tripping or something, but it works and actually it doesnt take as long as you would think.

 

[mountaintopgirl]

Hi

I saw something neat on the internet that might help. I have no idea how much it is though

similar to stall mats but with a large opening and they are laid down and then sand or another type of fill is used to fill the openings, thus the horses are raised above the ground but there is still drainage. here's the website

(don't know how to make a link ) www.sagustu.de/eprod6.htm

Dee

 

[drivin*me*buggy]

I dealt with our mudproblem here (well it was actually my husmand's idea) by putting down stone. It is a mixture of 2's and 3's if I remember right. It took a little to settle in...but it definitely "holds" the ground and prevents erosion. The stone works itself in with the dirt (we have clay) and makes a good base. It only cost around $200. Around the edges where they don't walk, the stone is more visible...but for the most part it looks like dirt. We clean feet every day and keep them trimmed. The only time it gets a little sloppy is when there is a freeze/that w/ a lot of rain...but even then it is not bad. I have a few rubber mats down that we feed their hay on and then cleanup is a breeze.

It has been a system that has been working for us for a few years now.

You can see in this pic from the summer

 

[mini1]

My suggestion would be to haul sand in and let it mix with the dirt. This should provide better drainage and quicker drying.

We raised horses on sand for years and never had any problems with sand colic.

Kelly

 

[Bonny]

Parts of my pasture are very muddy also. We are going to bring in about 3 trucks of a sandy fill. I am hoping that will fix the mud issue. I will be starting my over seeding this spring.

 

[Contessa]

Lots of good ideas here! Thanks. My husband wanted to get stones/sand and I didn't think it would be good for the horses. Looks like I was wrong (again)! He just had to say "I told you so"! OH! I looked at that website that was suggested and that looked like a great idea but I'm pretty sure it's too costly especially with the added shipping. I really liked the idea of feeding on a rubber mat outside (in better weather). The tractor idea will work after we put in larger gates to allow tractor access. That was a new Christmas present this year. I think will also try a bit of trenching as the ground is sloped and that's part of the problem. Water is pooling at the bottom of the paddocks. Planting anything in these dry lot paddocks won't work-too small of an area. With our spring pasture plans and the great ideas of wonderful people like you I think by this summer we should have a decent set up for our little horses. Keep the suggestions coming-I'm taking notes!

 

[Getitia]

We have many dry lots paddocks that we use on a daily basis (all horses are brought up each night) I hate mud

- so after trying about everything possible to deal with the issue -

This is our approach - we have a skid loader as well as a tractor with a drag bar - every 2 months year around we scrape the lots and remove all manure as any manure just adds to the problem.

Over the years we have brought in large dump trailer loads of a limestone crushed run - this mixture is similar to "the berm mix that you see on the highways beside the blacktop" the mixture packs down - so we scrape the mud up, haul the mud away and put down the limestone base. This base when it gets wet, will pack down and form a completely mud free surface. Because we have approximately 2 acres+ in total of dry lots - we even have "roads" built up to drive in and out and around the feeders - we put the mixture in the area in front of the barn - in the overhangs, and in each gate areas (any area that has a lot of foot traffic). After the mixture settles - it is easy to scrape and the horses actually prefer to walk on the "non- muddy" areas. We have been using this method for over a decade and have not ever experienced any issues at all................ and if installed correctly, the base will last for YEARS.

 

[coopermini]

This time last year we had mud everywhere. This year we burried it under 2-3 feet of snow! Want some! LOL Sorry I couldn't resist.

Coarse sand and gravel will work to get horses out of the mud and help with drainage. Very fine or silty sand will not drain nearly as well and will not solve the issue for long.

Mark

 

[Contessa]

Thanks but no thanks on the snow offer. I'm sure mine will be here soon enough.