Mud, mud, mud, mud and more MUD.

[Poodlepill]

I have never seen so much mud out in my pasture and paddock. In fact I slipped (in the mud) while going out to
feed, fell flat out on my back and have been hobbling along since Sat....ouch.
So there really isn't a place for my mini boys to walk were there isn't any
mucky wet mud and that means their hooves are wet all the time right now. They
can stand in the barn where it is more dry but even my barn floor is damp-ish
just not soggy mess like the rest of the pasture. We are supposed to get rain
again tonight and tomorrow so the wet will continue but then hopefully we will
get a brake and it will dry up some. Do I need to worry about constant wet
hooves?? if so what should I do for them?

 

[Riverrose28]

I'm dealing with the mud too here in Southern Maryland, but I'm gratful it's not the snow that the plains states are getting. My vet has told me not to worry, that the mud is not too bad on hooves. Just do your usual and clean them out, and watch for thrush, and treat if necessary. I haven't had a problem yet. In fact a couple of my guys like to go stand in it. Then again they also stand out in the rain and snow, silly horses. Not to worry, spring will be her soon and we'll be complaining about no rain.

 

[Poodlepill]

Thanks for the reply. I am trying REALLY hard not to complain about the rain LOL and we have a boat load more coming tonight, yes somehow the snow that Kansas is getting is missing me in So. Illinois. Ok, I will not worry about the hooves and just take it in stride and try to keep myslef from slipping around. Thanks again.

 

[Riverrose28]

I feel your pain, I'm a senior and the mud sucks my boots off, plus the mares are trying to crowd me, but I feel that I've been through it before and I'll get through it again this time. More rain is forcast tomorrow, oh well, can't do anything to fight mother nature.

 

[Lil Eowyn]

I heard mud/soggy ground isn't the best for hooves and will increase chances of thrush I think? There was something prevention though, can't think of it right now. Here I don't have mud, I have snow, snow, snow and oh, did I mention snow?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Good time to get the farrier out, while the hooves are nice and soft, though!

Not sure if mud is bad for their feet, as long as they are not standing in manure.

 

[paintponylvr]

Mud??? Wish I could get down to that.

As of today - we are "floating". Even my dry, sandy loam paddocks/pastures are underwater up on the hilltop!! Several more inches expected here over the next 24 hours. My ducks are in HEAVEN. Ponies are soooo funny trying to avoid stepping in the water. My barn is as wet as the pastures at the moment. I wish we had snow. Spring is coming and we were already in drought, so not complaining about all the rain right now. Need it to make hay!

Mud, as long as they aren't in manure, is not a bad thing... Yes, good time for the farrier.

 

[susanne]

Oregon horses deal with this every year, from October to July 5th. Everyone does what they can, but short of keeping them in barns all winter, there really isn't much you can do. Every year, all of the horse owners complain, but the horses survive.

We have a veritable stream running through the front of our corral. The horses hang out on higher, drier ground, but in order to get to them, we practically have to swim. We improved things considerably by laying down landscape fabric (Highway geotextile is even better, but more expensive. This keeps the gravel and grit from disappearing into the mud.), then we laid down about eight inches of gravel. This covers an eight foot wide strip all along the front of the corral. It is a vast improvement, but when the monsoons come, nothing really helps.

I also took some of the gravel and spread it along my pathways to avoid slip-sliding away.

 

[~Dan]

Not sure if you have shavings down in your shelter, if not put in a semi-thick layer. If the horses go inside and stand on it, the shavings will help to draw some of the moisture out of the mud pack, so the feet won't be so wet all the time. At least, that has been my finding.

I've never once had an issue with thrush and living in Western New York, my paddocks are mud from October to May, usually with snow, ice, and mud throughout the winter months. Of course they have shelter with dry ground to get on if they so choose, but they are just as content walking around in the mud.

I think we as owners have more of an issue with mud than our horses do.

Dan.

 

[Poodlepill]

Thank you all for the replies, it helps to know others are in the same soggy "boat". I have a new 6 year old Shetland that is being housed in the paddock and half of the barn, he got gelded 2 weeks ago and I am waiting for him to cool his jets so he can intergrate with my other two, he does walk in his poop because of the smaller area inside the barn. Since I slipped and fell last week I hadnt picked out feet and was worried they were a smelly mess, I picked out his hooves yesterday and surprisingly they look great and dont smell.

I am my own Farrier and am obsessive about feet so no worries here