Mumsnet Talk

Or to hose or not, given that they live out and it is impossible to dry legs thoroughly?

at present leaving well alone but checking the odd front leg now and then, cannot believe they live in soup up to their tummies and haven't succumbed to bog burn or mud fever yet

Oh it that one of the Pony Club publications? I've got the keeping at grass one but it's a bit redundant .
I'm leaving well alone and crossing fingers. I was thinking this morning "please don't get mud-fever now because there's not a lot I can do about it if you do".
How can it still be raining this hard?

I'm taking the check thoroughly and leave well alone approach

My ponies field is just mud soup, it's horrendous I don't know how she is managing to keep her shoes on

But touch wood, so far so good

Yes it's what they should have called it!

We live in one of the driest parts of England apparently but I don't think it's stopped raining since they announced a drought in April or whenever it was! Very unlucky with our soil though, a farm just a few miles away has much more free draining stuff. Horses paddle round the gate of course but otherwise ok. Our bridleways are all streams, actual running water.

My thoughts are exactly the same, what would I do if they did get it and how is it still raining, how?

Oh hi korma, we can't keep shoes on for more than a week. One is barefoot anyway and I'm tempted to turn the other away until spring - see what farrier thinks. It's expensive every other week.

But how exactly do you check through the mud?

I just try and have a good feel through the hair on the skin
If I can't feel any obvious scabs I don't worry

I don't panic about mild mudfever anyway, it's only if it were a lot or very sore would I treat it

No hosing - just look closely at legs (rubber gloves help to have a poke), then wash properly with mud stuff if it looks like something might be going on. I think hosing just pushes the dirt in tbh.

Dpony looks disgusting - yesterday he and his mate the quarter horse had obv been having a rolling competition as their rugs were dripping mud. Combined with stinky wet haylage tis a bit grim

thanks all

am checking as well as possible through the mud, but hosing a front leg or two every so often

if I find any scabs I feel it will be a disaster of mega-galactic proportions, there are spare stables but is there enough sedalin in the world (for me)?

OI! Step away from the horse sedatives!
Im going for the totally ignore them from the hocks down approach. If I don't look then I won't know!

Its not so much about the mud, its about the bacteria in the soil. Mine live in a very boggy clay field but never get mud fever from there. The only time they get it is hunting, if they have bogged through certain areas where the bacteria do live or where other infected horses have been. I therefore don't hose off day to day, but if they have been hunting I hose then wrap the clean legs up in fibregee and bandages to dry out. Seems to work. Also put pig oil and sulphur on before hunting but patch test it first!

Another one here who leaves well alone, and who's only had trouble after hunting. I'm not a fan of hosing, and if you wash the legs at all you really do need to be able to let them dry out. If you do wash them, use something designed for mud fever, frequent washing with Hibiscrub is too harsh. Never, ever put anything on your horse's legs that is supposed to be a barrier if they are not scrupulously clean and bone dry - I nearly lost a horse when someone put Protocon on a damp leg and trapped bacteria against soggy skin. Keratex powder is good at repelling mud while still letting the skin breathe.

I'd say if your horses are in mud soup and fine - don't change anything!

No Sedalin Mitchie, Domosedan is way better, got Nell on the truck and up to Liverpoool before she woke up

thanks, making mental notes of various of those products

caved yesterday as he was definitely lame when I turned him back out so I prepared a stable (always a bit humiliating as he invariably destroys the building and it is of great architectural and historical interest even before it was the scene of a Rubbish Film) and he jogged all the way up the field to come in. Spent a quiet and contented night in and came out meek (and sound!) this morning. So maybe he has had a personality transplant? I hope he will stay in for the rest of winter actually, at least he can dry off overnight!

Sedalin turned dhorse into a raving loony, we had to turn him out in the end as he was striking out with front and hind legs/rearing etc. He galloped about for ages. He is weird though, if the vet has to sedate him it costs a fortune as he has to give him enough to fell an elephant .
Will keep Domosedan in mind for future ref in case we want to risk another try! Have never heard of it before but then my sis works for vets so does all technical stuff while I glaze over and think about what to get for dinner.

and now another abscess I think, not that can see a fucking thing in the driving rain, in the opposite hind so he is reduced to one diagonal pair

good thing I prepared that stable and good thing to have the name of an alternative sedative thanks!

for the love of God WHY though? Poor horse on the plus side I could cancel my gym membership because carrying him around should be all the exercise I need?

Sedalin send horses loony... and people to sleep....

Has he been getting a lot of abcesses? I hate to say it but they can be a symptom of cushings (only you did ask why? and that is one possible reason).

Can't spell abscess can I? . Well I can now obviously ha ha.

I didn't know that about cushings, have been wondering whether to test for it. Seems like three out of four horses having the test end up being treated and I'm not convinced it's wholly a good thing.

So depressing at least he is quiet after a bit of relaquine that I found in the medicine bag. Managed to not ingest any myself!

We've had a few with cushings and had to watch out for lami but thankfully have never had to deal with an abscess. I only know it's a symptom because I read about it in a free magazine from the feed shop and it so happened that the horse next door to us was constantly having nasty abcesses. I mentioned to his owner who had him tested and sure enough he does have cushings.
We've never medicated for it, when our first pony was diagnosed about 100 years ago the drugs were really expensive so we just watched his diet and he lived to 35 which wasn't so bad! The vet thinks dshetland has it although her owner hasn't had a test done so she isn't medicated (apart from 1/2 a bute for her arthritis) and is fine as long as we are super-strict about sugar (grass/carrots etc). The only prob she has is with losing her coat in the summer but she gets most of it out eventually (August or thereabouts ).

If you think yours could have it and want to avoid medication you might find this interesting:

'Diet is gaining significance in the management of Cushing’s disease. Antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, could play a role in helping to support Cushing’s horses. Chasteberry (Vitex agnus castus) is emerging as an organic source of dopamine stimulation; while it hasn’t completely stood up to the rigors of scientific testing, many researchers are still looking into it as a source of treatment for equine Cushing’s disease.

Feeding a Cushing’s horse can be very challenging, and unfortunately there are no set rules. However, it is safe to say that horses with Cushing’s disease do well on the same type of low-sugar, low-starch diet that horses prone to laminitis do.'

I found it on a HorseChannel site, picked at random when I googled, but there is loads of other stuff, Just don't scare yourself silly! Dshetland is 30 this year so it's not all doom and gloom.

The only prob she has is with losing her coat in the summer but she gets most of it out eventually (August or thereabouts ).
Thats about normal for a Shetland!

Ah maybe but she's a soft southern shetland, it's like the Bahamas to her .

that's very interesting, thanks pixel, I think I'll read up a bit before I talk to the vet

anyway it is very likely to be the wet conditions isn't it? although at least there are pills for cushings, not sure what I can do about the mud soup?

It probably is the excess of mud. It's just when you said another abscess it made me wonder how long he's been having them for... Next door horse was having them all through summer too with no mud about.
The mud still seems to be getting worse rather than better even though it hasn't really rained for a couple of days. Getting annoyed now at certain people who insist on driving their massive 4x4s into the field rather than park in the road outside and walk a few feet . Can't they see they are turning it into even more of a swamp? And I didn't win euromillions last night so I can't buy the field and chuck the other liveries out and have it all lovely <dreams>. We now have a river of mud under the feed room door and all the bins on pallets.