How muddy are your paddocks?

[Craggyhollow]

Because the one the ponies are in at the moment is so muddy that the ponies won't even come to the gate when they see us with the buckets.

We have another one but it is next to a stream and it flooded a couple a weeks ago so too nervous to move them into it

Hypocare is fab - have used it on thrush in dponys hoof, bite on his back, athletes foot on me, and nasty graze on ds - all cleared up and healed beautifully. Doesn't sting at all and lifts dirt out

But do you need to pick the scabs off first?

I don't pick, but will let you know as DH reports that dpony has got mud fever as of today. He washed the offending areas with tea tree shampoo (which was what was in the car - we don't have anywhere to leave stuff) then hypocared it. Will wash with muudy buddy and repeat tomorrow

[sigh]. If only she would let me pick.

I'm on the fence over picking scabs off. Surely by doing that you are opening the wounds up to further infection?

Well, one application, and he has pink hairless areas, but no oozy crusts at all. I washed thoroughly, dried, sprayed with hypocare, left to dry again (ds had joined a group lesson on a worryingly not looking too big 13.2 pony so I had plenty of time) then plastered in sudocreme. Will see how it looks tomorrow.

Agree Saggy. But if you don't pick the infection continues under the scabs. Apparently.

swamp city here, foul. Gobbling haylage like it is going out of fashion. the 2 of them ate a large heston in 8 days, opened a new one this morning, who knows how long it will last.

Mine went out for the first time in a week and came in looking like a hippo. Bitch.

Just moved from a total swamp, now just swamp like in the gateway which is luxurious on comparison!

And hay - £39 for a big bale the equivalent of 13 small which I am v pleased with.

just terrible, the poor pony was stood in a bog and got mud fever and cellulitis and is on a course of antibiotics and bute. the infection may not have entered via the mud fever tho....not really sure.
i woke up at about 3 am in a panic about her and went straight to the vet in the morning.
the bill is going to be more than she cost......

when i say bog i do not mean nice peat bog, i just mean a swamp....

Yes. Our swamp is just in the gateway. Which is where she rolled. For half an hour. The other 9 acres weren't good enough.

Poor pony . Have been lucky so far with no mud fever here. But I never wash legs in this weather and just put them in the box muddy at night and turn them out in the morning. Do pick out feet, but thats it unless its a riding day, in which case I scrape the mud off my lovely grey muddy brown girl

well i do not think legs should be washed either, dd was washing and washing when i was not at the yard, oh she says 'i do not like her to have muddy legs' - am bloody furious with her actually, she just dismisses all the time i spent working with horses, as though she knows best....

Also, I never routinely change rugs. All mine live in big good quality NZ rugs all winter. I do have spares, but if they come in wet and muddy I leave them rugged, as they dry quicker. They get groomed and re rugged a couple of times a week and seem fine. Everyone at the yard thinks I am mad not changing rugs, but it is a peculiarly english thing to do. In really cold countries no one keeps re rugging their horses. I just buy the best rugs I can afford and leave them on

Washing

Rugs only dry on the horse.

yes washing....although she did dry the legs afterwards (with the best towels from the house ) am bloody furious about it all actually , I told her so many times not to wash .....
and the drying didnt really help, as you are just rubbing the skin and making it more vulnerable.....

I find rubbing after washing can release the scabs. But tis rarely done here.

Please to see there are other no washing, no rug changing folks out there.

I do think it has something to do with being a horse owning, working FT, single parent as well though, as I spend my life looking for short cuts to get things done with less work

I gave up work to look after the neds. And I still don't change rugs.

I leave the mare's turnout on too! It particularly irks me to see people slowly changing rugs on clipped horses, they are getting the poor horse freezing for the sake of anthropomorphising 'put horse in pyjamas' !

I know. Warm rug off. Cold rug on. Why?

There is a girl at our yard who changes six sets of rugs every morning before she turns out - takes her nearly an hour

And dont get me started on people who cant walk a horse round the block without putting on a full set of overreach, brushing and knee boots - but maybe I am just old