Horses in this weather...

[Stugs]

A moan. I keep my two at home in two clay fields rented from a neighbour. We have stables up there, but everywhere is absolutely sodden. I am bringing them in for part of the day just to let them dry off. Poo picking is almost impossible as pushing the barrow is so hard! I live in my Equidry, there's dried mud all through the hallway and basically everything is a massive slog! How are you doing??

Feeling very lucky that we’re not on clay 😬. The last livery yard we were on was in Claygate and yes, the soils there is all clay so it was knee deep mud around the gateways pretty much all winter, there’s be about 2 weeks when the ground was lovely and then it would be rock hard all summer 🙄

Where we are now there’s some mud by the gate and in their loafing spots but the rest of the field has held up pretty well and will last until they move onto summer grazing in a few weeks.

This is the worst bit of winter with horses - you keep getting glimpses of spring and then you have days of rain and wind and mud again … it will pass!

It's evil isn't it? As the previous poster said, you get a glimpse and then it rains again. I'm quite lucky as we have a turnout area with a hard surface, but getting to and from there with the wheelbarrow is awful. I slipped and almost did the splits yesterday and my back was killing me last night. And we call it "fun" 🙄

I can't even tell if my horses are sound or not as they are slipping about if they so much as trot .

I think those on non clay soil really don’t understand what it’s like trying to keep horses over winter on clay. It’s horrible! Our turnout areas were solid a few weeks ago, it’s now like the Somme

I’ve got 4 kids each with ponies (cheapy ones we just hack and do the odd fun competition etc!) and it’s so depressing - we got going again and did loads in Feb and now they’ve barely ridden for the last 3 weeks - we live on a farm, the ponies are filthy and the fields are too wet to go round - looking at booking some fun rides and mini competitions in April to spur me on sorting them out!! Kids are 10 down to 2 so there’s only so much they can do without my help! Luckily we have a big hardstanding area with a shelter in it but their field is a bog! It’s absolutely p’ing down as I type!

It's so, so horrible

Added to that we don't have a tap at the stables, just a water bowser, so no hosing off the mud. This morning I picked out clods of mud from hooves then I have ti leave them for a couple of hours, then when the mud has dried I can brush it off. I can recommend red horse field paste - it's a medicated clay that you smooth all over the soles and frogs - seems to help keep feet healthy in the mud.

Dd events. We have a lovely flat bit where she can practice her dressage tests. Its now under a few inches of water so impossible to use. I can't get the truck up to the stables so have to carry sacks of feed across the fields one at a time 😫

So it's been a bit wet here in eastern Scotland but the fields aren't too bad - mainly because of the ever howling wind that whips it dry again fairly sharpish (I can relate to not knowing if horses are sound though, it's still very slippy!) the wind is just relentless and makes everything so much harder. Last week trying to change rugs on agitated horses in horizontal driving sleet was low point in my many years of horses and made me question my life choices 😅

I used to be on clay. You have my sympathy. In fact it was being on clay that made me give up until I could comfortably afford full livery…

🤣

I had to tie dhorse outside his stable at lunchtime while i put more bedding in. The howling gale meant the bags flapped, it blew his rug up at the back and he basically had a complete sense of humour failure and snapped his head collar pulling away

Our old yard was on clay - you have my deepest sympathy. It was horrible. My oldie managed to get a rug off once and it ended up trampled and completely buried. Never did find it.

Where we are now is not clay, and it’s not too bad. Muddy around the gateway, but not up to their knees.

The wind has been relentless here this week though - DD’s pony looks for things to spook at so is having a whale of a time with flying crisp packets, rustling trees, etc.

@Stugs I cannot drive the last bit to yard either at the moment and also cannot tell if horses are sound. Good to know not alone. We have also not ridden for weeks and all horses ditched but seem to be enjoying it. Fields are on a slope so slippy but the best way I think with clay is to be at the top and not bottom of hill, as simple as it sounds I am on a hill and do everything to avoid going down it to the currently peaty bog area....

I've got 6 sacks of feed in my car boot. I'm going to have to drive them to the gateway then carry them one by one to the feed room. Beats the gym I suppose it doesn't

I rented a field in clay once and it was horrific. Current yard is also on clay. Ground is either ankle deep or rock solid. Nightmare.

Eurgh yes feels like the rain will never end! Ours live out in a clay field and it's horrendous! Few weeks back it was lovely and dry and they stayed relatively clean, now it's just a mud pit, very depressing every time I go up there :(

Have my newborn in a sling now too, hate having to take her up there when it's so grim and they've not been out the field for weeks cos i just get done and go, feeling very guilty!

Bring on summer!!

You have my sympathy - clay is awful in this weather.
Not on it now and our field has fared well this year, compared to the last 3/4. Or it would be if they hadn't turned into spring arseholes.
That joyous time of year where the 3 sensible, field kept campaigners all of which are retired for health reasons so shouldn't be able to pull the shapes they do, think they're yearlings with no brains and get ridiculously excited by things that happen all the time like the hose pipe filling the trough, birds, wheelbarrows and poo pickers are highly suspicious and the farm cat washing herself on the fence creates absolute havoc. And the wind is a great help with that 🤦.
Plus they've started losing their winter coats along with their minds so you end up covered every time they nearly wipe you out because the tree that's always there and they shelter under in bad weather moved!!
The field would be much better without the deep push off marks and skid marks that are scattered about every time a bloody crow takes off 🤷🏼‍♀️.

@Maverickess loosing manes along with their minds is perfect thanks for making me laugh