Washing feet

[dcp]

Hi, My horse gets the mud hosed down from his feet and legs each day. What do you think of this? Is it safe to hose him down everday then rub them dry with a towel? If so can I put anything on his heels or whatever to make sure they don't get dried out? I'm a bit concerned incase the skin becomes dry and broken.

[mogadoga]

DO NOT RUB CLEAN. And DO NOT hose EVERY day. This will cause mud fever. Let mud dry and brush off, if you do wash then deffinatly dont rub dry. x

[Imp]

I've been concerned about this too.

I'm washing her hooves every evening but she's so caked in wet mud up her feathers to her knees I've decided to leave it be.

I suppose rubbing/brushing/hosing it off must feel like we did when we spent a day at the beach and mum briskly rubs you dry with a sandy towel - every day! *cringes* :eek:

I was going to brush her the following morning and spray Avon SkinSoSoft on her hair, do you think that will help repel some water or is she best left au naturel?

[eventerbabe]

its not ideal to wash their legs every day. i'd be more inclined to get some leg wraps and allow the legs to dry overnight then brush the mud off in the morning.

[Jessey]

I would say so long as the mud isn't on the skin, let it dry and leave it, then it forms a barrier for the next day, then once a week or so when dry, brush thoroughly and apply something like udderbalm to help protect the heels/legs.

J x

[Bay Mare]

Constant washing softens the skin, rubbing even with a soft towel can cause some small abrasions, both of which can let the bacterium gain access and cause mud fever.

The feathers act like a 'drain pipe' to siphon the water away from the skin. The natural oils and grease in the skin form a natural barrier, washing regularly washes this away.

As others have said the best thing to do is to leave the mud to dry and brush off later. Nothing wrong with washing occasionally but don't do it as a regular thing.

[martini55]

The only time my mare had mud fever was the year I hosed her legs almost daily. Since then I have left her feathers intact and leave her legs well alone when they are muddy, I brush the mud off when it is dry. She hasn't had mud fever again thankfully :)

[Portia]

oh dear - am going to be the odd one out :rolleyes:

i wash Mare's legs down each night before stabling her, and squeeze the excess water out with my hands (no feathers mind). There's been very little rain our way so the field isn't really boggy atm, if/when it does become so I'll put udder cream on her heels each morning before turn-out. cross fingers have had no problems so far.

[popdog]

Don't bother washing them, just let them dry naturally or use thermatex leg wraps if the mud is down to his skin and the weather is really, really cold.

[Bozzy]

I wash their hooves off every night but not the legs. If legs are muddy then I put thermatex leg wraps on overnight to dry them off.

[nicolaj]

My horse lives out 27/7, so don't really have an opportunity for the mud to dry off to brush off! Have left his feathers on however, as this keeps his legs dry underneath. He has a tiny amount of mud fever which I've managed to clear up with Barrier Heel to Hoof cream.

If stabled over night I would use some leg wraps to help them dry off, but don't wash them and just quickly brush them out in the morning before turning out.

I learnt the hard way by constantly washing his legs off and he developed horrible mudfever, needed to clip all the feathers offer! But now just leave them and wash only occassionaly and only had a couple of small patches.

[Lora]

I usually soft rubber curry, then brush legs and feet once the mud's been dry, then use a stiff brush to get off the outside of hoof. But I see alot of folks are mentioning putting stuff on the heel like udder cream, I've never done that. And by heel do you mean the back part where the hoof meets back?

I could be missing something here, am I supposed to be putting stuff on his feet and haven't? :o

I did hose his legs down a few weeks ago when it was REALLY bad, like mudd up to his chest. (hahha would love to have seen how that came about, but ok I got the aftermath)

[Portia]

[QUOTE=Lora]
I could be missing something here, am I supposed to be putting stuff on his feet and haven't? QUOTE]

no you're fine, not to worry! the udder or other similar creams are merely a barrier cream to protect the skin - think diaper rash! is an option for those horses prone to mud fever and can prove very effective in its management. as far as application goes, i rub in a small amount about where you say, around the bulb of the heel. you could go higher, doesnt really matter (as long as your horse doesnt have a reaction to the cream obv)

[eeyore]

if ben's feet are caked in mud i always clean them (with hose or bucket of water and dandy brush! :D)
if it's been raining and it's just that thin wet mud then i'll use a hose on him and lower parts of his legs, but if it's caked on his legs i just leave it and curry comb it in the morning!

i never dry his legs, i just put him in his stable and they dry off just fine eventually!
it's probably not a good idea to hose off the legs all the time but occasionally is fine.

i admit i used to wash his feet and then dry them with a towel if i was applying some stuff of some form (mainly because his feel were in terrible shape at the time).

[becs]

this is a very sticky subject...ha ha

our vet (and BHS equine vet textbook) said you mustn't use barrier creams for mud fever (unless they're spotlessly clean and bone dry - near impossible daily) 'cos they trap the bugs in...

but last winter (before we knew this) we brushed the dried mud off our two muddy ponies legs then applied sudocrem at the back - the aged veteran's scabs healed and never returned and the cob stayed fine all winter!

Hmmm... but even the vet shrugged and said, if it works, don't fix it.