Mud Fever

And here I thought today's horse shoeing appointment would go smoothly. Well, it did in a way. I didn't have my farrier trim Chance's hooves today. I didn't feel she was ready. I did go out and work with her yesterday, but she just isn't quite there yet with her hind legs. But it will be only a matter of time.

So why did the things not go so smoothly? I was ahead of the game. I brought my horses out at 1:00, which would give me plenty of time to get them cleaned up before my 2:00 appointment. At 2:15 my farrier still wasn't here, so I decided to go in and check messages. He had called and left me a message an hour earlier saying he was running way behind and that he wouldn't be here until around 2:45 or 3. So I went back out and clipped my horses. My farrier pulled in around 2:30. I decided to have Fritzy's shoes pulled for the next couple months. I used to have them pulled in the winter, then in the spring I would have shoes put back on. But after Fritzy's hoof abcess a year and a half ago, I started leaving shoes on year round. Fritzy has very flat feet, and very weak soles, and if ridden barefoot, can barely tolerate it. Since we deal with mud from October through May, and when I say mud, I mean a lot of mud, and a lot of rain, I don't get to do much riding this time of year. So I decided to just have her go barefoot again this winter.

As my farrier was trimming Fritzy's hooves, he told me that my horses were starting to get mud fever. Now I have heard of mud fever, but have never had a horse get mud fever. So my farrier explained what I needed to do. Even though my horses have a dry area to get out of the wet and mud, what is happening is that the long hair on their legs is holding onto all that moisture and mud, so even when they are in their dry shelter, their legs can't dry out. That is when their heels get inflamed and swollen, and infection can set in. We were not to the infection point yet. So my farrier said I needed to rinse all the mud off their legs, dry them off really well, then clip all the hair down to the skin. Once I get to the skin, I put on a Betadine solution. I need to keep their leg hair trimmed during the rest of muddy season, and keep treating with Betadine. He said if I can get the process started NOW then it shouldn't get any worse. Think preventative.

This is what all the pasture's look like. Nothing but pure mud. This is one reason why I want to move to Arizona, or anywhere sunny and warm!! I am so tired of dealing with the wet and mud!



So after my farrier left, I brought the hose out, hosed Brandy's legs off really well, dried them off with a towel over and over, then brought out the clippers. I clipped her legs all the way up above her fetlocks, then blended the hair above that. I put the Betadine on, and she is good to go until it's time for more Betadine. I ran out of daylight to do Fritzy's legs. So I will have to clip and treat her legs on Saturday. Another downfall to not having an actual barn and lights, once I lose daylight, I can't do anything.

You can see the mudline on Fritzy's legs. This is how deep the mud is. We have had record breaking rain this month and I don't see it stopping anytime soon!



You know, in all my years of owning horses, I have never dealt with mud fever. I should consider myself lucky. I guess this is one way horse owners learn, by experiencing it themselves.

The Painted Creek is back in full force. It has been running at an all time high this month. I hope to see some drier weather in my future.



Look who is actually using his shed? My sis's boy doesn't typically go in there, except at night to sleep. But he stood in there for hours today!



Fritzy was being so patient today while waiting for the farrier, and while I was treating Brandy's legs. I couldn't believe it! She is the the most impatient horse I have ever dealt with, and she decided to bring her angel side out today! Thank you Fritzy!



I did get to do some work with Chance on Sunday. I was hoping to on Monday as well, but with the whole mud fever ordeal, I didn't have time. My OH and my sister came up and watched and helped me. We worked on tying and picking up legs. She is doing very well with her fronts. She is getting better about her hinds, I think after this next week she should be pretty good. I am going to take advantage of my few days off this week to spend some quality time with Chance.



We put a couple bags of fresh shavings in her shelter. Of course I thought it would be a good training opportunity. So I told my OH to hold out the bag to her, and then I had him wave it around. She did pretty good! She did spin around and trot off a couple times, but she would stop, turn around and come right back to my OH and the bag.



I couldn't get any good pictures of Chance. It was just nasty outside, and I also couldn't figure out why almost all my pictures were turning out blurry. I figured out the problem today, after I noticed all the pictures I was taking were turning blurry also. It looks like it was on some weird flash setting. I don't typically use flash during the daytime. No wonder! I think I have it all figured out now. Hopefully. If not, I will have to call my camera expert sister and have her help me with it!



I think that is about it with the updates. I am still working my butt off, but it sure was nice to get 2 days off this week!