April showers bring May flowers. Isn’t that how the rhyme is supposed to go? In the horse world it often seems that these spring showers also bring the dreaded fetlock deep mud that mires our once grass-filled paddocks. Muddy pastures are more than just an annoyance; they are unsightly and, more importantly, they can cause health problems for our horses.
What makes mud such a bad thing? Lurking in that muck are often bacteria and fungal organisms, which can cause such afflictions as mud fever, thrush and hoof abscesses, for example. Beyond that, a simple slip in the mud by a frolicking horse can cause pulled tendons and ligaments or lost shoes. So what’s a good owner to do?
1. Create a sacrifice area.
One of the simplest ways to keep your pastures from being destroyed in mucky weather is to develop a sacrifice area where you can turn you horses out. If you have the space to do so, this means finding a small area with good drainage and fencing it off from any other pasture. Sacrifice areas are a region of your pasture that you allow horses to be turned out in during inclement weather; this keeps the horses’ regular grazing area from being churned up into a muddy mess during the wet season. Excellent footing in your sacrifice area is very important because of high use in the most inclement seasons.