Mud. Yuck! Is there any worse problem that we face in our equine environment than simple dirt and water mixed into a gooey sludge? The English have a great word for going out into the mud–they “slog” through it. Certainly sounds like what happens when our boots sink and slide. Mud not only turns all our horses into 10-year-old boys, but it sucks off shoes (theirs and ours) and gets tracked into houses, trucks, cars, tack rooms, aisleways, stalls, and any place else we inhabit. It covers up scrapes and scratches, fills in cuts so they are nearly impossible to find until they cause a problem, and it generally makes life miserable.

However, old-time horsemen used mud for many good things. One old fellow worked with Thoroughbred racehorses back before the days of X rays, ultrasound, and nerve blocks. When the trainer was having problems finding out what was making a horse “off,” the old-timer simply slathered mud all over the horse’s legs. Then he led him out in the field to graze. He said the place(s) that dried first were the hottest, and therefore should be the first sites to be examined for injury.

Others used to believe in walking their bad-footed horses in mud holes every day, and daring anyone to wipe or wash off the mud. They said the mud made the feet less brittle. Did it work? Who knows. It would be interesting to find out if any of today’s hoof experts believe in that. I know several who would like to throw away lots of the “dressings” and “packs” that are used on feet today because they keep the feet too wet. Maybe like on the lame horse, the mud actually dried out the hooves and left them in a more natural state.

Like many things in the horse industry, mud might be a problem that could actually be a solution if used correctly