Temporary fixes for existing mud?

[sublimequine]

Spring came super early in Illinois and we’re dealing with mud, mud, mud. This is my family’s first year having the horses at home, so we’re still figuring everything out. Right now, with the constant downpours we’re having, the shelter is getting muddy (just a few inches deep) and the gates around the pasture are getting deep muddy (up past the fetlocks).

We don’t have stalls built yet, so no way to bring them inside. Is there anything we can put down/add on top of existing mud, to help get the horses out of it? I understand it would be a temporary fix - we’re hoping to add more gravel once things dry out. We did add gravel already - but apparently not enough. :o

Any suggestions are much appreciated!

[clanter]

we used hydrated lime in combat zones to dry mud, dries up wet soil quickly,

https://www.lime.org/documents/publications/free_downloads/fact-mud.pdf

[Dressage59]

@clanter

we used hydrated lime in combat zones to dry mud, dries up wet soil quickly,

https://www.lime.org/documents/publications/free_downloads/fact-mud.pdf

Do you wait a certain length of time before you put your horses on it? Do you actually mix it in or just spread it on top? Obviously, I’m hoping just spread on top. One of our fields is a bog!

[poltroon]

First thing is to prevent more water from getting on it. This means:

• Gutter the shelter so it’s not collecting a hundred square feet worth of rainwater and dumping it on your most trafficked area
• Raise the land that is muddy so that water does not collect on it or move into it, and ideally can sheet somewhere less important.
• Smooth the ground that is pocked with hoofmarks and now the perfect water collector.
• Think about where you actively want the water to go, and help it get there.

The soil gets most torn up in areas where the horses concentrate - at gates, going in and out of the shelter, at the water/feed area, and along the fenceline. As a temporary measure, you can try adding rubber mats over these areas (maybe with some gravel under) to protect those areas better.

[NancyM]

A lot depends on the nature of your land. If you have a good thick natural gravel base under that mud, you can scrape it with a machine (tractor, bulldozer), and it will drain better without the topsoil that holds the water in it. If you have a clay base, it remains fairly impermiable to water, and what is on top of it becomes “soup”. With a clay base, it is more expensive to solve this problem, you must raise the area above the “water table”, and scraping the topsoil (which is currently the source of your mud) without also raising it will have no effect- more mud will just form. Raising the ground level above the water table involves first removing the top soil, then bringing in a lot of gravel, installing drains, and adding a top layer of sand or other porous footing for horses. So what you need to do depends on a]what is under that mud. This is why gravel based land is normally best selected for keeping livestock, especially in pens. It drains well with less expense to the land owner.

[JennyN]

Clanter, could you please give a little more detail about your experience with using lime for mud control? Thanks! I have been saying for years that there must be something that I can add to the mud to help it solidify!!!

[Bellathemustang]

@JennyN

Clanter, could you please give a little more detail about your experience with using lime for mud control? Thanks! I have been saying for years that there must be something that I can add to the mud to help it solidify!!!

Yes, please, @clanter please come back and elaborate for inquiring minds.

[Kottbulle]

The link was interesting… Curious how long you would have to wait to see themed firm up… Apparently you can buy it by the bag at Lowe’s. I may seriously have to go grab a bag or two to see how it works. My gate areas are a hot mess right not and I just can’t take it anymore. If it does as good a jobs the link says it could be a great remedy for my dry lots.
I will report back if i have any success.

[SquishTheBunny]

I think it really depends on how much maintenance you want to do.

Do you pick the paddock daily or twice daily? If not, then some of the temporary fixes arent going to work very well with 24/7 outdoor horses.

Yes, you could invest in hoof grid, or a similar product but thats definitely not a temporary fix and can be very pricey.

Ive had my own place for 5 years now and constantly think about what to do for mud. I keep mine in a small (60 x 100) sacrafice paddock and they eat of a roundbale so they always poop around it. Mine have stalls, but in all honesty I leave them outside 24/7 most of the time.

For me, and Im in ontario where we get about 6 weeks of the spring mud - ive just decided for the 6 weeks I can deal with it! After the first snow melt, while the ground is still frzen I take the tractor and scrape all the poop around the roundbale. I also feed with a haynet which helps prevent more organic material turning to mush. We have layers of ice, then more thawed poop, then more ice, more thawed poop etc. Sometimes Ill scrape a few times. There is about 2-3 weeks of the soupy mud…this is where the stalls come in handy as its way too wet to scrape. The horses go out in the evening when its still cool, and they are inside during the day so the sun helps dry the paddock out without the horses mushing it up. Its not perfect by any means - but its $0 to do it this way and works well for my set up. I can not commit to mucking the paddock daily (I work 16 hour days sometimes) so spending the $ on stone and gravel just isnt practical. Hoof grid would be great, but for the 6 weeks a year that I deal with the mud - it just doesnt seem worth it to me. Their feet dont get thrush, but probably because its a shorter mud season compared to some places.

[OneTwoMany]

The lime link is interesting. If it works so well, I wonder why it hasn’t been discussed more. I did notice the link called out the need for workers to use protection when working with the lime. A quick google search suggested there are different types of lime and some types shouldn’t be used around horses as they can burn the skin. The link doesn’t call out what type of lime is being recommended. Definitely worth more research.

Getting back to the original post, no suggestions for “temporary solutions” for mud here. In our area, adding crusher dust to mud, just makes more mud. I’m sure results will vary by geography.

We’ve found the best solution is a permanent solution entailing a combination of the above posts. IME it was well worth the cost to engage the services of a knowledgeable excavator. We installed gutters on the shelter and guided water away from the area. We scraped off the offending topsoil, and installed 8" of crushed gravel and compacted. After the improvements are made, maintenance is important. You’ll want to clean up any organic matter frequently. We remove manure daily. We feed hay in the shelter which has a matted floor installed over a compacted base making for easy hay clean up. It has been a great solution for us.

[Pandoras_plight]

I second that you will have to modify it to prevent the water in the first place, however I know from experience that it’ something to be done once it is dry. So in the meantime, if you can purchase a truck load of wood chips or sawdust and use it to temporarily raise the really wet areas like gates and make some small ditches or trenches by hand to move the worst of the water to away it should make things a little more workable. I had to use a semi truck load to get by the first couple years after I bought my farm until I could make the sacrifice paddock :o

[fordtraktor]

This is kind of problem avoidance but when I had a mud issue last year I put up a line of temporary electric tape fence to give them better ground at the “gate” until I could address the real issues. Of course this will tear up that ground too but it works as a temp fix. Long term, I used Geotextile, lighthoof panels and stone dust around the gate areas and they have held up very well this winter here in N Indiana.