Summer’s Fading and the Mud is Coming: Here’s How to Get Ahead of It 🌧️🐴

We’ve had a proper scorching summer this year. Baking heat, endless fly spray, and horses living in fly sheets just trying to dodge the heat and horseflies.

It’s been intense, and right now, wet weather feels a million miles away. But if you’ve spent more than five minutes around horses in the UK, you already know the drill: the dry ground never lasts forever. Soon enough, those fly sheets will be washed and packed away, the autumn downpours will hit, and the fields will inevitably turn back into a wellie-eating mud trap.

Before the rain arrives and we're back to picking mud out of feathers in the pitch black, now is the ideal time to get your autumn leg care routine sorted. The secret to beating mud fever and sore skin isn't fighting it once it's already set in—it’s stopping it before it starts.

Here is a quick, practical guide to keeping legs clean, skin healthy, and heels scab-free this autumn.

1. Build the Barrier Before the Mud Takes Over

Once wet mud sits against the skin day after day, it strips natural oils, softens the epidermis, and lets bacteria creep in. The trick is making sure the mud can't stick in the first place.

• The Heavy-Duty Layer: If your horse stays out in a notoriously boggy field, applying a thick barrier cream like Equimins Mud Block Cream creates a waterproof shield over vulnerable heels and pasterns.
• The Traditional Favourite: For horses with heavy feathering or sensitive skin, applying Gold Label Pig Oil & Sulphur once or twice a week is a game-changer. It conditions the hair and causes wet mud to slide straight off when they come in.
• The Quick Spray: Short on time during early morning turnout? A quick spray of Nettex Seven Day Mud Away keeps a repelling coat on legs with zero mess.
• Total Physical Protection: If your horse is particularly prone to scabs, a good set of breathable Premier Equine Turnout Boots provides a solid physical barrier against cold, deep mud.

2. The Great Wash-Down Debate: Hose or Brush?

Ask ten horse owners at the yard whether you should wash muddy legs when they come in, and you'll get ten different answers.

The truth? Hosing every single day with cold water often does more harm than good. Leaving legs damp in a cold stable softens the skin and creates the exact breeding ground mud fever loves.

• If you MUST wash: Use warm water where possible and a gentle, targeted cleanser like Equimins Winter Leg Scrub Concentrate to lift bacteria without drying out the skin. Always dry the legs thoroughly with clean towels or leg wraps afterward.
• If you can wait: Let the mud dry naturally overnight, then use a sturdy brush designed for the job—like a MagicBrush—to flick the dry dirt away without dragging or irritating sore skin.

3. Spotting & Treating Scabs Early

Even with the best prep in the world, autumn weather catches us all out. Get into the habit of running your hands down heels and pasterns every evening. If you feel tiny, tight scabs starting to form, act immediately before infection spreads under the skin.

• For Active Scabs & Soreness: Medical-grade barrier solutions like Absorbine Silver Honey Mud Defense Spray (combining Manuka honey and MicroSilver) work wonders on raw, angry skin.
• For Minor Scrapes & Cracks: Keep a tin of Carr & Day & Martin Protection Plus in your grooming kit to keep small cuts soft, clean, and flexible while they heal.

Get Your Yard Kit Autumn-Ready

Don't wait until the first torrential downpour leaves you searching through half-empty tubs at the back of the tack room. Getting your barrier creams, leg washes, and brushes sorted now means you’ll be completely prepared when the weather turns.