Who wants to join the It'sNotEvenMarchAndIHateMudAlready! Clique?

[2DogsFarm]

Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
Our temps soared to near 60 this weekend and so along with the snow disappearing, the %&*# mud made its premier appearance.

By Saturday evening Vern had breaded himself all along one side - he's too stiff to roll over completely, and too lazy to rise & repeat.

Got him all tidied up, said a silent prayer that Cash would stay clean....

Which, of course, went unanswered - by the 9P tuck-in Cash was muddy on both sides (nice flexy spine on that boy) and it was too damp to curry off.

Tomorrow's forecast says we may hit 65.
So I know what I'll be facing when I get home.
2 mudballs and too cold to hose them off.

May I have a sympathetic jingle, please :(

[JoZ]

You absolutely have my sympathy, but I won't be joining your club. Mud is a way of life in the PNW, and considering that this winter we have been iced, snowed upon, and twice flooded, I am delighted to have just plain normal I-can-deal-with-it MUD! :D

[CallMeGrace]

The mud is so slippery that our dog fell down! We were in hysterics, though - gelding absolutely covered, from ears to tail. Thick, dense mud on extremely hairy beast. Mare, on the other hand - not a spot - even on her white socks!

[MoonWitch]

After sporting bruises on numerous parts of my body from falling on ice, I have to say that I am treating the knee deep mud with only a slight twinge of dismay. Sure, my horses are all undistinguishable and I now have bigger quads from walking with 10lbs of mud stuck to my boots! BUT, I smile when I don't have to chip out the remains from the last ice age from my water troughs and I'm not worried that someone will break a leg during turnout. Sigh - trade offs...

[midnightdream]

I'll join the club The 50 cms of snow we have on the ground is now melting and leaving a horrible yucky mess in my horse's paddock. It gets so bad that we had to section of the part of the paddock with electric fencing so that my horse doesn't tear up the grass. He has been a good boy so far and hasn't rolled in it but I know it is coming.

[farmgirl]

I'm in.... I am glad I have mud brown carpet in my house; I simply can't get it all off of my dogs before they come in. Here's to the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

[Holly Jeanne]

Count me in! :(

[CanTango1]

ME !! I had a really bright idea to remove blankets cause it would make him happy.....oh he was happy alright !!!!!

He can suffer, A sheet at least from now on!!! Seriously hes fexi enough to make it the whole way over, but he still must rinse and repeat.... and I have no Idea how he does it but he had more mud in his forlock and caked on his forehead.........

I needed to wait till it dried to curry and recover, he wouldnt wait.... it wasnt even dry and down he was again....

Thnking about just pushing him in the pond...... that should work !

[Here Comes Luther]

Ugh...I'm in! Bringing in the horses yesterday was miserable...hyper horses trotting in place just splashes mud all over everyone in their paths!

Hmm...pushing them in a pond, huh? That might work!

[CB/TB]

I'm actually seeing areas with NO ice or snow. Ground still too frozen to make mud, but my turn will come! Hopefully I'll be able to chip away at those unsightly ( and embarrassing) piles of poo this week. Nasty stuff! If not, we'll get the tractor out and "plow" 'em up. the ice is receeding almost as we speak.

[amdfarm]

I'm in, but we got rain today on top of it and still have ice and snow. So it's a combo of mud, crap, slush, ice and snow. Just lovely. Socks are no longer snow white and some of the white on their bodies are a lovely brown shade to match all of the bays and black bays.

It always gets worse before it gets better. We'll refreeze here in a couple days and be back to somewhat normal again.

[Bayou Roux]

I hope to join very soon!

...just as soon as the six inch thick glacier recedes...

[2DogsFarm]

OK, I feel somewhat better & not so all alone :sadsmile:

Hmmm..."push in pond" now there's a thought!
Must
Dig
Pond.....

[Buffyblue]

Yes, I'll join! I put my mare back in her pasture yesterday and it went up over my ankles - almost sucked my shoes off and I had to hose my shoes and bottoms of my jeans off before I could get in the car to drive home. (I actually have a pair of tall rubber boots in the tack room - you'd think I might have put those on? Nah!)

It is better than ice, though, isn't it??

[Mariequi]

Oh, you're not alone. I left Dublin nekkid last night because it was to be 65 and I planned to bathe her. She didn't disappoint. Her tobiano self with white mane, tail and legs was bay to match the other girls in her pasture. It took me quite some time, first with cold water hose and then lots of Lucky Braids and then very warm water rinsing. The sun was out and with that, toweling and coolers, she was totally dry when I put the Wug on her tonight, which is not lined. She took care of rolling immediately, but right now it just affects her knees. We're due for rain coming in tonight and tomorrow an inch or two. The snow around here ordinarily is perfect. Not usually ice and nice snow that doesn't last long. But the winter and spring rains are too long and too often. Too much grass for my easykeeper and then the drought comes. Bah! Oh, wait, I forgot, it's perfect here!

[FoxChaser]

Well, Marie, at least you WHOLE horse wasn't a funky shade of yellow like mine was ;)

[tradewind]

I'll join in...I hate hate mud, but I have to remind myself at least it is not ice, which I despise beyond description. My guys have been very busy making mud angles...yuk yuk yuk

[Huntertwo]

No sympathy from me....lol :winkgrin:

We have had several month thick layer of ice around here!! :eek: I'll take mud right now..

Could you put a light sheet on to keep them clean? That's my trick. :yes:

[IsolaBella09]

"Oh look at this nice new heavyweight turnout blanket Mom bought especially for me with a nice attached hood. Let's roll in it!"

Thanks, animal.:rolleyes::winkgrin:

[myrna]

It just makes me realize why all of our paddocks have crusher dust in them....no mud!!!!!!!!It was worth the time and money to redo them all.

[CB/TB]

The snow/ice in my front field has literally disappeared before my eyes! I do have mud, but not bad in most areas. I was able to pile the piles into piles to be picked up with the tractor. At least got the poo off the ice so THAT would get some sun and melt. Big girl got her snow treads reset for hopefully the last time this winter. A very windy day here, but that helps with the drying up. We have big puddles that all of a sudden disappear as the ground "unfreezes" and sucks it all up. My hay man is very happy with the snow cover this winter. Poor man's fertilizer!

[Doodlebug1]

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.... I hate MUD - shame as I live in the UK and that's pretty much all that we get for over 6 months of the year.:(

Particularly I hate mud and the dark. Somehow it's much harder to negotiate mud in the dark. This time of year sucks. It's been snowing here for a few hours - but it doesn't settle on the ground as snow, just wet, yucky mud.

I take it your horses don't get mud fever??!! It's horrible and makes winter even more of a misery. There's a bacteria that lives in the soil that when the skin gets chaped/cracked the bacteria gets in and causes heat, swelling and oozy horrible scabs that need to be removed and loads of creams etc applied. It's miserable.

C'mon spring. pleeeeeaaaaase.

[Rhyadawn]

*raises hand quickly!* ME Me Me!!!

I hate mud, and thats all I have all around my house. From here on in I think this is going to be it. Mopping up my floors every time the dogs to in and out!

Can't ride, haven't been able to get in a good ride in months, its either been too cold, too icy, and now to darn wet!

Can't win :(

[horsechick]

I'M IN!!!!

So we have mud with a little ice on the ramp up to my stallion's pasture. So....to play it safe and keep him from slipping on one or the other, I decide to leave him in his stall which opens to a small gravel paddock. Apparently he didn't appreciate that one bit, and proceeds to show off his Big Boy Trot and Stallion Head Shake from the paddock INTO his stall and hits the rubber mats and totally wipes out! I'm talking sliding into home plate right up against the front wall! :eek::eek: So much for keeping him safe! Out to the pasture he went....

[CallMeGrace]

I'M IN!!!!

So we have mud with a little ice on the ramp up to my stallion's pasture. So....to play it safe and keep him from slipping on one or the other, I decide to leave him in his stall which opens to a small gravel paddock. Apparently he didn't appreciate that one bit, and proceeds to show off his Big Boy Trot and Stallion Head Shake from the paddock INTO his stall and hits the rubber mats and totally wipes out! I'm talking sliding into home plate right up against the front wall! :eek::eek: So much for keeping him safe! Out to the pasture he went....

Great description! Aren't they goofs....:lol:

[camohn]

I will take the mud over this years skating rink for pastures any day!

[saultgirl]

I'm a long way away from seeing bare ground. Everything here is still REALLY COVERED in snow. Usually mud doesn't come until April.

[dressagetraks]

Me, me!!

I have a new horse, an incredible deal of a horse, who is hands-down the most exciting (in a good way) prospect as a riding/show horse I've ever had. This one has a lot of training already on her and talent to move up the levels further. And she's gorgeous to boot. I'm psyched. See my thread in Off Course on Picture of my new horse - Naked! to get a glimpse of why I'm excited about her.

But what have I done so far with said new horse?

Horse arrives Jan 15th, a day in single digits with negative windchills. Horse is clipped, has been used to barn life, and now is meeting a different climate with pasture life. Horse inserted into pasture, heavily blanketed. For the next few cold days, I'm afraid to strip her long enough to do anything. She would turn into a horsesicle. No indoor ring, no barn. Just a run-in shelter, which she promptly emulated her companions in boycotting.

Then the weather warms a bit. I get in a couple of good lunging sessions on a marvelous 3-day stretch. Whoo-hoo, and she is starting to relax and look less worried and keyed up around me. We will RIDE!!!!

Um, nope. Insert ice storm. Ice. More ice. More ice. Brrr. Did I mention she's wearing shoes all around, too? We practice deiceballing. Frequently. It is too slick and dangerous to do anything else.

Advance rapidly, very rapidly, from ice to 50s. Now we have MUD!!! Thick, sticky, gooey, unable to work in mud. Truly unsafe footing in my au naturale arena. Meanwhile, I have at least unblanketed her to air out a bit. Her new best buddy, my black mare (can anybody explain why a black horse can be so hard to groom?) promptly started giving her lessons in thorough mud rolling. Pixie is delighted. Unblanketed, on her back in the squishy goo, waving all 4s. If she weren't dark bay, she'd be dark bay regardless at the moment. She is, at least, really relaxing into the place. Look, Ma, they never let me do things like this back at the big barn!

All of this groundwork and hand walking is going to pay off come spring and real riding weather. I keep telling myself that. She had a lot of changes at once and needed to decompress anyway. Today I sent off the first payment. The horse is now off trial; I've had her a month. I have yet to sit on her. Have to trust my trainer's judgment, which I do, that we are a great match, plus the fact that she is bonding to me (on the ground) and truly gives me goosebumps to watch her in the pasture. Yes, I want this horse, but I really did intend for us to actually ride and work. Patience, patience. She has time. So do I.

#%$^&*$ ice and mud!!! :mad:

[tazz001]

I HATE MUD!!!!

The furry donks have decided for an early mud bath. Fat Marcy was a steel gray, now, a funky brown. Belle was a murky white (she was dirty to start with) is now a funky brown. Niether if them will be clean till they shed out. My donks hate baths and with their winter long johns on it is impossible to keep them clean.

On a positive note...the mud refroze last night....maybe I can get the mud mats off their backs today and fluff their coats back up....I might need a wire brush to get thru the inch thick dried goo.

Ahhhh the oys of the start of spring... now if I can find my car under the road mud that has accumulated in the past week.

[Daisey-Bogie]

I AM IN, BUT I HATE THE MUD IT CAUSED MY GIRL TO BECOME RETIRED. SHE STRAINED HER ANNULAR LIGAMENT. PERSONALLY FOR ME I WOULD RATHER DEAL WITH IT, BUT FOR HER SAKE NO MUD, JUST CAUSES A LAME HORSE.


SIGH!!!!!

[twofatponies]

I hate mud!

But I hate ice more... :D

Right now I have the choice of both - shady spots are icy, sunny spots are muddy. Weee!

[CenterStage123]

Me Me Me!!!
Last Sunday the mud ate my shoe! I found it again today. A whole week of riding in tall boots because my left padock boot was under a foot of mud!

[mbm]

mud? hah!howzabout at least a foot'of water in the pastures, the arena flooded, the paddocks a bloody muddy mess, slippery as all get out, and enough mud to build at least 10 homes.... and the storm is not even half over....

i am not sure how long my girls are going to be happy in their little stalls.... sooner or later they are gunna want out, and that is going to be a disaster...... mud mud mud mud and water!

bleh.

if it would recede a tad i could dig some ditches to try to channel it.... (there is a 3' ditch on either side of my property - but for some reason the ditch dissapears as soon as it crosses the fence line and i end up with a lake! -soi gotta dig some ditches to try to get it under control- anyone wanna come help? i got extra shovels!)

[Crooked Horse]

mud? hah!howzabout at least a foot'of water in the pastures, the arena flooded, the paddocks a bloody muddy mess, slippery as all get out, and enough mud to build at least 10 homes.... and the storm is not even half over....

i am not sure how long my girls are going to be happy in their little stalls.... sooner or later they are gunna want out, and that is going to be a disaster...... mud mud mud mud and water!

bleh.

if it would recede a tad i could dig some ditches to try to channel it.... (there is a 3' ditch on either side of my property - but for some reason the ditch dissapears as soon as it crosses the fence line and i end up with a lake! -soi gotta dig some ditches to try to get it under control- anyone wanna come help? i got extra shovels!)

I'm in Sonoma and I SO hear you right now. I know we need the rain like crazy but YUCK!!

[Triplicate]

Myrna - you are right - we put 12" of screenings inside the paddock gates about 20 feet in to the paddock, a big half circle, right up to the fence, then we made a large box ( rail road ties dug into the ground so you can mow over the edges ) outside the gate and filled in 12 inches of screenings.
YIPPEE no mud !
Well worth the time, work and expense!
We pick their feet out at the gate and no mess in the stable !

[mroades]

OMG still no rain here since NOVEMBER>>>I WANT MUD

[tikidoc]

We have had a VERY rainy winter here in NE TN, so we have been swimming in mud for the last couple months. Very few decent days for riding, and on the few days that have been nice, the arena has been soup. I'm over it.

[Mariequi]

Screenings around the outside wash stall and waterers helped greatly. Would be great for the gate areas too.

[CB/TB]

Well, by 4pm yesterday itwas snowing like crazy and we awoke to about 1- 2" . By noon it was about 40+ and the snow had disappeared, being replaced by mud in my middle field. This will go on until the beginning of April! We were able to get hay on Sunday because the ground was fairly frozen in most areas. There are divots and piles of frozen/muddy dirt that , each year , I wonder how the ground will ever recover. Each spring everything flattens out and turns green. The hair is flying everywhere, mostly in my mouth, nose, eyes and all over my jacket. ( Note to self: don't wear th efleece jacket out until shedding is finished). Thungs are looking up, you guys. Hang in there!

[Mariequi]

And the propane ran out this a.m.! I'm about to go back to the electric blanket on the couch and Survivor. A prayer the gas company comes tomorrow!

[CB/TB]

28 for a HIGH today. All my good intentions of keeping the poop picked went down the tubes. Frozen to the ground. Good way to break a toe! I will need a new muck fork , but I'm holding out 'til I'm sure it's safe! 40 tomorrow and Snow to rain to snow for Sunday. Gotta love New England!

[Mariequi]

Gas was only out for about 24 hours so that was a relief to have it back on. Actually, right now it's 38 with 28/wind chill. Got warmer, so of course that means the rain is about to begin. Then the temps drop again and we have teens at night and supposed to have snow later today and maybe tomorrow. Looks like couple more night of teens and then 30's and 40's at night, 40's days. High 40's mean rain. We'd like to see that rain when drought time comes...

[sisu27]

Cold, frozen,icey, rutted ground...can't ride out...stuck in arena and not feeling sorry for those of you dealing with mud...sorry. Unless you are on evil clay footing...then I feel for you. I moved my horse to an area with sand to get away from a brief stint on clay. HORRIBLE stuff, slippery or like cement and impossible to get off the horse.

[sk_pacer]

MUD?? Doubt I will see that for another 6 weels or so. Everything here is under a deep, very solid 3' deep layer of whitecrap....except where I managed to remove enough to get to the barn and out of the yard. After yesterday, that is close to 3' deep in spots again.....back to the tractor today and move that crap around for another 6 hours. I am so sick of moving snow almost every day and sub-normal temps every day since late October....and blowing snow and howling winds every day. Today's hig - it MAY break 0°F, normal temp for this time of year is around 20°F; it's been like this since shortly after we got the combine put away in the fall. GADS, sick of wearing 50 pounds of clothing and never being truly warm. I want SPRING!!! NOW!!!!

[Mariequi]

The clothing does get to be a bit much, doesn't it? Days like today (beginning anyway), that I can wear one layer out(until around now!) is a real treat. And, sorry, sisu, the mud does suck, literally. Boots, shoes... And then it freezes into mounds and hoofprints that almost break your ankles - and the horses, thank goodness, are careful, but hate walking through it too. But I know what you mean by the clay. When I sold my Suburban, it still had the Tryon clay on the floorboards. The only time I've fallen cross country was because of clay. I truly hate it, too. At least we don't get ice every year here. It really is the worst because of the probability of horse and person falling. And if it goes on day after day, the horses inside are going nuts.

[Mariequi]

Well, this a.m. was fairly decent. Then the wind picked up. Like a lot. I drove with a friend to the horse park and there were all sorts of things blowing about at the park, like big tents. Then the very cold rain began and turned to light ice and now snow. Here we go. Hope it's gone in a.m.

[Mariequi]

Well, it ain't gone. I brought all the horses in this a.m. Footing was mostly snow (an inch? hah! it's a whiteout now and has been for a while), but from the rain yesterday unfortunately iced right before the barn, but the guys were very good today. It's Oscars Day! I wanna watch all the pre-red carpet stuff. Long dayyyyy!

[txladybug]

We are in the worst drought since the 1950's. I would love some mud down here.

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

We have had only brief mud sightings. Just enough to get gloppy, then freeze and form clay moguls. It ain't pretty.

[Mariequi]

As teeny flurries are out there now, most of it stopped by noon and was melting, scaring the inside horses as the mounds of soft snow dropped in glops from the barn roof. From inside, it sounded like the horses were all pooping one right after the other. Ice was gone after the sun was bright for a few hours. Most of the day was walking in the snow. Now the mud's back. Supposed to be teens tomorrow, so will be mudice mounds tomorrow!