How do I prevent scratches and mud fever before mud season starts?
Getting ahead of it instead of treating it after, what changes for hooves moving from hard summer ground to wet fall footing, and what actually works on a muddy run-in.
Schneiders Learning Center · Updated August 12, 2026
Family owned in Chagrin Falls, Ohio since 1948.
Prevention comes down to dry time. Scratches takes hold when skin stays wet and dirty for long stretches, so the goal is giving legs a chance to dry every day. Clean legs when they come in, let mud dry and brush it off rather than hosing daily, and keep a dry place for them to stand.
Scratches is far easier to prevent than to clear up, and the window to prevent it is now, before the paddocks turn. Almost everything that works is about time spent wet rather than any particular product.
How do I prevent scratches and mud fever rather than treating them after they appear?
Hosing muddy legs every night feels like the clean thing to do, and it's often what keeps the skin wet enough to cause the problem. If you do rinse, dry the legs afterwards rather than leaving them damp in a stall.
Clipping long feather can help air reach the skin, though on a horse who relies on it for protection that's a judgment call worth discussing with your vet or farrier.
If scabs are already there, if the leg is hot, swollen, or sore, or if it isn't improving, that's a vet call rather than a product problem. Scratches can become a genuine infection.
Does anything change in the trim cycle going from hard, dry summer ground to wet fall footing?
Talk to your farrier rather than guessing. They see the wear pattern and will usually tell you if your horse is one who needs a tighter cycle once the ground changes.
Chips that appeared after a summer on hard ground generally grow out. Whether to address them now or wait for softer ground to sort itself is a farrier conversation, and it depends on how much wall there is to work with.
Mud season is coming for my run-in shed. What actually works that isn't just more gravel?
Roof runoff is the single biggest and most commonly ignored source. A shed with no gutters dumps its entire roof area into the doorway the horses stand in.
Rotating where you feed and moving gates or waterers a few feet spreads the traffic that creates mud in the first place. Most mud is made by horses standing in the same spot, not by rain alone.
Questions about gear for a wet paddock? Ask our team -- and call your vet about any skin problem that's sore, swollen, or not improving.