Muddy soil can cause lameness due to footrot

It is important to clean legs and hooves and check for lameness in horses on a daily basis, especially when there is heavy rain

- Dr Mac.

It's that time of year when waterlogged pastures and muddy roads can cause lameness unless horses have their feet cleaned daily when they come into their stables.

If the legs and hooves are only cleaned the following morning, there is a high risk of infections that are difficult and expensive to treat. These include chronic skin infections with swelling of tissues and loss of hair, especially around the fetlocks and cannon bones (known as 'greasy heels'), as well as footrot (also called thrush).

Lameness can affect a stallion's ability to service mares, while broodmares being treated with anti-inflammatory drugs for lameness may not conceive.

Weanlings and yearlings being prepared for sale will not be sound enough to put on auction if they are lame, resulting in a loss of income.

There is a traditional saying “No hoof, no horse”. It’s generally accepted that a lame horse cannot be ridden, and it's considered cruel to leave a lame breeding horse untreated.