The Hidden Cost of Mud: How Poor Footing Affects Horse Health

Mud isn't just an inconvenience. Standing in poached, waterlogged ground for weeks over winter raises a horse's risk of mud fever and hoof abscesses, and the turnout time lost to it can affect everything from digestion to behaviour. This isn't a seasonal nuisance, it's a welfare issue with a body of research behind it, and there's a lot you can do to prevent it.

The Impact on Horse Health

Standing in mud doesn't just make for a messy yard, it creates conditions that put a horse's physical and mental health at risk in ways that are well documented.

Physical health risks

Prolonged exposure to wet, poached ground increases the risk of mud fever (pastern dermatitis), a painful skin infection that can be slow to clear once established (2). The same damp conditions soften the hoof and make it easier for bacteria to get in through the white line, which is one of the more common causes of hoof abscesses, a leading cause of sudden lameness in horses (4). Neither condition is trivial to treat: mud fever often needs ongoing management, and an abscess can put a horse out of work while it's drained and healed.

Turnout, behaviour and the knock-on effects

Muddy ground doesn't just cause direct injury risk, it restricts how much turnout a horse actually gets. Horses are active, social animals, and reduced turnout has been linked to increased risk of colic and laminitis, along with the stress, frustration and boredom that can lead to stereotypic behaviours like cribbing, weaving or box walking (3). Less grazing also often means relying more on supplementary feed, adding cost on top of the welfare impact (1).

How to Stop It: Ground Stabilisation That Works

Jelka's ground mats and grids tackle poor footing at the point it starts, before it turns into a mud fever or turnout problem.

• HIT Top Clean, heavy-duty mats for high-traffic areas like gateways, feeding stations and tracks. Firm, mud-free surface built for daily wear.
• HIT Step Mat, smaller interlocking mats for gateways and problem spots, reinforces grass rather than replacing it.
• HIT DrainGrid, sits beneath the surface to improve drainage in the wettest areas like turnout paddocks.

Not sure which one fits your site? See the full range and how to choose, or if you're weighing up HIT Top Clean against HIT Step Mat specifically, we've compared them head to head.

Reference List

1. The Horse, 2023. Smart Strategies for Winter Horse keeping. Available at:

https://thehorse.com/1132562/smart-strategies-for-winter-horsekeeping/

2. British Horse Society (BHS), n.d. Mud Fever. Available at:

https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/horse-health/equine-diseases/mud-fever/

3. Wiley Online Library, 2023. Equine Veterinary Journal. Available at:

https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.14411

4. World Horse Welfare, 2026. Hoof abscesses in horses. Available at: https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/advice/hoof-abscesses-in-horses