Washing disrupts the skin balance

Shampoo bars are all the rage, not only for yourself but also for horses. And yes, generally these are "healthier" than a shampoo from a bottle, but these shampoo bars also have disadvantages. Shampoo bars degrease extremely, if you have ever used such a bar yourself then you notice that your scalp feels extremely clean and your hair becomes a bit stiff. This means that all skin oil is removed and thus also the protection of the skin. The skin balance is disrupted, the good micro-organisms of the skin are lost and you make the skin more vulnerable. Regular shampoo and betadine also have this effect, but generally they degrease less intensely than a shampoo bar does and add a layer that makes everything feel soft again. Therefore, be cautious when washing your horse with all types of shampoos, because a disrupted skin balance actually increases the risk of mud fever, allergies, fungal infections, and other skin problems.

Only wash once!

We understand that if your horse has mud fever, you want to do something and even want to wash for a moment and that's fine! But wash the legs only once! Do not wash multiple times or even daily. Stick to washing once and make sure the legs stay dry afterwards. This way you prevent the skin from becoming weak, the skin balance from being disrupted too much, and the mud spots from staying too wet. At such a moment, such a 'natural' soap bar is gentler on the skin than a betadine or many others in a bottle.

All mud is different!

You have dry mud, wet mud, a spot that goes away in a few days and mud spots that stay for months. All mud is different and all mud requires a different approach. What helped with your stable mate's horse may not help with your horse. Dry mud also requires a different approach than wet mud. With dry mud, we advise you to leave the scabs alone and not apply anything to them; the skin underneath will heal and the scab will fall off by itself. If you remove the scab, you damage the skin every time and the healing process will take longer. With wet mud, you want it to dry out, but often there is also an "inflammatory reaction" causing the spots to be a bit gunky. Therefore, clean these spots once and spray them with a spray based on micro-organisms.

Be careful with hydrocortisone! Many horses get worse spots from this, like burns. Also, because this kills the good bacteria on the skin and disrupts the balance even more.

Internal treatment is the most important!

Almost all mud has a cause from within, caused by a dip in resistance or for example a build-up of toxins, resulting in mud. It is therefore important to cleanse the body, with for example liquid nettle and liquid dandelion. And besides that, you can strengthen the skin from the inside with silicon and zinc. The internal treatment is much more important than the external treatment! A good resistance, sufficient minerals, and a stress-free environment are the most important things to keep and get your horse free from mud. Therefore, do not work too much externally, but focus mainly on internal treatment.