Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

As Terre mentioned, there is the studs for the Easyboots. Having used them in icy and cold Quebec winters, I can attest that they do work and provide good traction. Sometimes when the trails are too bad and the driveway is covered in slick ice, it is the only way I have been able to walk her over the arena about 150 feet away. But walking her to the arena is also different than going out on a trail ride. In any case, you have to weigh the good and bad  - the boots with studs provide good traction, but just like shoes with studs or borium, they don't make your horse invincible either.

If the snow was packed down on top of the ice and you might occasionally have a patch of ice, the studs would help, but if its loose snow over a sheet of ice, I wouldn't chance it to go for a ride. As Cindy mentioned hills add a whole other danger factor, I wouldn't chance icy hills either. Difficult to say over the Internet, but if in doubt, don't do it.

 

I ride with the boots when there could be some ice here and there, but if its really slick, I don't go on trail. I'd rather not risk my horse...I've seen her fall once on slick ice barefoot and it wasn't pretty. She was "stuck" lying down for awhile too until she managed to scramble up and skate over to a patch of ground. Luckily she wasn't injured but it was pretty scary. I certainly would not have wanted to be on board that time.

Lysane

Jennifer Adam <jatatahoe1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Good morning, Ridecamp -
> I've been off the list for a while (too much work to get caught up on) but 
> I'm back and I already have a question. I live in Missouri and right now the 
> entire farm is under two inches of ice. It snowed on top of the ice and the 
> snow offers good traction
>  for people, but I don't know if it's safe to ride 
> my horses in it or not. I'm scared they might slip on that ice. It's been 
> three weeks since I last saddled up and I'm in withdrawal - but I don't want 
> to risk injuring my horses. Do you ride on ice? Or do you just wait for it 
> to melt? I've thought of shoes, but they're barefoot mustangs and I'd really 
> like to keep them that way as long as possible. I considered boots too, but 
> to my untrained eye they didn't look like they would add any traction. 
> They're getting along fine in the pasture, but the rest of the farm (the 
> roads, pathways, even the empty fields) are pretty much just a solid sheet. 
> I hate waiting for spring just to ride, but if this ice doesn't melt soon I 
> might have to. What do you think? Is there any safe way to ride on ice or 
> not?
>
> Thanks for your input -
> Jennifer Adam (and the wild bunch - too busy eating hay to care about going 
> for a ride,
>  anyway)
>
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