1. Topics
  2. Barefoot in snow/

Barefoot in snow/

Larson <seahorses3@...>
 

Having had two friends over the years (and several others I know of) lose their horses to broken hips, I strongly disagree with that statement. Strongly. The "old way" was to pull shoes for the winter. Many of us in New England who have barefoot horses (like my Percheron mare) put shoes ON in the winter, borium tipped. My vet has put FOUR down who have fallen and broken bones this year alone. It is not so much the snow as it is the ice, and where I live, ice is a given. Even with the rim pads, Kate gets snowballs - and I have done the Pam spray thing and every other suggestion. Snow is what it is, ice is what it is, and the risk is not worth it to me here.

Carol and Blue on the coast of Maine

At 03:28 PM 2/24/2008, you wrote:



Horses generally have superior traction on slippery surfaces
barefoot, plus they will not pack snow
Ute <ute@...>
 

Did those horses simply slip and fall or were they running and playing too hard on bad footing?
 
 
BALANCED STEP
Ute Miethe  - LMT/LAMT NCTMB
Nationally Certified Massage Therapist & Natural Performance Barefoot Trimmer
 

----- Original Message -----
From: Larson
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: [ECHoof] Barefoot in snow/

Having had two friends over the years (and several others I know of)
lose their horses to broken hips, I strongly disagree with that
statement. Strongly. The "old way" was to pull shoes for the
winter. Many of us in New England who have barefoot horses (like my
Percheron mare) put shoes ON in the winter, borium tipped. My vet
has put FOUR down who have fallen and broken bones this year
alone. It is not so much the snow as it is the ice, and where I
live, ice is a given. Even with the rim pads, Kate gets snowballs -
and I have done the Pam spray thing and every other suggestion. Snow
is what it is, ice is what it is, and the risk is not worth it to me here.

Carol and Blue on the coast of Maine

At 03:28 PM 2/24/2008, you wrote:

> >
> > Horses generally have superior traction on slippery surfaces
>barefoot, plus they will not pack snow
briarskingstonnet <briars@...>
 

Ute ?
Visit a horse farm when conditions are icy.
Watch what happens when horses try to negotiate the ice.
They don't all do it the same way,shod or unshod.Depends on a lot of
things(that's something you need to keep more in mind ,in all things
horse).
Many/most(?) barefoot horses are very good at handling the ice
(depending on the kind of ice,terrain etc.,of course).
But in my experience(my horses are barefoot...)there's nothing that can
diminish the likelihood of a nasty fall,from just walking across an icy
surface,than shoes with calks.
I do a lot of extra managing/worrying on my farm in icy conditions to
provide areas for the horses which will improve their chances of
staying upright.
Some of mine are 29 years old....

As Tom Dorrance used to say,"It depends." !


Lorna
Kingston


Did those horses simply slip and fall or were they running and
playing too hard on bad footing?



Carol said:
Having had two friends over the years (and several others I know
of)
lose their horses to broken hips, I strongly disagree with that
statement. Strongly. The "old way" was to pull shoes for the
winter. Many of us in New England who have barefoot horses (like my
Percheron mare) put shoes ON in the winter, borium tipped. My vet
has put FOUR down who have fallen and broken bones this year
alone. It is not so much the snow as it is the ice, and where I
live, ice is a given.
Larson <seahorses3@...>
 

Does it matter?  They're still dead.  And just how would you keep a horse from "playing too hard" - tie them?  Pen them?  Separate them?  Stall them?

Same feeling about the footing - how can you "remove" 5 acres of ice to keep it from being "bad footing?"  Three to four months' of a safety measure is a small price to pay.

Carol and Blue in Maine



At 12:13 AM 2/25/2008, you wrote:

Did those horses simply slip and fall or were they running and playing too hard on bad footing?
 
 
1 - 4 of 4