“Most horse owners are used to dealing with a couple of days throughout the winter and early spring where they will have ice and slippery areas in their pens, however, this year – with the extreme weather shifts it’s been almost constant,” says Laurie Cerny, editor of www.goodhorse-keeping.com “And the bottom line is that horses and ice don’t mix well – especially for horses that are shod.”
The best methods for dealing with ice and improving the footing in areas where water has accumulated and the frozen, or with worn snow packed footpaths are fairly natural.
“You don’t want to apply anything that could be harmful to your horse’s hooves, or that will mix into the dirt and create a bigger mess later on,” Cerny says. “This makes the better options a little more labor intensive, but well worth it in the long run.”
Raking pathways while the ice is a little soft, or chipping areas out for traction - using a pointed shovel or metal pitchfork, is one good option. Another is to scatter snow (if you have some) on paths to make the area less slippery.
Sand is another great option because it provides traction and also assimilates back into the ground once things melt.
“We love using sand. The problem is finding it right now. Most home improvement stores are only caring tube sand, which may be short in supply if your area has recently experienced flooding,” Cerny says. “After the past few weeks we’ve had I have vowed to stock up on bags of landscaping sand next summer and will store them in my sawdust room for next winter.”
The bottom line is that if you want your horses to be safe on slippery footing you need to do something.
“Every year I hear of horses that have fallen on ice and then had to be euthanized because they either broke something, or that they injured themselves so badly they required months of recovery. I hate hearing about these cases. And unfortunately even when you take the time to do something about the ice – accidents can still happen.”
For the complete list of the Top Five Ways To Deal With Ice in Horse’s Pens go to www.goodhorse-keeping.com
www.goodhorse-keeping.com is devoted to the practical and affordable care of horses. Find more articles and resources on horse care, as well as product reviews, at the website.
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