Also Learned Some Stuff
-
Yes. We still have ice here since that ice storm. It never went away. We've been cycling between 40s during the day and freezing at night, and the ice just gets worse and worse and worse. I made a mix of sand and shavings in a utility sled, watered it well, and sprinkled it all over the ice in the horses' dry lot, but they are still afraid to venture much beyond their paddocks. Plenty of evidence of slipping and sliding by them. My mare has been all hunched up for weeks because of her tippy-toeing. We are shipping them off to boarding for the winter in a warmer valley, about 3.5 hours from here, where at least the ground is level. I'll be riding my teacher's horses the rest of the winter. I'll bring mine home when the ground is safe to walk on again.
Last year at this time we had a couple of days of 50 below zero ambient temperature. I'm told we'll be back to that by the second half of January. Maybe we'll be on a plane by then to a warmer climate.
We have also made "safe" paths with a sand/ashes wet mix between the house and the barn, and the house and the cars. At least the steep road is south facing and most of the ice melted off in the sun over the past few weeks. But now we have wet heavy snow on the ground again, and it is going to again turn to ice. I can't keep up.
-
The tow truck driver pointed out that the jackknife was caused by the trailer brakes locking. So step one was to unplug the trailer brakes.
That doesn’t sound right to me. Do you have electric brakes or surge brakes?
-
Wow. That’s terrible! Glad it wasn’t worse. Taking riding lessons on your instructors horse sounds like a great plan. We had terrible ice out at the barn a couple of years ago - it’s built up down near the gates to go in and Ruler fell and couldn’t get up - I had to get them to drive the manure cart out and we threw the manure all around him he was really traumatized - luckily the farrier was here - I had him put front shoes back on with the borium nubs on the bottom. I usually don’t do shoes in the winter, but that winter it was the only way to go. We managed barefoot last winter, and hope to again this winter
-
Hmmm.
The purpose of the trailer brakes is to keep the weight of the trailer from pushing the back end of the truck around. I’ve even seen suggestions to use only the trailer brakes (hand control) on slippery downhill slopes to keep truck and trailer lined up.
OTOH, I can see where locked up trailer brakes would turn in to skis and would do nothing to assist with braking. That’s probably what he’s talking about.
Do you carry extra weight in the back of your truck in the winter? Pickups are notoriously light in the back and a lot of guys around here will add sandbags and such for better traction at the rear wheels.
-
"Do you carry extra weight in the back of your truck in the winter? Pickups are notoriously light in the back and a lot of guys around here will add sandbags and such for better traction at the rear wheels."
I never go anywhere in winter without sandbags in the bed of the truck. Not just for the weight, but also to use the sand for traction if needed. I have a shovel back there also. But with a 2,600# trailer on the hitch, carrying an 1100# horse, I would think there's plenty of weight back there.
-
Jeez, Jodi, that's terrifying! Deva has slipped on the ice here, fallen hard on her side, and slid 30 feet down the hill. That was our first winter here. A vet friend told me she put down four horses that weekend due to falls on the ice.
Now I put boots on Deva with ice studs in them, and when those don't work any more--the ice has gotten too slick even for studs--I have no choice but to lock her up while I get wet shavings down on the ice fields.
-
they empty the manure cart on the road out (which is a fairly steep hill) and barn areas when it gets icy here - 60 horses make for a lot of manure, so it works for them. We also have a ton of sand around here, and I (which my back can handle it) often toss several shovelfuls in the icy areas between Rulers stall and the pasture gate. It’s a constant thing, for sure. They’ve just fixed the gutters on the back of the 4-plex stall set that Ruler is in - which has made the paddocks way better, but now empties the melting snow out onto the path between the stalls and the pasture gate. I fell pretty badly there on my tailbone couple of years ago, and wonder if that didn’t contribute to the back issues I’m currently having. YakTrax for me now when the ice builds up!
-
HoPos are leaving for the Bitterroot Valley on Monday and the forecast for the next few days could make the roads dangerous around here.. I have very mixed feelings. I love caring for them, but in winter it is just too hard. I was supposed to have one last lesson with Deva before she leaves for the winter, but it's not looking like trailering is going to be feasible--winter weather watch and heavy snow forecast.
A friend moved to AZ with her horses a couple of years ago and posts videos of riding in the desert on New Years Day. The horses are drenched in sweat. Maybe head there with them next winter?
