Minis and ice

[Fanch]

Well, it snowed one day, then it poured the next day, then today it freezes, so my 2 minis pathways are little skating rinks. I can see they are stepping lightly but the fear of one of them falling and slipping (and possibly breaking a leg

) is keeping me awake this evening

They survived today, but I'm wondering if theres anything I can do tomorrow to help prevent a possible acident. I was thinking of putting shavings along the pathwasy, any ideas from those out there who have dealth with this before??

Also, from your experience, do minis slip often in this sorta conditions, or are they pretty surfooted?? Im use to having little patches of ice back there but right now our whole town is frozen after the rains.

I never thought I would say this but....I would like it to snow...ALOT!

 

[Katiean]

I think they can handle the ice unless one gets frisky and wants to play on it. Mine run in the snow but when it comes to walking on the ice they are very careful.

 

[krissy3]

comming from the Swiss Alps I deal with this every year. You are right to be concerned. My refind mare stays at another barn that is on flat land for the season , also where there is not so much snow and ice. Its not ideal as there is not a lot of turn out , but it beats 6 months stall rest from a broken leg. this is what has helped my ponys:

at the feed store you can buy salt that is safe for horses and sprinkel that over the ice. When the ice turns to water in the day add shavings, shaved rubber , tanbark, straw , anything that will give the water a texture once it turns to ice. when the ice is at a slushy state you can rake it to form grooves, usually in the evening just before the temp turns every surface to smooth ice. I use to clean up the poop , then I realized that the poop on the ice kept you from slipping , so leave it be for these months of icey temps. you can buy cheap door mats , rubber ones from the dollar store, they dont have to be thick , just enough rubber to make it nbon slip. How about the indoor outdoor astroturf. you can cut it to the shape you want , and throw it out at the end of the season.

these are just some ideas to play around with. If any of them work for you , or if you hear of something else please let me know, I worry like crazy too. I stall mine in the night , because I worry that they will have ice and the dark to deal with .

good luck and stay warm

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Just as Krissy said when we have glare ice I dont clean paddocks as well as usual in fact I often take what comes from stalls and spread it on the ice if we get thawing temps during the day the shavings and poop sort of settle into the ice and give them better footing. It makes harder clean up in the spring but most gets absorbed into the ground with the melting snow. If it is really bad I keep them in for a day or two if necessary.

 

[bevann]

We often have to deal with ice in Delaware.Clean your stalls them spread manure and shavings in the paths.It makes a very nice footing for the Minis.It will decompose with all the water so you don't have to worry too much.good luck.I HATE winter with horses.Mine have been in the barn for 4 days due to lots of snow.They can walk in it, but I can't.today they will get out some for a few hours.Lots of rain due here on Christmas day so I'm hoping most of the snow will get washed away.

 

[targetsmom]

I do what the others do except I actually separate the manure out and use the wet bedding only (pelleted bedding turned to sawdust in my case) to spread over the ice. It seems to spread a bit easier, makes a great surface, doesn't have to be cleaned later, and provides really good traction. I will use the manure if I run out of wet bedding though. Living in CT and going through this every winter, I start to stockpile the wet bedding in big plastic tubs BEFORE the first storm. I still have a tub full just waiting for the rain this weekend.... I also use it on paths where I have to walk.

I let the horse out when it snows (they have plenty of shelter) so that they continue to make paths, and I never have to shovel paths for them!

We only got a couple of inches of snow in that last storm but it was just enough to cover the ice from the previous storm and the minis took full advantage by running around like maniacs!

 

[muffntuf]

Yes that's sound advice. I use a ice chopping bar to get ridges in the ice.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I don't have much trouble with ice since mine are in a pasture, except when the wind blew the water out of their heated water tank onto the ground around the tank and it froze into a sheet of ice. They couldn't get close to the tank to drink. Luckily I had some play sand on hand and used that. Now I don't fill the tank so full in the winter.

I do have a neighbor whose two miniature donkeys drowned in his farm pond. They both went out onto the ice and fell in. So that is something I do worry about.

 

[shorthorsemom]

http://www.martinlimestone.com/default.asp...pageid=barn+dri

I use this stuff, called Barn dri, anti slip agent, non toxic and ok for doggie paws too. You can dust this over glare ice and get traction with your feet or horses feet. I put it all over the place when we have ice. You can keep a bucket of it in the house and toss it in front of your feet as you walk over the ice and can walk straight on it, don't have to wait until it melts in. Is ok for your grass too, just lime grit. I put it on the back stairs so the dogs can get traction. My mini boy once looked like "Bambi on the ice" one winter during an ice storm. I tossed the barn dri around his feet and he made it to the stable without issue. A mare I didn't own but used to ride broke her leg badly on ice and had to be put down. On my mind every winter.

This product is dirt cheap, a couple of dollars for a 50 lb bag. Don't have to use it heavily either. We use in our dairy barn on the walk when our cows come in. You can also put down in the stable floor to keep out the pee smell and ammonia since it is a lime product. Not sure if this is only a local thing, I am in SE Pa, not far from Delaware.

 

[Little Hooves]

Has anyone mentioned salt? Or is it too cold that plain salt won't work? Also, you know that saying, "the bigger they are, the bigger they fall"?(unless the government declares they are too big to fall - hehe) I think the same goes with little horses. The chances of them falling and breaking a leg are slim - that's my opinion at least. Your ponies have 4-wheel drive and should be just fine on ice. I would imagine the main concern isn't the ice on the ground, but the ice in their hooves. If it builds up too much, they will be walking on little ice balls in their hooves and loose traction. But even still, they don't tumble easily. Not like people do!

Until you solve the ice problem, I hope you don't fret too much. Horses don't like the idea of falling, so they'll probably be careful until you figure something out!

Brenda

 

[Margo_C-T]

I don't know if it would be practical/affordable for large areas, but I have good results using the cheapest clay kitty litter on my concrete sidewalk and the 'slab' in front of the walk-in door to my barn. No danger to the grass from salt washed or swept away, and the kitty litter 'cobbles' up nicely even when there is melting/refreezing. I am too old to enjoy falling on the ice(already took one tumble this winter), and this really helps, on areas where I HAVE to step-don't know why it wouldn't help on mini horse paths as well-although as others have noted, horses are usually pretty good about watching their step, at least when they are aware of the slippery conditions.

Margo

 

[krissy3]

I don't know if it would be practical/affordable for large areas, but I have good results using the cheapest clay kitty litter on my concrete sidewalk and the 'slab' in front of the walk-in door to my barn. No danger to the grass from salt washed or swept away, and the kitty litter 'cobbles' up nicely even when there is melting/refreezing. I am too old to enjoy falling on the ice(already took one tumble this winter), and this really helps, on areas where I HAVE to step-don't know why it wouldn't help on mini horse paths as well-although as others have noted, horses are usually pretty good about watching their step, at least when they are aware of the slippery conditions.
Margo

Now very cool idea...never thought of that, hey and better yet...the dirty kitty litter . I love it . Thanks for that idea!!!

 

[rosaroca]

I second the idea of cat litter. I always keep some cheap stuff in the house during the winter. I throw it on the back porch and outside walkways whenever it's icy, then even take a small bucketful of it with me when I go out to feed. That way, I can scatter it in front of me or on any really slick ice patches. It gives almost instant traction and retains that traction even if it thaws then refreezes.

 

[Watcheye]

I spread whatever I clean out of the stalls on to any icy areas I may find.

 

[horsehug]

My little horses have snow or ice to deal with a huge part of the year and they walk carefully and get along great!

Maybe it is partly because we have such long winters and they are so used to it!

Susan O.

 

[Miniv]

DITTO WITH KITTY LITTER......... Margo beat me to it!

I've been dumping our USED Kitty Litter along the path just outside our barn.......It helps with the icy situations AND it helps to bind up the sloppy mud when things thaw.

 

[barnbum]

I, too, have to deal with ice now and then. I've been so lucky this year because it snowed just enough to cover it this year. BUT, we just got at least a half inch of rain, there are puddles everywhere, and it's going to freeze in a few days. Ugh. If it's a sheet, they stay in. If I can get them to the back with paths, I use sand and powdered lime. The lime is amazing--it's what I use for wet spots in the stalls and it adheres to ice on contact. It's hard to get down if the wind is blowing though. This year we have a huge barrel of sand form taking out a pool and hubby emptied his sand bags from his truck in there. Hopefully it'll work!

 

[targetsmom]

Barnbum-

Now you know why I stockpile the used bedding (the wet spots without manure). I have a full muck-bucket sized tub plus a Strongid bucket full, just waiting for the rain to stop and the ice to freeze again. And today's wet spots got spread around as I cleaned stalls.

You gotta have horses to appreciate anyone feeling smug about a tub full of wet bedding or a fresh pile of horse poop!

 

[Marty]

Every year people come on here concerned about the ice and wonder what to do. That is why we worry about winter in the summer and do what we have to do to prepare for winter. Paige, beings from Florida I never had to deal with horses in ice or snow before until we moved up here to Tennessee. I found out that very first year how dangerous it was for the horses. Michael's quarter horse Classic Action slipped and fell and bowed his tendons. It was a very serious injury that took months of stall rest to heal. Its a wonder he didn't break his legs when he went down. I also had fallen on the ice and snow as well injuring myself.

We knew we had to come up with something for the future so that is when that following summer we put in gravel and chat paths all around the barnyard that lead out to each field which helps with the mud and ice problem. The horses have the option of using the paths or not, but for me, I surely stay on them to keep from breaking my neck. We also fixed up a garden tractor and a old lawn mower with a blade to scrape the snow off. As I said, these were summer projects we did for winter problems. I don't know what you can do right now, you have some suggestions there to look into. But my bottom line is that if there is ice out there, my horses don't go out on it at all. Its not worth the risk.