Winter Driving

[MajorClementine]

So those of you who get snow... what do you do for winter driving? I have sleigh runners for my cart but I've heard varying opinions of them. IF I used them it would only be in our 1 acre pasture after we have a good base layer of snow for them to slide over.

I would give Clementine the winter off but since she was started this summer I don't want her (or me) to take several months off and forget what we've learned. I don't want to work her too hard since I know she needs to be all the way dry before the sun goes down.

Do any of you clip and blanket your driving horses over the winter?

 

[happy appy]

Well I know myself that we are going a head with training and working. I have been thinking up ideas like skijoring. That should like a lot of fun. I wont be clipping though. They wont be working hard enough to work up a sweat. Just enough to have a little fun and a change of pace from the boring winter's in Canada!

 

[happy appy]

Oh and I just heard about this thing called a kicksled. You can hitch a dog to it and the whole time you are using it you are standing on the runners at the back. You can have a kid sit on the seat while you are going.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My horses are in pretty good condition. If I take them out for a two mile drive they don't even work up a sweat if it is chilly. If it's warm enough to work up a sweat, I don't worry about them. They have a good roll and seem perfectly fine.

My horses are not stalled, so I wouldn't clip for our occasional winter drives.

Is your snow pretty constant where you are in Utah?

 

[diamond c]

Mine are not salled or clipped either. they also will only get worked on the wormest of days. mostly they will get the winter off. It stays faily wet around here when the ground is not froze, and I don't like to work them in either condion if I can help it.

 

[MajorClementine]

We do get pretty constant snow from mid December till mid February or so. I'm moving the minis down to my grandpas property for the winter because they can have a stall with a heated waterer. I can also store my tack in the heated tack room. The only down side is it's back off the road a ways so it's sleigh runners or nothing with the cart. No way will I be able to work her and keep the wheels on once it snows.

Sounds like clipping is out which I'm actually glad for. I really didn't want to clip and blanket. I think they do better in just their fluffy winter coats. I won't be working her really hard but I'd like to get her out once a week or so over the winter.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

I don't clip in winter. I take my girl out for a couple miles,

I don't have runners on my cart so we just use the tires

And drive on the road.

You may have to build up conditioning , so that you can go longer in the deeper snow.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[paintponylvr]

Here in NC, especially this year, the weather has been wild. Swinging up and down in temps - with freezing rain or damp mist and fog. Today is Sunday. It's raining and the high is going to be 36* (not there yet). Friday (2 days ago) at this time, it was 85* and the ponies were hanging their heads and panting - some dripping lathered sweat after a quick run around the pastures. The storms sweeping across the mid-west are going to be dropping us into a deep freeze and I don't know how bad it's going to be. We haven't been following the predictions either.

In the past, I've trace clipped the ponies that we've been working. First when the girls were riding and we simply didn't have time to work them and get them cleaned up, worked and turned out (dry) before it got dark and cold after school/work. Then when I had driving ponies. This year, I haven't done it yet and wish I had. I might get a few done over Christmas break this year - but don't know for sure as it's actually supposed to be cold that two weeks.

With a trace clip, we've had our ponies turned out 24/7 in all but the worst weather - at which time Ive either done water proof blankets or stalled them. The trace clips just make it sooooo much easier for us to work our ponies (both the clean up before and the cool down after) - and because the under larger muscles are uncovered, the rest of the coat doesn't usually get wet with sweat... If it does, one of those "magnetic" water towels that really soak up water (automotive section of Wal-Mart?) helps pull the wet out of their coats and then they can be turned out.