Frozen. How do you all cope?

Equinus - I tried to brush the outside horses legs today for the farrier (as obviously can't hose, would feel mean anyway) but his feathers were frozen into dreadlocks too! :eek: :D
 
Stencilface said:
Equinus - I tried to brush the outside horses legs today for the farrier (as obviously can't hose, would feel mean anyway) but his feathers were frozen into dreadlocks too! :eek: :D
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He has small dreads on his legs, but I removed his feathers in summer so they are not too bad.

I'm so glad I am not alone!
 
Equinus said:
Today he was walking funny when he came up for his feed, and kept jumping and turning around....his tail was frozen into icy dreadlocks and banging his legs as he moved. OH got the scissors to it and my foot (I thought that would be plenty) became two foot...............so now we have re-named the horse Bob, in honour of his new hair do!:eek:

It will soon grow.......:D
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:) :)

I trim all feathers off and cut 6-8" off all long tails because otherwise mine all get this. It all grows back in time for the fly season. I used to just plait tails when my horses went out in flat paddocks (still do for some of them) but I don't think plaited tails and forest would work too well :(
 
Enfys said:
It is completely beyond me why these things haven't found their way to the UK yet after the past few winters, even my rabbits have heated waterbowls. Heated buckets, heated hosepipes, floating tank heaters etc, etc...probem solved.

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http://www.nextag.com/heated-water-buckets/products-html

As for rolling and draining heavy hosepipes, just for yard work etc these are excellent, they aren't designed for heavy duty stuff but mine work OK.

I can pick up 300' of hose in one hand, stuff it in a bucket and put it in the house overnight if I have to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_z8xyI1veU
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domane said:
Expensive but absolutely brilliant time-saver, I would urge you to consider installing at least one of these...

http://www.harrierhydrantsandtaps.co.uk/freeze-proof-yard-hydrant-taps/

Well worth the investment, they really ARE freeze-proof, unless the mains water freezes... and if it is THAT cold, we're ALL in trouble! ;)
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Yes to all of these.

It is so strange listening to all of the struggles with frozen taps etc. and my heart goes out to all of you, that sucks.

Heat tape is great stuff, don't know if you can find it readily in the UK yet, but I know that you can get heat wraps for home brewing so should be able to find something.

It is amazing how much heat one light bulb will give off, If you are at all handy, then maybe a simple insulated box with a light bulb in it that you can stand over/around the tap would help in some cases. We have thawed out below ground freeze up issues with the light bulb trick over here.

Apart from digging the water lines down to 8 feet deep, putting in a hydrant, and having heated drinkers, then that is all I can think of.
 
I am sure my boy read long weather forecast and decided to do annular ligament so he could stay in for foreseeable future.

I have him at home so no probs with water, yet! If he had to choose a time to be box rested now was the time do it! No mud fever, no floundering in knee deep mud, no bringing in, shall I use hose on legs or not, what rug to use, etc.
 
Wagtail said:
I've completely given up with the hosepipe. I may try leaving it in the tack room overnight, but I think even in there it might freeze. Hope you get your straw ok!


(
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Straw arrived safely thanks!

I had the same battle with the hosepipes again except that this time I was ready for them. I put them both into the kitchen sink and ran hot water over and through them. A right PITA but effective. I have had an idea for insulating a storage chest outside the kitchen door to store the hosepipes without them freezing - a job for the weekend!
 
We are on day 4 of the big freeze and all our water stocks have either frozen or run out. We have taps on the yard but no electric. Every available water holding device was filled on Saturday before the freeze and we have been working through it. We cant boil water so now we have to bring it from home.

Bit annoying today as noticed yesterday Benji's water was low so I took loads of bottles filled with warm water today. Poured it all into the barrel and the pony in the next field put his head straight in the barrel and drank every last drop! It was all I had so i've had to leave him with the dreggs until morning. I told the girl who owns the pony and she just laughed and said how sweet!

He had a really sloppy feed so he will be fine until morning, but its a tad annoying. xx
 
Mine have a smallish river running through their field so they always have access to water and in the 20 years we have lived here it has only frozen over once and then I just had to walk over it to break the surface ice a few times a day because my wimpy cob didn't like the sound of the ice breaking so wouldn't do it himself.
 
Haylege put in field by yard, I went up yesterday to put a 100g rug on retired boy and extra rug on top of heavyweight for thoroughbred, they get the water from the river. Them I went home and I'll next see them at the weekend unless it suddenly heats up... bliss. I am enjoying my break from horses at the moment for sure.
 
I left a dust bin full of water ready for the big freeze. Was full when I left this morning and by this evening some ******s used it all. I'm injured and had to cart 5 trips of water from the unfrozen tap in next yard. My bin. I filled it for my horses. Someone else who didn't plan ahead thinks they can just help themselves. Grr
 
Spotsrock said:
I left a dust bin full of water ready for the big freeze. Was full when I left this morning and by this evening some ******s used it all. I'm injured and had to cart 5 trips of water from the unfrozen tap in next yard. My bin. I filled it for my horses. Someone else who didn't plan ahead thinks they can just help themselves. Grr
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:mad: I am very annoyed for you! What an inconsiderate idiot.
 
Some excellent tips here.

Last year our drinkers in the main block didn't freeze at all. It takes some low and persistent temperatures to affect them. But now I'm busy boiling kettles to defrost them several times a day. The horses in the other block won't have working drinkers again until we have temperatures above zero for a couple of days. This morning their buckets were thick with ice. Also, my mare is overdue for her imprint shoes. They can't be put on when it's this cold. She looks like she's on stilts.
 
Spotsrock said:
I left a dust bin full of water ready for the big freeze. Was full when I left this morning and by this evening some ******s used it all. I'm injured and had to cart 5 trips of water from the unfrozen tap in next yard. My bin. I filled it for my horses. Someone else who didn't plan ahead thinks they can just help themselves. Grr
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I would be fuming!!

I hope you managed to replace the water without too much trouble x
 
I wear fishing boots. They have felt soles that you can screw studs into and they are fabulous for walking aroung on frozen yards and completely waterproof rubberised canvas too. They were a great find, I got them off eBay.
 
cptrayes said:
I wear fishing boots. They have felt soles that you can screw studs into and they are fabulous for walking aroung on frozen yards and completely waterproof rubberised canvas too. They were a great find, I got them off eBay.
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Now they sound interesting. Will have a look.
 
Spotsrock- if you know who the culprit is, there's a very easy solution. You simply ring or text them, after they've left & you discover your water gone, & say you have taken the water back from their horse, so they need to come back as now their horse has none. Of course you don't actually do it, but let them trek back to the yard to find that out.
 
Elsiecat said:
I like to sit in the tack room with a brew and cry.
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LOL - this!

As GD comes home from horsepital to box rest today, I will be hauling water from home as all the taps on the yard ae now frozen . . . fun, fun, fun. I'll skip the Speedibeet in his breakfast b/c he'll end up with a popsicle in a bowl. Thankfully I've just had a huge hay bale delivered and YO has a good 20+ (very large) bales of straw so no danger of running out of those . . . may stop at the feed shop this morning and pick up another bag each of his hard feed.

Me, I need to find some decent gloves . . . fed up of fingers hurting so much I want to cry.

P
 
Our YO thaws out the one tap in the afternoon so we need to ensure we have water for the field the night before. I fill my field bucket in the evening and leave it overnight in with my boy which stops it freezing too hard - a thin skin this morning but three inches of ice if left in field.
Needless to say, horse doesn't differentiate between stable bucket and field bucket but had drunk both down to about half way overnight so it was simple to take both into field and tip one into the other.
This plan is working for the time being but I am going to buy some water carriers asap as the forecast looks like it is going to stay frozen for at least another week so I may need to lug from home soon - and he likes his water nearly as much as he likes his food ;)
 
Some good ideas here, thank you.
We fill two large tub trugs in each stable. We also fill four large plastic black bins and cover with an old rug. All are filled before the freeze. We then use a black bin and sack truck water from the house to the yard instead of having to walk back and forward with small black buckets. I know this wont help many people but may help anyone with a house within walking distance of their yard?
 
A clever friend of mine got his plumber to drill a hole in the outside wall of his house and connect a tap directly to his hot water circuit. Instant hot water just where you want it!
 
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