How do you? ..... get around in the snow???

[Tiaan]

With the snow starting to make an appearance it has made me start thinking about travelling to and from the yard if it does snow again.

Last year I had someone at home who I could leave my 5yr old with and walked the 7 miles to and from the yard as I have an astra which doesn't do well in the snow, I haven't been able to change it for a 4x4 which would have been the best option and I have no-one to leave my son with to do the walk, so I was wondering what everyone else does????

Thanks!

 

[billy2]

Same as usual - walk or ride my bike...

 

[be positive]

I have mine at home plus some liveries, I would not expect the owners to walk 7 miles to do their horses, or even drive if not safe, I would do the basic daily routine for all the horses on my yard.

 

[MiCsarah]

Luckily this year I'm only a mile from my yard but last year I just couldn't make it so liveries that did make it plus yo and ym did them all

 

[superted1989]

I'm not very good on slippy stuff, so..................on my backside!!!!!!!!!!!!

My car's not too bad but I was off the road for 3 days last year as nothing was moving at all in my road.
Luckily, our yard is very friendly and either YO, or, any one of the liveries that can get there will do mine for me (it pays to build up favours!). As a very last resort, I would walk but it would take the best part of the day to get there and back in snow.

 

[Mithras]

Good quality winter tyres mean my car can go in most conditions, despite not being a 4 x 4. Possibly parking and walking the last half mile or so if really bad.

 

[zoelouisem]

Last year, between work which is horse and daughters pony, lots of walking!!!! Dogs thought it was great i did not!!!! Have to get to both though, pony on totally DIY yard and work with horse so all got to be done. This year ive upgraded my lease car to a 4x4 so no more snow walking for me!!! Or moaning daughter as she was made to do it with me!!! She was 6 last winter!!

 

[Tiaan]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys,

I can ask the yard owner for help but I only like doing this as a last resort as she no longer keeps horses so there's no way for me to return the favour as such.

Will look into the winter tyres though as that may at least mean I can use the car, has anyone used snow chains? can you put them on the car yourself or do you have to go to a mechanic (sorry useless I know!)

 

[SophieLouBee]

I drove my Punto all through the snow last year, it was a great little car! I didn't get stuck once. Luckily I can go mostly main roads to the yard, I'm a confident driver & the snow doesn't bother me, so it's no biggy.

 

[PennyJ]

I have Land Rover so not a huge problem really, but since last year now have all ponies within walking distance of home (max 2 mile round trip) so if needs be I will be walking along pulling a sledge behind with the feeds and hay on it.

Normal cars can and do get around in the snow, it is just peoples perception that they can't. All you need to remember is keep you distance from other cars, go slow (crawl along slow) and smoothly and do your utmost not to use your brakes as that is the thing most likely to cause you to go into a spin. I'm sure mud and snow tyres would be useful too, but not essential. Manual better than auto.

 

[indie999]

Thats when I wish I had a good 4x4! I miss the car but I do have a quad bike but its blooming cold on it...but its worth its weight in gold when we had the snow last year, I could ferry hay/water etc, just flick it to 4x4 and off I go!

Trouble is for most of the year a 4x4 is not needed in the UK. 7 miles is along way to walk though, I would try to make sure the owner or nearer person could do the horse when its really bad. I think Fiat do a 4x4 and Mini(but they are pricey too)??

Agree its the tyres we have that are more the problem no grip etc.

Hope its not as bad as last year..brrr

 

[cm2581]

I drive. And when I get stuck, I use my shovel, broom, salt and mats to get myself unstuck. Well I did, I got a bit sick of that so now I have a 4x4! Bet we don't get any significant snow ever again!!! I also moved my horses much closer to home and would give very careful consideration to having them more than a few miles from home ever again unless they were on very reliable full livery.

 

[FionaM12]

I dread it. I've only been a horse-owner since June.

I'm terrified of driving in the snow (had a nasty accident in it once) and have a tiny Smartcar automatic. I also live on a steep hill.

I have bad asthma so may not be able to just get my wellies on and walk instead.

I guess like everything else I do in life, I'll just wing it and get through it somehow. Now I'll distract myself and think about something else......

 

[rhino]

Will look into the winter tyres though as that may at least mean I can use the car, has anyone used snow chains? can you put them on the car yourself or do you have to go to a mechanic (sorry useless I know!)

I have snow chains and autosocks; both are really easy to put on (by yourself) and were invaluable last year, along with Yaktrax for your boots!

 

[FionaM12]

I have snow chains and autosocks; both are really easy to put on (by yourself) and were invaluable last year, along with Yaktrax for your boots!

Will they go on a Smartcar?

 

[rhino]

Will they go on a Smartcar?

Yes. Actually I was told today that LIDL have snow chains for £20 at the moment which is pretty good.

 

[Arizahn]

It's an hours drive to the yard for us. Luckily, the YO will step in if people can't make it there. She charges £4 per day extra for emergency full livery and is very good with all of the horses.

 

[Fools Motto]

I would have a 2mile walk to work, and about the same distance to my horses if it is really bad this winter. BUT, I have the huge bonus that the horses are now on the farm which is run by family, so if I can't make it, they would be happy to feed, hay and water for me. (horses living out). I really can't complain.
I have a big car, which is actually rubbish in the snow, my old smaller peugeot was far better! I don't live on a hill this year, and I know I won't get stuck in at home for 6 days like this time last year - it won't happen, I know it!!

 

[Shooting Star]

I have snow chains and autosocks; both are really easy to put on (by yourself) and were invaluable last year, along with Yaktrax for your boots!

I second the autosocks, wish I had some. They rescued my mum's fiesta nicely many times last year as she lives at the bottom of a long sloping road.

Not having any though I just drove as close as I could to the farm and walked the rest - whilst wearing my hi-viz to make sure that anything else mad enough to be on the road saw me.

Highlight of the winter had to be walking the last 1/2 mile to the farm because the road was just too lethal then having to crawl on hands & knees up the drive to the gate because it was so icy I couldn't walk up it ... the CCTV footage from the gate camera must have been a treat!!

 

[Rose Folly]

Agree with Be Positive. My horse is kept at home, with 2-3 liveries. All live out 24/7 but with a stable yard and two open access barns.I never expect my liveries to come over if the weather is bad - we're right in the bottom of a Somerset combe and we're cut off easily by both snow and flooding.

Last winter I did the 4 horses on my own for a month. My gallant Passat Estate got me everywhere I needed to go for horse food, and a friend of my son's brought me over a big bale of haylage in his twin cab when I nearly ran out. The two farmers in the village are so helpful as well with their tractors, so all in all I'm not too worried about this winter. Just try to think ahead - and pray that the horses stay healthy. Main worry would be a vet not being able to get through.

 

[Rose Folly]

Would be interesting to her from people with REAL snow on this one - Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, USA etc. Are we all just making a huge fuss here in the UK?

 

[Enfys]

We drive, life goes on as normal, the County depot is just along the road from us, our roads always get plowed first.

If you can get winter tyres -do so, I think it may lower your insurance as well.

If you are really stuck can you not offer to pay the YO to do your horse for you, just on the days it really is too bad? I know from experience how hard it is with a young child with you.

Perhaps it won't be as bad as last winter.

 

[Enfys]

Would be interesting to her from people with REAL snow on this one - Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, USA etc. Are we all just making a huge fuss here in the UK?

Well, actually parts of the UK had way more snow than we did last year! Which I was really peed off about as I absolutely adore the snow and it makes very little difference to me.

I have the horses at home, we also have a tractor with a plow, the quad has a plow, I feed round bales and have heated water troughs.

Winter tyres are normal, roads are plowed all the time, the plows are on the roads 24/7, rock salt is cheap and readily available at many stores. Winter is playtime, people fish, ski, snowmobile, ride, play hockey on ponds and lakes, skate, we just dress in a lot more layers that's all.

Life goes on as normal, it has to, the weather is going to happen whether anyone likes it or not. We just dress in a lot more layers that's all.

 

[Enfys]

Are we all just making a huge fuss here in the UK?[/

Well, before I moved somewhere where snow (the nice dry sort, not the damp, slushy muck) is normal and therefore everything is set up for coldish weather, I would be back in the UK making a fuss too, not at the snow, but at the powers that be and the lack of preparation. The keyword is normal if you are used to it, winter, and all that goes with it just happens and you get on with it, no big deal.

What's with all the dumb panic buying FGS?! That used to drive me nuts, bread and milk - gone! A little bit of forethought saves all that fuss, stock up (hey, bread and milk freeze too) if there is a risk of getting snowbound.

I do understand that the expense of having fleets of snowplows standing idle may be why there aren't sufficient to go round etc, but plows can actually be put on ordinary trucks - and the salt shortage, that's just lack of preparation. We don't have public grit bins as you do in the UK, we expect (and are taxed handsomely for it) our roads to be plowed and sprayed, and if you live in a really isolated area you fit a plow to your vehicle and plow your laneway/road yourself, and everyone carries salt and the usual stuff in their vehicles.

My daughter used to be sent home from school if it was a little bit cold, and they weren't allowed to play in the school yard, or throw snowballs, or run or anything - H&S gone stark, staring nuts. Here, schools operate at -30C, same as anything else, kids dress up and go out and play - in the snow, on the ice

 

[Enfys]

Are we all just making a huge fuss here in the UK?

and as you ask, referring to horses... YES!

Grit your yards, throw your bedding out on the yard - so what if it makes a mess it will clean up, throw your horses out too if you have to. Use an all weather area, or a sacrifice paddock, even better, put them on a field with grass in it, the footing is better, they have something to dig for and hey! fields recover, they are good like that.

Horses aren't stupid, they know snow is slippery and they cope with it. It is the ones that are kept indoors that go nuts, fall over and hurt themselves. the only time I wouldn't risk horses out is if poached paddocks have frozen, rutted mud is lethal.

Mine live out all the time, they know what snow and ice is, they tippy toe across frozen ground, and test the ice to see if it is safe to walk on, one of their favourite sheltering spots is on a frozen pond. I don't just have natives, I have thoroughbreds and arabs living out too - they know the score, and if they don't, they learn pdq.

 

[blood_magik]

we have a 4x4 so we can get about - it was a life saver in 2009 when my parent's rental car couldn't get out the drive - they live at the bottom of a hill and because it's a private estate it doesn't get gritted

 

[dumpling]

Believe it or not my Clio is very good in the snow. Tbh I think it depends on the driver! I remember driving last year into the city centre. The roads were dead as no one wanted to go out. I passed one woman stuck at lights revving her engine up and just digging herself deeper and deeper. Honestly apply sone common sense! I made it there and back in one piece and the shopping centre was great as it was so quiet!

Country roads are fine too. The only the that stopped me one day last year was part of the road changed councils and hadn't been gritted so it had tyre tracks but the bit in the middle kept rising and it was just too high to drive over it. Got oh 4x4 that day.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I dread it. I've only been a horse-owner since June.

I'm terrified of driving in the snow (had a nasty accident in it once) and have a tiny Smartcar automatic. I also live on a steep hill.

Fiona - dont worry about your smart coping.
Mine cheerfully ploughed through virgin snow of a foot deep one morning - and thereafter tootled along cheerfully on the packed snow for the next 2 to 3 weeks.
If you take your time, dont panic, its a brilliant car for snow driving as its light & also got a narrowed wheelbase than most other cars so you can find grip.
If it does snow, then put your car at the bottom of the hill as soon as you can, as this will make it easier to pull away, otherwise just take care - you WILL be fine

 

[OldNag]

This has worried me since I have a hilly country road drive to my yard. This year I've fitted winter tyres. I had been considering swapping to a 4x4 but I have a lot of driving to do for my business so economy has to be considered. A normal car fitted with winter tyres will cope better than a 4 x 4 with summer tyres, so I reckoned this was my best bet. There's some useful info about this here http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/parts-and-accessories/2010-11/winter-tyres/

Agree about the panic buying, what gets into people?

 

[Alfiem]

Isuzu Trooper!