Would you hack if at all icy/snowy on country lanes?

benson21 said:
NO, its not meant like that, maybe I worded it wrong, reading it back.
What I should of said was, if you dont like people disagreeing with you, or your choices,then dont put the posts on.
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But thats the joy of a democracy!

You have the right to state what you feel!

However....

There ARE people who cannot cope with that, and do not know when to accept others points of view...;)
 
did you not know there are 2 opinions.......mine, and the wrong one!:rolleyes:;):rolleyes:


But in seriousness, yes I have disagreed twice with posts put up by starbucks, I dont see that as us not getting on, just 2 different points of view. If anyone else had put the posts up, I still would of disagreed, no matter who they are.
Sorry Starbucks, having this conversation without you here is not right I know, and I do hope that we can still have discussions between us without bad feeling.
 
i rode out yesterday. the car park at the yard was a bit slippy but the roads were ok- there was some slush on the verges and a teensy bit in the middle of the road in one place (but i had checked on my way up in the car that it was slush rather than ice)
my horse is really well behaved when hacking so knew i'd be fine- the main danger (as always) was speeding cars- not because they might skid on the ice, but simply because they were passing too close and too fast

i think that you have to make your own decisions and stick by them. there really are some sanctimonios (sp?) people on here who clearly never do anything wrong. yes we all make choices on what to do and people will differ in opinion- it doesn't mean that anyone is intentionally trying to hurt their horse- i don't think anyone (i hope) on here would do that
 
I took my 2 boys out yesterday. We've managed to clear most of the ice from the yard (it was still there in places where we had piled it up). The bridlepath had little bits of snow on them but was ok. We were mainly on the roads which were fine but with ice/mush on the very edge. If traffic came then we moved from the middle of the road onto the verge to let it pass.

Only sticky point was when my daft TB decided that snowmen were scary!!

We even managed a couple of short trots on the straight bits of road with no traffic and were out for about an hour.
 
benson21 said:
Dragonslayer, I see your point completely, if you feel you are doing the right thing, then go ahead and do it.
BUt then, I cant really see the point of putting it on here for a discussion, when you know some are going to disagree with you.
I have come back to my computer this morning to see there were comments over my view, and I think its such a shame that Starbucks thinks I am not a nice person, because I have disagreed with what she choose to do. As I said in my first reply to this thread, each to their own.
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Benson, I do not think you are not a nice person, you could be great as far as I’m concerned, your just not one of my favourite HHOers. Not because you’ve disagreed with me, but the way you’ve come across to ME has not been great. Doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to comment on my posts, people can say what they want to me as I can also say what I want back to them! I have no problem, hope no one else does, not everyone has to like each other on HHO!
 
well i'm with you starbucks. I didnt ride out on the days when the road was covered with ice and I was going to try a short stretch when it snowed as she has plenty of grip walking on snow covered ice but then 2 cars crashed on the bit I was going to try so waited a bit longer. Luckily our YO went out and gritted all the back lanes so I went out the next couple of days and some of the roads were still icy at the sides and in the middle - I jut made sure I got right out of the way if I saw a car coming.

Not sure if I would risk it again but it was alright!
 
I don't hack anyway but if I did, I definately wouldn't hack out on icy / snowy roads. Having seen so many cars sliding about this winter I hate the thought of one of those cars sliding into my horse. No thanks.
 
no fear. Our lane is one car width and has water running down it even in summer the last few days have been walking only for me(I usually bike down) I have an absolute horror of a horse going over on the ice, even if we could get down the drive. The Downs will be off limits too for awhile as the chalk is also like ice as well. Today we have rain.
 
I did several years ago. It wasn't too bad, we even had a canter over some wasteland and it was fine. We were headed for a pub and once we got on the lane, she started messing about, stepped on an ice patch and fell on me. I was due major spinal surgery but couldn't have it with my foot in a cast. I had a limp for over 2 years. My foot is a size smaller than the other because all the bones got crushed, so now finding shoes is a nightmare.

But i'm just so thankful it was only me that got hurt and not the horse. I was a stupid teenager and there's not been a day in the last 6 years since it happened that i've not thoguht about it. That was the last time i ever rode that horse( it was a share). But it could have been a LOT worse, i was very lucky really.

So no. I wouldn't.
 
DragonSlayer said:
Yes, things have changed BUT what chaffs me is when you arent seemingly allowed to make your own choice these days without someone chipping in with their opinion, like the OP got. Too many people think they have the right to 'give their opinion' to someone even if it's not asked for. And I am not talking about 'It's a forum, I have the right to give it!', I am talking about the people you deal with in real life, on a day to day basis.
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In this case though, the OP actually asked a question which means the opinions given are justified. Would be a boring post if people just said "yes" or "no" in response :p People have been giving the reasons for their decisions.

I personally wouldn't hack out in the ice/snow but I'm generally one of life's cautious people and always think "what if...." Plus I have no horse so would look a bit odd ;)
 
Queenbee87 said:
In this case though, the OP actually asked a question which means the opinions given are justified. Would be a boring post if people just said "yes" or "no" in response :p People have been giving the reasons for their decisions.

I personally wouldn't hack out in the ice/snow but I'm generally one of life's cautious people and always think "what if...." Plus I have no horse so would look a bit odd ;)
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OP asked the question of US, I was referring to those who thought she was a loon on her own yard, I bet she didn't ask them their opinion! :D

Well, if you have no horse, get out your skates and skate about! :D
 
I can't understand the fuss! I've ridden nearly every day through all the snow and ice, no slips, not one. My nextdoor neighbour has also ridden all of hers and no accidents. In the 'olden' days when horses were used for transport, they had to keep riding in such conditions. I think folk today are too nervous to 'risk' it. Our hunt goes out in it, so why not hack? I will get shot down for saying this but it is my opinion and nothing bad has ever, ever happened to me, my horses (and pony) from riding in snow and ice.
 
hessy12 said:
I can't understand the fuss! I've ridden nearly every day through all the snow and ice, no slips, not one. My nextdoor neighbour has also ridden all of hers and no accidents. In the 'olden' days when horses were used for transport, they had to keep riding in such conditions. I think folk today are too nervous to 'risk' it. Our hunt goes out in it, so why not hack? I will get shot down for saying this but it is my opinion and nothing bad has ever, ever happened to me, my horses (and pony) from riding in snow and ice.
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No shooting here! Good for you, glad you getting out and about. :D
 
Personally I dont think its worth the risk. I dont really like hacking on the roads in the best of weather!

The lanes around by us have all been covered in compacted snow and I've had difficulty controlling even my 4x4 in this weather. There are far too many stupid drivers out there who drive far too fast and I just couldn't bear the thought of seeing a car coming towards me knowing there was nothing I could do.

I will wait until the weekend to go out hacking, it should all be melted by then and my lad will have been back in work so less likely to be over excited :D
 
Personally I would wait until the lanes were clear ie no strip of snow up the middle and somewhere to stand on the verge so's you can let cars by. It's all well and good being able to thread your horse along a narrow strip of tarmac but cars can't do that and still skid even at low speed.
 
I wouldn't risk it at all, cause like some people have said, there is always the risk of ice you cannot see. I'd rather be boring and safe than sorry :)
 
I do think there's a difference between riding across a field or track that has fluffy snow on it and icy roads. I've done the former all through the snow but stayed off the roads.
 
Many years ago when we were not all so risk averse and the roads were less busy I was hacking out with a friend after the snow had mostly gone.

The horses were fine but what was very scary was the car behind us that lost control and crashed into the hedge about 20 metres behind us.
 
having had the vet out this morning for my boy who appears to have slipped whilst walking out to the field (bearing in mind most of our snow has gone now just the odd icy patches that you cant always see !) there is no chance i would go out on icy roads.

to me its an extra risk im just not prepared to take. fluffy white snow in fields - no problem.

the main risk on the roads from my point of view is not necessarily the horse slipping but the speedy driver that comes hacking round a bend, hits the brakes, and whereas he would normally come to a screaching stop next to you, he hits a patch of ice and your not so lucky !!!
 
I have turned out my horses every day in this and yes I would have ridden today if I wasn't being a parent! If I want to hunt, and I don't have a school, its hack out or don't go hunting. I go across country as much as possible and wouldn't ride on ice but would ride next to it.
 
hessy12 said:
I can't understand the fuss! I've ridden nearly every day through all the snow and ice, no slips, not one. My nextdoor neighbour has also ridden all of hers and no accidents. In the 'olden' days when horses were used for transport, they had to keep riding in such conditions. I think folk today are too nervous to 'risk' it. Our hunt goes out in it, so why not hack? I will get shot down for saying this but it is my opinion and nothing bad has ever, ever happened to me, my horses (and pony) from riding in snow and ice.
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In the 'olden' days, the roads weren't tarmac and there weren't cars whizzing about at great speeds compacting the snowing and posing a threat.

In the main though, I do agree with you - they are horses, not made of glass.

I wouldn't ride on an icy road, because I'd be scared of slipping. If it was slushy though, or dry with just the odd icy patch then I probably would - though I'd go offroad if I could help it.
 
No, I went last weekend and only because I thought it was clear and all melted but got caught out in a few places, I was quite surprised, my horse was ok but the other slipped in a few places when spooking, that black ice can catch you out, people talk about breaking legs etc, but even an un expected slip can cause muscle damage if your horse isn't warmed up or not been out for a while, not worth the risk.
 
DragonSlayer said:
OP asked the question of US, I was referring to those who thought she was a loon on her own yard, I bet she didn't ask them their opinion! :D

Well, if you have no horse, get out your skates and skate about! :D
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Ah, I must have been having a blonde moment!

I would also look stupid getting my skates on- we have no ice left round here! :eek: Just mud now :(
 
I think we need to remember that its not just about us and our horses, we have a duty of care to other road users and we need to remember that when riding on the road, i wouldnt like to be responsible for any accident whether it be mine or someone elses
 
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