On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:38:42 -0500, you wrote: >Really...? Can YOUR car feel pain from arthritis? Does your horse have >WHEELS that roll on ice, or bones/joints/muscles that take the brunt of >concussions? Hard and slippery surfaces are known risk factors for bone >spavin, and considering that this breed is known for that disorder, I don't >think you can say it's harmless.
I don't think a few minutes on ice now and again will harm a horse - an awful lot of horses in Iceland, Scandinavia, and (I assume) cold bits of North America are ridden out in icy conditions. Not on ice all the time, but in places where they may be on frozen puddles, or cross frozen streams, or go on icy roads. I don't think that will harm the horse any more than riding him on (non-frozen) asphalt roads. Now, competing on ice as in the Horses on Ice shows? I don't know. I think if you (as in a well-balanced rider) ride a fit horse in one or two ice shows, it's not going to hurt the horse. If you ride a not-fit horse every day for a month in competitions on ice, then it's a very different matter. My personal feeling is that it's not the surface per se that will damage the horse - it's probably slightly softer than some natural surfaces like rock, or tarmac roads etc - but the torque on the joints caused by the lack of studded shoes ability to slip at all. I wonder how the torque would compare with, say, showjumpers ridden on grass with very long grass studs? I suppose at least in an ice competition the horses are going just in more or less straight lines, with long, easy corners, unlike showjumpers or eventers who have to make very tight turns (and jump, of course!). Judy, have there been any studies done on that? Mic Mic (Michelle) Rushen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs: www.solva-icelandics.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes"
