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| Joined: | Sat Aug 15th, 2009 |
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This is a great thread that seems to have never come up before. I have done a lot of road riding both gravel and now mostly paved. Cars go faster on the paved roads, but we are in Amish country so they are used to seeing horses.I could not agree more. We have been doing more road riding lately and are absolutely loving it. I do not have borium on the front because I have not found the need for it. I spend about 1/2 of the time on the side of the road on the grass, and some more time on gravel so really, we probably spend about 1/4 +/- time on asphalt. But I am loving it! I've never been able to gait so much because our trails are simply too narrow/uphill/downhill/rocky etc to really get into anything worth writing home about.
If you're going to do much paved riding at all, you should either go barefoot, use boots, or if shoeing I highly suggest having borium on the front shoes only for your safety. A horse can go down really easy with plain shoes all around. Leaving the hind shoes plain allows the foot to slide into position and not grab when the heels hit which stresses the leg. (Less of an issue with the front feet.) Unless you are speed racking (a lot), you aren't gonna have an issue with road founder IMO. You will have better grip on the pavement in warm weather. When it cools down in the fall it gets a lot slicker even if your horse is barefoot.
As for horses shying, sometimes if you keep them gaiting at a pretty good speed they are past the thing before they have a chance to fully spook. (Like plastic bags and mail boxes or garbage cans.) You can get your horse more fully trained when you road ride since you go past things like buggies, horse drawn farm wagons, weed wackers, cyclists, dump trucks,etc. We also have the oppurtunity to go to town and tie up at hitching rails at many of the businesses.
I would advise to always ride on the right side of the road ('with' the traffic). If a fast moving truck is going to spook your horse, he always handles it better when it comes from behind than if it's coming right at him.
I've ridden 6 times in the last two weeks - none of it on the trails that I normally frequent. We are experiencing a lot more noise and distractions of course. In order for me to get to some of the gravel roads, I have to cross over HWY 87 and then under a railroad trestle which is very, very low, dark and scary for a horse. Then of course there are all the barking dogs who bolt out of nowhere, the screaming kids, blowing trash etc. It's just been a really great experience and we're both having a great time. Keeping him in a purposeful gait when I can tell he's concerned helps a LOT.
T.
T.
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My pony knows all my secrets. I braid my tears in his mane and whisper my dreams in his ears.