Is there any evidence trotting, or working a horse?
December 27th, 2009 | by drafthorse |
teenytiny asked:
on cement or pavement is bad for them? It seems it should not be bad if it’s not all the time, but I see people warming others against it in general, but haven’t horses always been breed to have good legs and sound feet for road work before cars were even invented? I’ve seen old draft horses still worked in cities well into old age. Of course galloping a horse for miles on pavement might be bad, but what about trotting or other slower gates?
draft horse pull
on cement or pavement is bad for them? It seems it should not be bad if it’s not all the time, but I see people warming others against it in general, but haven’t horses always been breed to have good legs and sound feet for road work before cars were even invented? I’ve seen old draft horses still worked in cities well into old age. Of course galloping a horse for miles on pavement might be bad, but what about trotting or other slower gates?
draft horse pull
21 Responses to “Is there any evidence trotting, or working a horse?”
By dressage.rider on Dec 27, 2009 | Reply
Before the auto there were no paved streets! Constant work on pavement and cement can cause stress fractures, sprains, damage to joints and arthritis at an early age.
By Steph P on Dec 27, 2009 | Reply
Just a response to the person who answered first.. there were cobble stone roads which were worse.. light work on pavement for short periods of time should be fine
By Zelda Hunter on Dec 29, 2009 | Reply
Horses with shoes can go onto pavement or concrete. No shoes - then forget about it.
By fireflyy_101 on Dec 31, 2009 | Reply
It wears out their joints and can cause stress fractures because of increased impact. There is no “give” to pavement like there is on dirt or other surfaces. Many times horses that were used to pull in cities were rotated so they weren’t worked on the hard surfaces everyday. A horse that is on pavement everyday, even at just a walk and trot, will have issues with their legs faster.
By HunterJumper♥ on Jan 2, 2010 | Reply
its not the best for their legs, and causes pain in the joints.
its just like this…
would you rather run on the hard sidewalk or on a soft track.
even if you may answer the sidewalk, horses dont get to choose.
if it si mandatory the trot on the hard ground then i would take special care of their legs afterwards. Ice them and bandage them. and of course talk to your vet.
By Lusitano on Jan 4, 2010 | Reply
No paved roads in the old days!! Have you tried running on pavement in bare feet or hard soled shoes? Take it from someone who destroyed her knees running on pavement with combat boots on, it’s not comfy.
Impact on hard surfaces can cause much leg damage and induce early arthritis and navicular problems. Plastic shoes or hoof boots help. At least steel shoes protect the hoof wear, though the impact between metal and pavement can still damage the hoof wall. . But metal shoes also act like ice skates unless they’re studded.
We all must cross or ride down rodes all of the time, but it’s better to walk. Never gallop and avoid the trot!
When I was a kid, I was walking a horse on a curve in the road and his metal shoes just slipped from under him, all 4. He fell and I jumped free. How many others have had this happen, despite leg injuries?!
It would be interesting to hear from the driving folks on this. They often have no choices but roads! Are their special pads or shoes that help prevent injuries or slipping?
By Rachel on Jan 7, 2010 | Reply
well yah its a little bad for them, but its no big deal if your only doing the slower gaits with it. honestly im no saftey freak with my horses and if i could only ride on cement i pbly would. walking is FINE!! someone only says that if they have OCD or something, or if they are wayyyyy to overprocective of their horses. and u do c ppl in NYC on horses and those streets are paved, it is no big deal
By maggie b on Jan 8, 2010 | Reply
Keep in mind that riding on pavement is very dangerous if your horse is shod, they can slip easily. I would advice against it, unless necessary and then take precautions to protect your horses legs and hooves.
By lisa m on Jan 11, 2010 | Reply
Personally I think it’s a load of tosh. All polo ponies, hunters and racehorses in the UK are fitted with 6 to 8 weeks of road work, we would trot everywhere for miles every day. We never went any faster than a trot and we never had anything pull up lame with problems.
There’s a general feeling in the US that road work is bad but in the UK where land is more limited, you take full advantage of doing roadwork. The horses also seem to enjoy getting out and about, stops them getting stale and it’s also handy for if they go onto another career. They are usually pretty bomb proof on the roads, even yearlings and that’s a big plus.
By fillyba on Jan 13, 2010 | Reply
Police horses who do work on pavement every day are often shod with a rubber gasket between their hooves and the horses shoe. This rubber layer absorbs some of the impact to the leg from the hard surface.
By nwcowgirl024 on Jan 16, 2010 | Reply
well some people jump off bridges to thier death. or some people run ******* races….ect. that doesnt mean it is correct. i think they are looking for evidence here in this question, not opinion. from what i have seen, my horse developed “wind puffs” as i call them from being worked heavy at a trot and lope on gravel rodes. so i would say yes im sure there is evidence that it causes problems, wear and tear wise anyways.if anything hard is banged together it is going to break down. for how large horses are, they are rather fragile animals. im sure a horse that is ridden on a road at a walk, as a police horse and mildly trotted and loped, for nead be purpose is ok, but that doesnt mean that horse will not break down in the future. you never know, horses, like people break down from all sorts of stuff. barrel horses and rodeo and race horses break down and they run on dirt. anything can be overdone.
By Stripey Cat on Jan 16, 2010 | Reply
Look, things were different in the “Old Days”. Yes some streets were cobbled but you’d also see dead and dieing horses in the street. Children worked in mills and went up chimney’s to clean them - you were lucky to live to 35, and see two out of six babies make it to adulthood!
Joints wear out so take care of them. You can do some trot work on the roads but with caution. Generally trotting up hill is better because there is less weight on the front legs, so less percussion on the small bones and joints in the foot. The back legs push forward, so don’t take the same punishment. Just take care with your horse and try to understand the bio-mechanics of his body. he will be fitter and healthier for longer, if you don’t hammer him. he isn’t a machine but flesh and bone.
If I didn’t ride on the road here, I would never ride, so I do lots of road work. Shoes are fine and so is a little trot but just think about the impact, and choose where you do it.
I have done lots of work getting my horses fit by using roads but I am always conscious of what is happening under the skin an the long term health of my horses.
By AmandaL on Jan 18, 2010 | Reply
The problem is impact and stress on the joints & feet.
Pavement, and other hard surfaces, and even rocky roads, are extremely hard on their feet. They can break the hoof wall down, cause sole bruises, abcesses, lameness - and that’s in a healthy horse with no joint problems! Start talking about horses that already have arthtritic issue, bone spurs, old fractures, current chips, etc… and riding on pavement is a soundness death sentence for sure.
Shoes and pads are used to absorb the shock of impact while working, and thicker pads can be put on a horse expecting to go on hard roads all the time.
But you are correct, asker - draft horses still work in the cities, and are very lucky to see soft ground while they’re working long hard days. (I have personally seen several city carriage horses working the streets clearly lame). The Amish still use horses as sole transportation, and they are driven in the streets for many long hours (and have & develop serious leg & joint issues because of it and the lack of modern medicine). And many many many trails require roadside visits to get from one point to another.
Sometimes, there’s nothing nicer than riding (or driving) your horse down a quiet country road. Both myself & my husband do that whenever we can - we’re lucky to have a quiet country (paved) road just across from our barn.
When you consider the difference between working a horse at a walk/ trot for 4-5 hours a day, like city carraige horses, or Amish horses do, versus riding a horse on a road for an hour or so at all 3 gaits, it’s kind of hard to draw that line.
One day, while I was cleaning the barn where I used to live, I heard horse feet on the paved road down the drive - fast fast horse feet. 2 very young girls, having a good time, were riding their horses through the equestrian subdivision’s streets - galloping - racing. I looked up just in time to see one horse stumble and what could have only been the sound of a shoe coming loose. Turned out the shoe actually broke in half! They brought the horse up to me and I was able to remove the other half, and they walked their limping horse back home, with much “discussion” on my part.
I knew another 1st time horse owner who took her new 5 year old out on the road for 3 hours barefoot and walked & trotted. The next day, it was severely lame. Irresponsible riding.
That kind of riding is never good. Horses ridden hard on hard surfaces can get what is called “road founder”, where they develop laminitis because of the impact of the hard ground. Horses can go lame from too much road riding too hard with feet that aren’t maintained or joint issues that need attention.
Unfortunately, no horse can be bred for sound feet & good legs for 100% certain. It is our responsibility to maintain the horses as best we can - shoes, pads, and reasonable, responsible riding are the steps we can take to keeping sound horses.
I don’t think there’s any one clear answer to deciding about horses going on pavement/hard ground. It is very much something based on each horse’s needs and expectations.
By amanda ♥ on Jan 19, 2010 | Reply
for extendene periods of tiem it can lead to very serious problems, such as joint or bone fractures and other problems. there is also something that is kind of like carpal tunnel syndrome for people. But if you only go for a little while, then I do not see whats wrong with it =]]
By Bobbi on Jan 21, 2010 | Reply
Anyone ready for some “first hand evidence” or are you all content to hear a lot of unfounded opinions? #1. People now a days pay a lot of money for the horses that they use on the streets, they don’t deliberately do things that will lose them money or their horses…in the first place, most horses on the street are wearing pads between their feet and their shoes, either neopreme or leather pads…this not only protects them from the stress, but the temperature of the road/street as well…hmmm, no one thought of that, huh? #2. Many if not most of the horses that are working on the street today are also wearing borium or drill tech on their shoes, which keeps them from slipping or falling. Anyone liscensed to work on the street is subject to inspection at a moment’s notice, even if some know it all who doesn’t know it all, calls and complains about the treatment the horses are receiving…if they aren’t horsemen, they are clueless anyway. If you want to have a serious concern about the welfare of the horses on the street, think about the exhaust, it kills their lungs if they are working bumper to bumper, close up with motor vehicles…hmmmm. didn’t think of that either? Oh, and yes, they can’t go over a slow trot, even through stoplights and at any inter sections.
EDIT****** I noticed that a couple of you answered my question about whether you wanted facts and evidence or just opinions…the thumbs down answered that question. NWCowgirl****I’m curious, who raced your horse down the gravel road? The last time I checked, wind puffs were a cosmetic issue, not a functional one.
Do you not think that ordinances demand that horses are rotated and restricted to a certain number of hours per day, days per week? They are not out there doing anything but a walk or a slow trot, traffic dictates that by itself, besides, no one canters a horse while driving, NO ONE. They have to be vetted often to even be listed to drive on the street.
I hear the same moaning about the rough stock that are used in rodeos. How bad they have it. Some contractors pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for just one bull, do you think that they are going to do anything that is going to make their investment worth less? They work, at the longest, 8 seconds a night, on weekends…are pampered and watched over like rock stars…I agree, if certain precautions are not taken and rules made and followed, the situation can get out of hand.
By Jeff Sadler on Jan 22, 2010 | Reply
Most defintitely! Two reasons
1. the pounding damages the articular cartilage in the joints leading to premature arthritis.
2. The hard surface is very slick to a horse, especially if they have shoes (other than hard surface shoes). This makes it much more likely for the horse to fall.
I have had horses fall three times on asphalt. Twice because they decided to turn suddenly and run onto the highway, and once because a horse spooked at its reflection in a plate glass door. The first time the horse fell and I simply pulled up my legs and stayed on the horse when she got back up. She didn’t stay down long enough to do anything else. The second time The horse was running full out and slipped and fell as I was trying to make sure no cars were going to hit either of us and we slid across the highway. I broke my wrist then. The third time it happened was one of the few times I wore tennis shoes riding (I knew better but thought that I wasn’t riding far enough for there to be trouble) She was walking around a corner and was acting squirrelly. I was almost home (120 yards to go). As she rounded the corner she saw her reflection move and slipped when she jumped. I simply got out of the saddle and stood up. Unfortunately my shoes were caught in the stirrups and when she got up…Well my feet came out from under me and she started walking home. Luckily she only walked until my feet came out. She still skinned up my hands but I was alright other than that.
Morale…Keep horses slow and steady on hard surfaces. And always wear riding shoes or boots!
By Debi on Jan 23, 2010 | Reply
Lots of heavy roadwork (prolonged trotting ) can cause concussion injuries such as micro fractures and splints and can also be a contributing factor to laminitis. ( Rabid joggers get concussion damage too - nobody was actually designed to run on roads, roads were designed to suit cars)
But that is prolonged roadwork without shock absorbing pads which are now common.
I’m in the UK and, as has already been stated, we don’t get a lot of choice - to get anywhere we have to use the roads.
By christopher p on Jan 26, 2010 | Reply
young horses and old horses definetly not. it’s not smart to work out on the road all the time but sometimes ok. the long trot is the toughest on horses legs. i would suggest slow trotting and stopping slowly because the shoes make it very slick and they could pull a muscle.
By cowboy on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply
if it’s occasionally as you say it shouldn’t hurt but anyone doing it would be advised to run a hand along the legs to check for warm/hot spots.I worked cattle along tarred roads and have had the odd reason to hand gallop an unshod horse along the road.We didn’t explode or pull up lame or anything nasty,just I wouldn’t do it every day is not on the same horse anyhow
By mr j on Jan 27, 2010 | Reply
i’ve never had any experience with it, but i know a guy that used to trot his horses on the road instead of trimming thier hooves. he never had any ill efects on his horses.
By Stardust on Jan 28, 2010 | Reply
Sorry, wouldn’t go near pavement … for one reason, slick metal shoes. Some horses have toe grabs and heel calks(traction) but I’d still stay the heck away from pavement. You’ll see people jogging on pavement, the orthopedic docs love it for the ruined knees it brings them and the money they earn from corrective knee surgeries.
For those who “work’ on pavement…let me count the blemishes on your horses legs. Multiple splints and high ring bone you say?????