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Discussion on Horse slipping on pavement
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Member:
Jflaxman
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2002 - 12:04 pm:
I recently moved my horse, and we now have to go on a hilly paved road to get to any trails or fields to ride. He has started to slip on the pavement going up hills (he seems to have trouble gaining a grip) and down (his hind feet slide right out from under him at times). He's 26 years old, and I really don't want to risk a fall. I've tried keeping him barefoot, but his feet break up and he's very tender on gravel. I think year-round borium might be hard on his legs, although with his age, all we really do is hack around anyway. I'd love to hear your suggestions!
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2002 - 12:16 pm:
I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions, but I have the same problem with my guy. He slips going downhill on paved/gravelly road with his hind legs spreading as well as sliding a bit with his front legs. He's got 4 shoes on (low heels). I would be very interested in any suggestions! I know that it's just a bit scary to see a 1200 lb. animal sliding beside or underneath you! (;)
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 25, 2002 - 12:54 pm:
I was recently visiting St Louis and stopped a mounted officer, a park ranger for the St Louis Arch, who rides on asphalt all day on her city beat--I was curious to know what she had on her TWH's shoes that kept him from slipping. She told me that there is something called "bar tack" (don't hold me to this spelling, I'm just guessing) on the shoes that helps him keep from slipping and gives a good grip. A quick internet search turns up bar tack in many places, from skateboarding to rockclimbing, to reinforcing stress points on garments. I don't have any idea what this stuff is, but it works for the St Louis national park service horses! Maybe give them a call, or contact any city where police horses are used.......?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 8:50 am:
I am not familiar with hard tack and would love to know more about it. This is a very serious problem and many have been seriously hurt, and I know of one death, with horses having their front feet slip forward on pavement. Borium would be my first recommendation and you could try just putting a few granules across the toe to decrease the stress on the legs. This does not "plant" the foot like having it at the toes and heels of the shoe. Usually clips are recommended when borium is applied.
DrO
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Member:
Skye
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 10:20 am:
Maybe it's the rough, sticky, sandpapery like stuff used on the tops of skateboards to give the boarders a good grip? You could call a skateboarding retailer and ask?
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 12:42 pm:
I spoke with the my counties mounted police division and his unit uses one of the following:
1. an easyboot.
2. they use special shoes called "Olov" that are aluminum covered with rubber. He did not recommend using these unless you are only riding on pavement. Your horse could slip in these shoes while on dirt, grass or any vegetation.
3. Borium - which is a metal welded to the shoe, as you had suggested Dr. O.
He had not heard of the bar or hard tack.
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Member:
Sefiroth
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 1:00 pm:
Terri,
I work with the St. Louis carriage horses. The Park rangers stable their horses with our big guys. I can ask one of the rangers for a further clarification. I had thought they used borium welded to the shoe the same as our carriage horses, but I cant say I looked too closely. The drafts get two spots of borium welded to the toe and one spot on each heel. If a certain horse has more of a tendency to slip (such as Cheval, our big black one)he'll get an extra bit in a thin line along the out side edge of the shoe along the quarters of the hoof.
Let me guess, the horse was a dark chocolate in color and his name was Prince William? 
~Sharon
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 1:46 pm:
I also found a website for mounted police and their response was:
"most police depts use a 3 pt. drill tac system -- acts like cleats."
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Member:
Dartanyn
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 26, 2002 - 5:21 pm:
Maybe you've already looked at this, but if not: review The Farrier and Hoofcare Resource Center that is linked to HA. Do a Entire Site Search on "Riding on Pavement" it should bring up items like Borium. Drill Tek, Sneakers, etc., that might help you come up with some options open to you. Hope this helps! Dawn
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Friday, Sep 27, 2002 - 11:22 am:
Hey Sharon, that's pretty neat! Yes, I'm sure that was the horse. My boyfriend and I had stopped this very nice young woman right outside the carriage house as she was coming in for the day. We had just come off the exit and were looking for a place to eat and thought we'd ask for a recommendation in Lacledes Landing...and of course, I could talk horsey stuff while we were at it! Anyway, I asked her about the shoes because I have a neighbor who rides extensively on pavement and I worry about her horse slipping--I thought I might learn something worth passing on to her. It is quite possible that the term she used (and I'm pretty sure it was "bar tack") referred to a three point system like the one described above--I should have pursued it further. I just figured I'd ask my farrier about it. Anyway, if you have a chance to ask her, that would be great. Tell her the couple in the Z3 that stopped her a few weekends ago said hello!
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Member:
Sefiroth
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 28, 2002 - 3:38 pm:
Terri,
The rangers werent around yesterday, so I just went into a stall and picked up Willie's feet to take a look. What they've got welded on their shoes looks like plain ol borium to me. Perhaps the ranger (oh I cant remember her name! She's new.) just called it bar tack since it comes in a bar to weld on to the shoes and gives the shoe extra "tackyness"?
~Sharon
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Member:
Jflaxman
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Posted on Monday, Sep 30, 2002 - 11:29 am:
Thanks, everyone, for your input. My farrier put Drill-Tec on my horse's shoes on Friday, and he's walking up and down our paved hill with confidence now. The Drill-Tec looks just like borium -- it's welded onto the shoe wherever the farrier wants to put it. It seems to have done the trick for us!
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Member:
Sunny66
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Posted on Monday, Sep 30, 2002 - 11:36 am:
I was told about ground control horseshoes... Anyone have any experience with these?? Here is a link to their website. I'm going to talk to my farrier about them.
https://www.plastichorseshoes.com/
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New Member:
Bogle
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Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 10:51 am:
i sell horse shoes with boron or drilltek already applied to them. this is what we use in ky for a nonslipping horse
contact me at 606-677-9874
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Member:
Goolsby
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Posted on Monday, Jun 23, 2003 - 8:44 am:
When I first started riding, my older more experienced riding buddies told me to get drilltek put on next shoeing. I did and would not ride without it now. My farrier charges 2$ extra per shoe for the drilltek. Its well worth it.
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