Icy Paddocks

We recently had some freezing rain here and it has brought up a subject that I thought would make good blog material. Our alley leading from the barn to the paddocks is covered in ice. We didn't have salt handy at the time of the storm, lesson learned about preparation there, and so had to bring the horses in across that ice.
I am not a timid person when it comes to handling and riding my horses. A fact that gets me in trouble with my girl quite often. However, ice is one thing that makes me very nervous, both on the ground and riding. I am always concerned that one of my animals will fall and hurt a leg or ribs ect...
For that reason, I try to make sure there is always an ice free path to water and pasture for the horses to get around without having to cross ice. My arabians are quite sure-footed but the ice really makes them nervous. Of course, when horses get nervous, they don't think well, the instincts kick in and the flee instinct is especially strong at that time.
We made it thru the few days without any injuries but one boarder's horse fell four times. A fact that I was fairly disappointed about. The person brought the horse in and out of the barn repeatedly after she fell the first time. We love this person who is a dear friend, but sometimes people need to use more common sense. She should have done something different after the first fall. Now the poor horse is so scared of falling, she won't come out of her stall.
We had to really salt the alley to make it safe, and shoveled dirt on that. We don't salt the paddocks as the salt is hard on hooves and so we don't want them to have to stand and walk in it more than neccessary for their safety. I am told that barn lime applied after salt melts the ice will provide traction and dry up the water from the melted ice. Will try that next time.
So today, I will be chippin and shoveling ice from the alley now that we got it melted and workable. Just another learning experience in our horse education!