A mud sledge is a

sled A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...

used to cross

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s such as

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

and

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

Mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s are difficult to cross because even shallow draft boats will get stuck while pedestrians and wheeled vehicles bog down easily too. A mud sledge is a traditional device used by fishermen when they collect from nets, pots and traps which they set out in tidal waters. The traditional designs vary but, typically, they have a flat wooden base and are propelled by

scooting Freestyle scootering (also known as scootering or scooter riding) is an extreme sport that involves using kick scooters to perform freestyle tricks. This is done mainly in skateparks but also in urban environments on obstacles such as stairs, ha ...

with one or both legs. Traditional fishing in this way has declined in modern industrial countries, but the sledges may still be used for races and sport.

England

Fishing in the mudflats of the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

was traditionally done using a mud horse, a traditional type of hand-built wooden sledge used for fishing in

Bridgwater Bay Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett and the end of the River Parrett Trail. It stretches from Minehead at the southwestern end of the bay to Brean Down in the nor ...

. As of 2010 the only remaining mud-horse fisherman was fifth generation fisherman Adrian Sellick. His father, Brendan, was still selling the catch from Mudhorse Cottage in

Stolford Stogursey is the name of a small village and civil parish in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England. It is situated from Nether Stowey, and west of Bridgwater. The village is situated near the Bristol Channel, which bounds the parish on the no ...

. As of 2019 the family was still using this technique. The technique of the Sellick family, which did this for generations, was to bend over the table-like horse and push from behind using both legs.

Germany

There are many names for a mud sledge in the various German dialects including ''Creier'', ''Kraaite'', ''Kraite'', ''Kreier'', ''Kreyer'', ''Schlickrutscher''. ''Schusch'', ''Slykslide'' and ''Wattschlitten''. Races with mud sledges (''Schlikschlittenrennen'') take place in German villages including Dangast, Dyksterhusen, Pilsum, Pogum and Upleward-

Greetsiel Greetsiel is a small port on the bight of Leybucht in western East Frisia, Germany that was first documented in letters from the year 1388. Since 1972, Greetsiel has been part of the municipality of Krummhörn, which has its administrative seat in ...

Japan

Ariake Sea fising work tools Oshiita Oshioke

Mud sledges are used in Japan where they are called ''gataita'' or ''haneita''. Similar sledges are observed also in South Korea.

China

Mud sledges are widely used on intertidal zones along the East China Sea in mainland China, including Macau.

Southeast Asia

In Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, mud sledges are found. In Indonesia, around Surabaya of eastern Java as well as on immense muddy tidal zones at eastern Sumatra, mud sledges are ubiquitously ranged.

References

Racing vehicles Sledding Sliding vehicles {{fishing-stub