Preparing Your Horse For Winter
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You may live where winters are long and cold, with lots of snow. You may live where winters are mild, with minimum snow fall. Either way, you should prepare your horses and yourself for the winter. If you board your horse, some of these tips may not apply. Keep in mind that these are tips or suggestions and you are the one that chooses whether or not they are applicable to you, or you wish to apply them.
Tip #1: Blanketing your horse
If you are like me and show all winter, then you probably would not place well riding a fuzzy horse. Nor would you enjoy scraping off snow, icicles(yes horses can get icicles), and mud every time you want to go for a ride. If your horse is stabled during the winter this is not as much of an issue to horse owners, but for those who pasture their horses year-round I'm sure they would much rather wash a horse blanket than their horse in freezing weather.
Blanketing your horse first on cold nights in the fall is a good way to keep their winter coats from growing in. This also gradually gets them used to wearing a blanket. As the days get colder you may choose to leave the blanket on 24/7. Be careful to watch the temperature as an unussually warm day could result in a sweaty, miserable horse, and a sweaty blanket.
Choosing a blanket can be tricky. It is like ordering a pair of riding pants online. You may wear one size in one brand, and another size in another brand. To measure your horse take a cloth measuring tape and measure(in inches) from the middle of your horses chest to between the legs. Weatherbeeta, Saxon, and Rambo are my favourite brands of blankets, but I'm not saying some other brands are not good-quality. I cannot tell you whether to get open or closed front, surcingle or belly-band, filled or non-filled blankets. That is totally up to you, your horse, and your budget.
As a rule of thumb the more denier the more durable your blanket will be. Many stable blankets have low denier and turnout blankets tend to have a higher denier.(Denier is a unit of measure for the fineness of silk, nylon, or rayon.)
As fall turns to winter, I exchange my lightweight turnout blanket for a more heavyweight blanket and neck wrap. If your horse already has a winter coat, but you wish to keep him clean, consider putting just a lightweight waterproof blanket on him. Waterproof blankets are key, for snow, rain, and even mud will not soak into the fabric. A quilted blanket would not be the best choice for turnout, for snow, rain, and mud will weigh down the blanket and soak the horse, possibly causing pneumonia or a cold.
When putting on the blanket, if it has surcingles cross them under the belly and hook them to prevent slippage. To prevent the leg straps from rubbing, hook the left strap, then lace the right strap through the left one then hook it.
Tip #2: Water hydrant freeze-proofing
This is very simple to do and doesn't cost much money at all. If any of your water hydrant pipes protrude from the ground, take a piece of scrap insulation, old blanket, or styrofoam, and wrap it around the pipe, securing with whatever you choose(I use duct tape). This will save you many bucket-loads of water hauling.
Tip #3: Water heaters
Floating water heaters in your stock tanks(water troughs) will keep ice at bay, encouraging your horse to drink. It also saves injuring yourself with whatever you would use to break the ice. If your horse is stalled with buckets, consider going the extra step and buying buckets with a built-in water heater at the bottom.
Tip #4: Get a barn cat
If you have a mouse problem, consider getting a barn cat or set up lots of mouse traps. The mice will be nesting in you stable, perhaps even your horses uneaten hay!
Tip #5: Hay supply
This could probably go without saying, but make sure you have plenty of hay. When horses eat hay, it helps insulate their body, and good quality hay gives horses the nutrients they lack during the winter with no grass. Placing hay in a bag, or feeder, encourages a horse to eat it. Hay on the ground is prone to being urinated on, rolled on, and mud or snow will soak it.
Tip #6: Salt lick
If you horse has a reluctance to drink cold water in the winter, shake in some salt to his hay or grain to make him extra thirsty. You can also offer him hot water or mix in apple sauce to his water, but I've found salt the most effective. Salt blocks are also a good choice year round. They are a good source of nutrients, but also make your horse thirsty.
I hope these tips enlightened you on some aspect of preparing for winter, or got you thinking about other ways you could make the winter more bearable for your horse and yourself.
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MustangChic
Awsome article love tips like this!
Awsome article love tips like this!
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Oct 23, 2010
• 4,284 views
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ImaCoolCowgirl
Blanketing a horse or keeping it in a heated barn has no effect on a horse growing a winter coat. Most people believe that temperature causes horses to grow winter coats, it is a HUGE misconseption in the horse world. Horses grow winter coats because the days get shorter. If you keep light on in your barn or horse's stall the horse will never grow a winter coat. You horse will be miserably cold if the temperatur drops though. If you don't believe me....believe the experts. http://equineink.com/2008/10/29/blanketing-doesnt-keep-horses-from-growing-winter-coats/ or google it.
Blanketing a horse or keeping it in a heated barn has no effect on a horse growing a winter coat. Most people believe that temperature causes horses to grow winter coats, it is a HUGE misconseption in the horse world. Horses grow winter coats because the days get shorter. If you keep light on in your barn or horse's stall the horse will never grow a winter coat. You horse will be miserably cold if the temperatur drops though. If you don't believe me....believe the experts. http://equineink.com/2008/10/29/blanketing-doesnt-keep-horses-from-growing-winter-coats/ or google it.
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Oct 23, 2010
• 4,263 views
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ImaCoolCowgirl
All of your other tips a right on and very helpful.
All of your other tips a right on and very helpful.
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Oct 23, 2010
• 4,262 views
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Oct 24, 2010
• 4,688 views
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halfbrokehorses
it doesnt snow here at all lol :) but we still rug our horses in winter, summer too, but theyre summer rugs to keep them cooler
it doesnt snow here at all lol :) but we still rug our horses in winter, summer too, but theyre summer rugs to keep them cooler
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Oct 27, 2010
• 4,311 views
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