Preparing your Horse for Winter

 Hot chocolate, roaring fires and warm mittens keep us warm and cosy on cold winter nights. But what about our horses? How do you help them get through the bitter cold, driving wind and icy snow? Here are some tips to help your horse thrive this winter.

Nutrition

Nutrition needs to be your first priority in winter, giving sufficient amount of quality feed to maintain his weight and enough water to maintain his hydration is crutial for your horse staying health this winter. Grass or hay, should make up the largest portion of his diet.  He needs 1 - 2 % of his body weight per day in grass and hay.   For horses who struggle to keep weight on you might consider adding a grain based feed to assist in maintaining condition.  If your horse is prone to being fat, will be in light work, or  cant have grains, then a ration balancer or complete multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is a better choice than grain. In colder weather increasing the amount of hay being fed is the best way to keep weight on horses during the winter.  This is due to the fermentation process generating internal heat in their large intestine.

Some interesting research was performed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine showed that if during cold weather horses have only warm water available, they will drink a greater volume per day than if they have only access to icy cold water. However if they are given a choice between warm and icy water simultaneously, they drink almost exclusively from the icy and drink less volume than if they have only warm water available. So if you have a horse in very high levels of work hydration is important to their wellbeing.  You can increase your horse's water consumption by only providing warmed water. You can do this by either by using any number of bucket or tank heaters or by adding hot water to the trough twice daily with feeding. Another method to encourage your horse to drink more in winter (or any time of the year) is to topdress his feed with electrolytes, however only give recommended doses.

Exercise

It may be tempting to turn your horse out for long periods of time during winter, however studies have shown that muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness and overall flexibility significantly decrease with long breaks. In older horses it takes much longer and becomes more difficult each spring to return them to their previous level of work.  So maintaining light work is essential for the older horse. Unfortunately, exercising your horse when it's cold and slippery or frozen can be challenging so ensure you consider safety when thinking about keeping your horse fit during winter.

Discuss with your farrier if your horse has the best traction with no shoes, regular shoes, or shoes with heels. Do your best to lunge, ride or drive in outside areas that are not slippery. Indoor arenas can become quite dusty in winter so ask if a binding agent can be added to hold water and try to water (and harrow) as frequently as you can. Double the time you take to warm up and cool down when schooling. And make sure your horse is cool and dry before turning him back outside or putting rugs on.  Clipping will assist in speeding up the drying process.

Blanketing

Does your horse need a blanket? In general, horses with an adequate hair coat, in good flesh and with access to shelter probably do not need blanketed. However, horses that have been clipped, recently transported to a cold climate, or are thin or sick may need the additional warmth and protection of a rug.

Horses begin to grow their longer, thicker winter coats in Autumn, shedding the shorter, thinner summer coats. The summer coat begins growing in spring. The trigger of the horse to change from one coat to the other is day length-the winter coat is stimulated by decreasing daylight, the summer coat is stimulated by increasing daylight. You can inhibit your horse's coat primarily through providing artificial daylight in the autumn but also by rugging your horse as the temperature begins to fall helps. If you have clipped your horse sufficient rugging is a must.

Health

Health problems tend to be more prevalent in winter. There is also an increased risk of colic.  You can reduce the risk of impaction colic by stimulating your horse to drink more water either by providing warm water as the only source or feeding electrolytes. Having your horse stabled can increase the risk of respiratory infections.  Ensure your stable is well ventilated and you clean it regularly with disinfectant.  Most importantly quarantine all new horses onto your farm away from your other horses for 21 days to ensure they are not harbouring any illnesses.

 Abdominal conditions like ulcers, and musculoskeletal conditions like degenerative joint disease show up more in the winter months.  To manage these effectively you will need to consult your vet. 

Freeze/thaw cycles and muddy or wet conditions can lead to thrush in the hooves and mud fever.  The best protection against these diseases is keeping the horse in as clean and dry surroundings as possible, cleaning his feet frequently, and keeping the lower limbs trimmed of hair. Another common winter skin condition is "rain scald," caused by the organism Dermatophilus congolensis. Regular grooming and daily observation can usually prevent this problem, but consult your veterinarian if your horse's back and rump develop painful, crusty lumps that turn into scabs.

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