After an early and very heavy few days of snow, it made me think that you all might like to know what it is like to have horses in the winter. Horses are beautiful in pictures romping around in the snow. They actually seem to like it. Us owners try to make it as easy as possible for them. But here are some things we need to do in the winter to keep these amazing animals in top condition.
Warmth and Blanketing
I don’t need to get into the science of horses being designed to be in the snow – they are and that is it. Horses can withstand terribly cold temperatures with just the winter coats God gave them in most cases. What cases are they not able to withstand the cold? Well first of all age – as horses age they may not be able to regulate their temperature and just generally have difficulty with the stress of the cold. So, our older horses may get blanketed depending on how they are tolerating the cold. A Sure sign that they are in distress is that they will shiver. The problem with blanketing in Colorado is that it can be 0 degrees in the morning and 50 degrees in the afternoon. Consequently, we need to ensure that someone is around to remove the blankets as it gets warm. Another situation is for horses that work hard in indoor arenas in the winter. If their winter coats on are left on, they can get far too hot. So many owners who have horses in work over the winter will shave their horse’s winter coat or portion of it. These shaved horses will need a blanket if they will be spending time outside. Also, horses who are not in tip top shape health wise can be distressed by the cold and will benefit from a blanket.
Water
Water, it turns out, becomes ice in the winter if not properly heated. Horses need fresh water to drink constantly. Our job is to keep water heaters working and keep water clean. It is much harder to keep water clean in the winter since emptying and cleaning tanks will cause you to get wet quite often, and that is cold in the winter. Breaking ice on tanks is not an option since horses prefer warmer water. What happens if a horse doesn’t drink enough water in the winter? They can colic. Colic is a serious and life threatening condition for many horses. Many people have automatic waterers which decreases the need for frozen hoses being drug around to provide fresh water. However, automatic waterers are quite expensive. For us, we drag around a hose to fill tanks. The secret is to bring the hose inside the house after using it so it does not freeze. Frozen hoses take forever to thaw.
Snow and Ice
Horses have 4 legs to balance on rather than 2 legs like us. So they are sure-footed in the snow if they are barefoot (meaning no shoes). If they have shoes on, then they can develop large and uncomfortable ice balls in their hooves. These ice balls can cause them pain while walking and make walking difficult. If your farrier is savvy, he can be sure to put special shoes on your horse in the winter so that this is not an issue. The biggest danger in snow and ice is for the caregivers.
Mucking
If you are not familiar with horse terms, mucking means to remove manure from the stalls and pasture. This can be extremely challenging in the winter because manure freezes to the ground. We try to pick ours up on a regular basis, but once it is frozen to the ground, we may need to wait until spring for it to be removed. Part of the reason to remove manure regularly is to keep fly populations down and of course, flies are not an issue in the winter. So, as unsightly as it is, sometimes the manure starts to pile up in the winter.
Riding
Riding is tricky in the snow. It is best to ride out on a loosely packed trail if you are going to ride in the snow. The arena can get hard with frozen snow and frozen footing. If that is the case, we keep riding to walking and minimal trotting so we don’t cause leg problems for the horse.
Etcetera
Horses seem to love the snow. Our horses are given the option of freely hanging out in their stalls or shelter. Rarely do they take advantage of the shelter and prefer to stay outside. I have never heard a horse once complain of the snow. So I think they like it.
Let us do the work for you
If you want to hang out with horses, let us do all the heavy work! You can purchase a block of time to be able to ride or groom horses and get all the great benefits of being around horses without all of the hard work. We would love to see you!