Keeping Your Horse Warm During the Winter

Winter is coming! And so do the difficulties which are associated with it. Especially for your horses, who might have no luxury of wearing three to four clothing over their body like we possess. Surely, they have their own thick hair coating, but to consider it to be enough in fighting the cold days would be problematic.

Fitness status and age are good indicators in determining the level of care a horse may seek. Too old, too young, thin horses must get intense attention in keeping them warm.

To make it easy for you, read below to find out some of the most prominent tips to keep your horse warm in winter.

Keep your horse hydrated

Yes! That’s correct. Water plays an important role in staying warm contrary to the popular belief.

However, don’t let your horse drink ice chilled or snowy water. It would be appropriate if you let a heating device raise the water temperature between 40 to 65 degrees beforehand.

Provide cover with rugs or blankets

The most challenging aspect for horses in winters are wind and rain. Thus, some wind breakers such as stable rugs or blankets can prove to be of great relief.

Various types, from a thin rain sheet to thick stable rugs, are available which could be selected in accordance with the desired preference.

Right type of nutrition

One of the several ways to keep your horse warm is to feed them with the right choice of nutrition.

Give them hays, which help to produce heat during digestion. A great sum of heat is released when certain microbes present in caecum and large colon react with the high fibre food such as hay. Other examples of high fibre food items include wheat, barley, corn, etc.

Moreover, additional feed has to be given in the case of a thin horse. The fat layer under the skin act as the second line of defence, which in turn should be nicely built-up if the horse starts to lose weight.

Some additional tips

1. Ensure your horse walks after exercise to cool down slowly as they tend to get chilled easily after an intense workout.
2. Don’t   take the risk for a ride in extreme foggy or icy atmospheric conditions.

Hence, these are some of the tips one must implement to let your horse stay comfortable and not fall prey to the chills and dangers winters may bring along.