Educating the public about the plight of equines through rescue and sanctuary
August 2, 2009
Winter Chillin’
Michelle Beagle, Registered Veterinary Technician, Redwings Horse Sanctuary Board of Directors
As winter approaches, your horse needs extra care. Here are some tips to help your horse get through the winter in comfort and health.
What to feed your horse is a personal decision. There are debates about feeding hot food, feeding for warmth, feeding less or more fiber. Your veterinarian and your feed nutritionist can help you.
Water intake helps prevent colic, so winter feeding must include plain white salt blocks to encourage regular drinking. When water ices over and horses become reluctant to drink the cold water, salt encourages them.
An old farmer’s trick is to put large rocks in water tanks to help retain a bit of daytime warmth which may help prevent the water from freezing over. You can also keep a floating piece of wood in the water. If the water ices over, your horse can bump the wood to get at the water. In the morning, bring a hammer to crack any ice so your horse is able to drink freely.
Remove your horse’s blanket during the day so its skin gets air. Brush your horse a few times during the week, paying attention to areas the blanket rubs or areas where hair loss may indicate fungal infection. Change and clean their blankets before they smell.
Cold weather burns calories. By late autumn, pastures have lost much of their vitamin and calorie content from being exposed to summer heat. Feeding additional hay is important because a horse’s digestive system produces heat while digesting cellulose, the stem part of hay. This in turn helps raise its body temperature. Older horses aren’t able to process the thicker stems, so cubed hay may be more appropriate. You can feed your horse a combination of alfalfa and oat hay, feeding the oat hay at night so the cellulose-digesting "furnace" can keep the horse warm.
Many people feed their horses a bit heavier in the fall to give their horse a bit more weight for insulation, but don’t let your horse put on too much! Overweight horses can have serious health issues.
If your horse needs a higher caloric intake, talk to your feed specialist or veterinarian before starting your horse on corn oil, rice bran, or any other calorie-raising feed. Some feeds and supplements can be harmful to certain horses.
Horses grow a thicker coat in the winter that you should brush out more regularly—a thicker coat tends to catch dirt and debris that can cause skin infections. This can occur especially after the first rains, when summer dirt remains on the skin.
If you need help deciding if your horse is at the right weight, ask your veterinarian or look on the Internet for equine body condition score charts. With a little extra attention, your horse will have a healthy winter.
Citation: MLA
Beagle, Michelle. “Winter Chillin’.” Redwings Horse Sanctuary. 2 Aug. 2009. <http://redwingshorsesanctuary.org/horsecare/winterchillin.html>
Citation: APA
Beagle, Michelle. (2009). Winter Chillin’. Retrieved from http://redwingshorsesanctuary.org/horsecare/winterchillin.html
