Do You Have a Winter Challenged Horse?

Have a Winter Challenged Horse?

Well winter finally decided to hit us in Oregon. Ninety degrees one day, fifty degrees the next! The chickens are still molting out (and very unhappy about it) so they are getting a bit of extra protein (grubs) and some warm rice mashes to help make it through the transition. It's also an easy time for them to catch something so lots of extra herbs (in this case Meadow Munchies) in their mash and in their warm cooked rice (basil and parsley). The coop is now closed up except one access door, and the coop bedding is deeper and everyone seems to be much happier!

The goats get about the same treatment, deeper bedding, extra hay (and a bit of alfalfa), extra herbs (Meadow Munchies) added into their pellets and they will be good until the temps drop another 20 degrees. They are getting a new enclosed bedding area (so we can keep them out of the barn this year) that hopefully will be finished soon as we had a late start on fall chores this year.

For the horses, its already started into mud, mud, and more mud, so this week is trips for extra hog's fuel and a lot of work on our part spreading it. It's also time to deworm the herd from summer (with both Worm Gone and Worm Gone Max, depending on who it goes to), and add extra calories for winter (healthy fats like Iron Horse but we also use additional Coolstance for Grace). The mini herd is all looking good so the only horse that needs extra is Grace, our only full-sized horse. Grace does not grow a full winter coat, and tends to lose a lot of weight in the winter (and also hates blankets…and stalls) so we make sure she has full hay bags and extra fats in her diet to carry her through the winter. Last winter was a first successful year of no blankets and a higher fat diet without her losing weight, but we did have to make special accommodations for her during the coldest and wettest parts of the winter. Normally her and the boys stay outside and only come in for the worst of the winter weather as we have covered areas outside to escape the worst of the rains, but Cisco is getting old, and very slow. His weight is fine but the cold gets to his joints so we may have to consider other options for him this winter.

Choices for the Winter Challenged Horse:

For Grace, who doesn’t grow a coat in winter, my first choice would be to blanket but that is not a good option for her. She never liked coats in the first place but when I have blanketed her in the past, she manages to get it stuck on things. Its shady business getting the blanket on her in the first place (due to past trauma), but then dealing with the trauma of being stuck and panicking…well its just not worth the risk in her case.

When I went out a couple mornings ago on one particularly cold and windy morning, she was shivering like a leaf! I put a fresh hay bag in her covered area, plus a big bucket of warm mash to start. Then after feeding time, I put up fresh tarps in her covered area that reach all the way to the ground to cut most of the wind and give her and the boys an area to huddle up in that was warm and dry. And even though they have 4 acres to munch on, this time of year we keep full bags of hay in their covered area every night to give them something to munch on to help stay warm. I also make sure and give her some “warming” herbs in her mix such as ginger, paprika, turmeric, thyme, cinnamon and oregano. Sure enough, by the time she finished eating her herbs she was no longer shivering but thankfully the sun then came out to help with that job.  

Even though all these steps are very beneficial, there are going to be cases when more has to be done. In the coldest weather and during storms, we make room in the barn for Grace and the boys and they come inside for the night. We solved the “I hate stalls” issue with Grace by cordoning off the back area of the barn that goes to the back door (leading into the field) where we can bring her into her oversized “stall” and close her in if need be. She still gets very upset over it but a warm barn, a full hay bag and some calming herbs (Calm Down Now) usually at least makes her comfortable enough to get through the night. It also gives us a good opportunity to give her extra-large buckets of mash to herself, instead of sharing with the boys…who really don’t need the extra calories!

Most horses grow enough hair to get them through chilly temperatures but extreme weather always needs some special consideration especially for single horse, the elderly, and those with special needs, like Grace. We can’t look at horses as “all horses are fine in winter”, but instead we have to look at them as individuals with individual needs and those needs can change over the years. The horse that was fine in last year’s cold temperatures may not be fine this year as their body’s change and grow older. Take a fresh look at your horse this winter. They will thank you for it.