Are you and your horse ready for winter?
Depending on where you live, getting ready for winter will look different. I live in northern British Columbia, Canada. Our winters are long, and filled with snow and cold temperatures, add to that complications that occur when Chinooks blow in leaving sheets of ice in their wake. These types of weather conditions require planning, forethought, education and preparation.
Where to start?
Feed: In order to know how much hay you need to make it through the winter you need to do some math. What size are your bales, how many horses do you have, how long does each bale last? Do you roll out your hay, net your hay, feed squares? Is your hay under cover? How you store and feed your hay will impact how much hay is wasted, which in turn impacts how much hay you require for the winter season.
We net our hay and also lift it off the ground about 8”. It is placed in to a tombstone round bale feeder. We have found this is the best way for us to feed our horses. It slows down their eating to mimic grazing. It also prevents a significant amount of wastage by keeping the hay contained and up off the ground where it would get mouldy. We have found that the wastage for us with this feeding pattern is less than 5% a bale.
In general we average 1 bale per horse every 5 weeks. This of course depends on how cold the weather is and how much snowfall there has been. Our horses will continue to paw throughout the winter even with hay available to them. We have 6 horses, so if I consider winter up here to last about 22 weeks I will need at least 27 bales of hay to get through until spring pastures start to grow. I am fortunate enough to have a large hay shed so am able to keep all my hay under cover which keeps it more nutritious, healthier and allows it to last longer.
Another feed question to consider is if you plan to supplement your horses diet with any extruded type of feed? Extruded or grain type feed comes in the form of oats, beet pulp, hay cubes, ground flax or a complete type of pelleted feed etc.
If you have read any of my other blog posts you know that I feed all of my horses a mix of things that I call “mash” every day. I have multiple reasons for doing this that go beyond nutrition. For the purposes of winter feeding I will touch on the benefits as I see them. A wet mash type product acts as a carrier for vitamins and minerals, extra calories if required, extra water, carrier of medication, electrolytes to encourage water consumption etc.
Something else that horses require at all times in access to salt and minerals. This can be provided via salt and mineral blocks, or loose salt and mineral, that they can access at all times or is added to their mash. It is difficult to add sufficient salt and or mineral to your horses mash so it is likely you will still need to supplement this with other access to salt and minerals.
Weather will impact your salt and mineral so it needs to be kept in a sheltered location such as a corner feed bin in a pasture shelter. If you have horses that do not tolerate sugar you will want to ensure that the mineral you feed is appropriate as some blocks contain molasses and other surgery components.
Water: There are multiple views on this topic. Horses First recommends, that your horses have access to tepid water at ALL times and in ALL seasons. The water that horses can access by eating just snow is not sufficient to meet their hydration needs. Horses are at higher risk of impaction colic during the winter months as they may not have easy access to water as snow and ice build up. Having water temperature that is tepid instead of icy cold will encourage them to drink.
Electrolytes added to their “mash” may also entice them to drink more often as well. Please make sure that you are knowledgeable in the use of electrolytes prior to using them in your horses diet.
Shelter: Your horses’ coat is designed to keep them warm through the winter months. There are two types of situations that your horses hair coat has a hard time coping with: water and wind. For this reason it is important that your horses have access to shelter at all times so that they are able to move themselves out of inclement weather situations. Shelter may consist of barns, in and out sheds, pasture shelters, wind breaks and trees, or bushes. Wind breaks and trees, or bushes may be limited in the amount of secure shelter that they offer your horse so it is important to go out often to ensure your horses are coping well with the weather patterns.
If you choose to blanket your horse through the winter, their hair growth will be impacted. This means if you decide to make the commitment to a blanket it is a full season commitment that lasts until spring weather starts to shift.
Blankets need to fit well, be water proof and warm enough for the chilliest of winter days.
Blankets are high maintenance and can not be put on and left. They need to be checked daily. You need to pull blankets off to ensure the there is no rubbing or chaffing going on and that your horse is maintaining its condition. The same blanket can not be used at 0 and -35. Layers need to be taken off or added to keep your horse comfortable and safe no matter what the winter weather throws at you!
Fencing: Before winter storms hit is a good time to ensure your fences are all in good repair. Accidents certainly can happen but heading out at -20 to make a fence repair is something I am hoping to avoid! Walk the fence line and peruse the pasture or paddocks to ensure everything is in good working order.
It is also important to keep an eye on drifting snow throughout the winter in case it is setting an easy course for your horses to step over a fence and head out on a walk about.
Feet: If your horses’ are generally shod throughout the spring and summer, now is a good time to consider pulling their shoes for the winter. Their feet will be a bit tender for a few days after removing the shoes so try to avoid this process right at freezing when there might be frozen ruts and such to navigate.
Leaving shoes on over the winter increases the risk of a slipping injury. Shod horses tend to build up more snow balls in their feet leading to the possibility of mechanical founder and soft tissue injury.
If your horse requires shoes on all year due to foot or other issues there are ways to provide grip to their feet in an attempt to avoid accidents. There are also lots of ideas out there on how to avoid snowball build up in the hoof.
Where I live in the north we experience chinooks occasionally. This weather system can wreak havoc with footing creating very icy conditions that are dangerous for everyone, horses and humans! Chicken grit, hogs fuel, shavings etc. All help to provide grip for horses in pastures or paddocks.
If you have a well thought out plan that you walk through each winter season, you will be well prepared to provide for your equine partners in even the most formidable winter weather.
Bring On The Winter!
