Winter Care

Following up on a previous post, On Blanketing Horses, here is a selection of articles from The Horse on winter horse care.

1. Formidable Frostbite – Fret not, horses are well-equipped to handle cold weather and rarely suffer from frostbite, even in the most frigid temperatures. This article provides an overview of all of the horses’ natural cold weather adaptions, from the muzzle all the way down to the hoof capsule.
2. Equine Internal Combustion – Your horse is a furnace stoked with hay! Feeding your horse adequate forage relative to its body weight and the lower critical temperature for your region will help it generate the body heat necessary to stay warm.
3. Set Up Your Senior Horse for Cold-Weather Comfort – The tips in this article are applicable to all horses, although senior horses may require extra care. Ensuring your horse has a healthy body condition score, is receiving adequate forage, and has no underlying/undetected dental issues will go a long way in making him or her more comfortable and better able to weather the winter.
4. Winter Management for the Outdoor Horse – “The ideal environment for many horses is to live outside with herdmates 24/7.” Important things to consider include constant access to fresh, ice-free water, good quality hay, a shelter that horses can access freely, safe footing, and daily checks for injuries and changes in body condition.

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Image: Horses Eating Hay. Pixnio Free Images