Your Healthy Horse

Winter-Management Checklist

By Jessica Jahiel, PhD | Photos by ClixPhotos.com

Horses are designed to heat themselves through the digestion of forage (hay or pasture) in the hindgut. A plentiful supply of good hay is your horse’s best defense against cold.

Even if you scale back your riding time during winter months, or even give your horse the winter off, you need to promote his health in every way possible. Your basic horse-care routine won’t change significantly in the winter. You’ll need to keep up your horse’s medications (if any), hoof care, grooming, and regular veterinary checks.

Your horse’s basic nutrition requirements also won’t change; he’ll need adequate water, forage, supplements, warmth, and exercise. The only changes will be his winter-specific risks and your risk-avoidance strategies.

Here’s a winter-management checklist to help your horse stay healthy and colic-free.

Forage

■ Analyze your hay. Have your hay analyzed so you’ll know whether your horse’s nutritional needs are being met. If it’s lacking in specific nutrients, ask your veterinarian to advise you about adding a supplement to your horse’s diet. ■ Schedule dental work. Have any necessary dental work done before winter hits, so that your horse will get the maximum benefit from his hay this winter.

■ Feed for warmth. If your horse has a dense coat and is turned out with free-choice hay, his internal heater will work around the clock. Horses are designed to heat themselves through the digestion of forage (hay or pasture) in the hindgut. A plentiful supply of good hay is your horse’s best defense against cold; it’s also your best way to help him avoid colic, founder, and ulcers associated with incorrectly feeding grain.

Have your hay analyzed so you’ll know whether your horse’s nutritional needs are being met. Your horse needs clean water and plenty of it. If he lacks sufficient water to digest his feed, he’ll be at risk for colic, the leading killer of horses.

Water

■ Encourage sufficient intake.

Your horse needs clean water and plenty of it. If he lacks sufficient water to digest his feed, he’ll be at risk for colic (abdominal pain that can indicate a life-threatening condition), the leading killer of horses. His 10- to 12-gallon daily requirement may be higher in winter, because he’ll be relying on hay and perhaps grain, both of which have very low moisture content (10 to 15 percent moisture) compared with fresh pasture grass (60 to 80 percent moisture). ■ Monitor temperature. Offer your horse water between 45 degrees and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which will encourage him to drink enough water to stay hydrated. If he needs further encouragement, add warm water to his feed (such as hay cubes/pellets, pelleted feed, and beet pulp) to create a slurry. To keep ice at bay, invest in a water heater, tank de-icer, or heated water bucket. ■ Use rubber buckets. When plastic water buckets freeze, they can be hard to empty; some crack when slammed against the floor or frozen ground as you knock ice loose. Heavy, black rubber buckets are much better at taking the abuse associated with daily ice removal. ■ Check for dehydration. Signs of equine dehydration are dry gums and teeth, lethargy, and dry, hard manure. Test with capillary-refill time; the skin-pinch test doesn’t work well through winter hair.

Use your thumb to put pressure on your horse’s gum, when it turns white, take your thumb away and count the seconds until the gum turns pink again. If the change takes more than two seconds, dehydration is a concern.

Supplements

■ Supplement with care. Select your supplements on the basis of hay analysis; give your horse only what he needs and your hay lacks. Good hay provides adequate protein and high fiber, which produces heat from digestion. ■ Offer plenty of salt. Salt is an essential element of your horse’s diet year-round. It’s not overkill to have a salt block (or loose salt formulated for horses) in his stall, run-in shed, and pasture or dry lot. ■ Check his weight. Horses can lose weight very quickly. In very cold weather, inadequately fed horses will burn their stored fat. Next, if their ration remains inadequate, they’ll begin to burn >>

Salt is an essential element of your horse’s diet year-round. It’s not overkill to have a salt block (or loose salt formulated for horses) in his stall, and one in his paddock or pasture, run-in shed, and dry lot.

protein from their muscles.

Check your horse’s weight every day to protect him from unseen weight loss, using the Henneke

Body Condition Scoring System.

Remove his blanket, if you use one. Reaching under his winter coat, firmly check his withers, back, hips, and ribs. Learn his normal, healthy contours. ■ Watch the weather. Unusual cold can lead to unexpected weight loss. If extra-cold weather is on the way, increase your horse’s forage. Tip: Use a smallhole hay net for extra hay rations.

This not only will keep the hay off the ground, but also will encourage your horse to eat small amounts safely and continuously as nature designed him to do. ■ Maintain his weight wisely.

If your horse loses weight, try increasing his hay ration, or feed him a leafier type of hay that has

a higher protein content. Grain adds very little warmth; fat adds calories, but not warmth. ■ Consult your vet. If your horse is still losing weight, consult your veterinarian about adding a small amount of grain to your horse’s diet, then add in grain carefully and gradually.

Exercise

■ Offer daily exercise. Regular exercise will help decrease your horse’s colic risk. Fulltime turnout will allow him free movement day and night. However, sometimes, only daytime turn-

out is possible. And icy footing makes any turnout impossible. In that case, hand-walking is better than nothing. If necessary, lay down used bedding to create a walking path.

Regular exercise will help decrease your horse’s colic risk. Fulltime turnout will allow him free movement day and night. ■ Watch for shivering. If your horse is shivering, he’s not just cold, he’s too cold. Under normal circumstances, if he’s fit and in good condition, he shouldn’t be shivering. Bring him into a shelter (out of wind, rain, and snow), blanket him, and call your veterinarian immediately. ■ Know blanketing risks. Blankets can rub, restrict movement, and cause horses to become both overheated and chilled.

Protecting your horse is one thing; holding in moisture from sweat is quite another. A horse that sweats under his blanket on a sunny day can become overheated and dehydrated; since he’s wet, he can also become extremely cold during the night. ■ Know when to blanket. Some horses need a blanket. Blanket your clipped horse, as well as your very old, young, or thin horse. Also blanket your horse if you move him from a warm zone to a cold zone midwinter, as he’ll lack his natural winter coat. ■ Practice safe blanketing. If you use a blanket, remove it every morning. Brush off the blanket, and groom your horse. Check his body condition and for any signs of blanket rub. Re-blanket him at suppertime. USR

Jessica Jahiel, PhD, is an internationally-recognized clinician and lecturer, and award-winning author of books, articles, and columns about horses, riding, teaching, and training. Her trademarked system of teaching and training, Holistic Horsemanship®, is based on establishing and enhancing communication and trust between horse and rider.

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