Weekly Tips Feb 02

With the cold winter weather comes a number of stressful things that your horse must deal with. All these stresses can add up to health problems. However, as concerned caregivers, horse owners can do things to help alleviate or even prevent cold weather stress.

The primary stress that most horses endure during winter is neglect. In most cases it is unintentional, but there are those cases that we all read or hear about where horses have suffered needlessly. During riding weather, we are careful to tend to our horses needs and make sure that they get everything that they need in order to participate to their fullest in our choice of equine sports. But, when the season is over, often horses are turned out to pasture until the next season. This rest and relaxation period is needed. However, it often becomes a time when the owner pays less attention to details and normal horsekeeping practices such as grooming and hoof care get put off until warmer weather.

One of the first things that becomes neglected during winter months is the horse's feet. Many people believe that their horse only needs trimming when it is shod or ridden. But this is far from true. Hoof care is extremely important during the winter even though the hoof doesn't grow as fast as it does in summer months. Periodic inspection of the feet by your farrier will help prevent possible infections and lameness issues. Your horse travels over icy and frozen ground during the winter. This can lead to problems such as cracks and chips, bruises and abscesses, leg strains, and other problems that can lead to lameness. Neglected abscesses can spread infection and become a danger to the horse. Stalled horses can be prone to thrush and other hoof infections.

In general, shoes can be very slippery and dangerous to the horse in winter. Pulling shoes before winter turnout will help prevent slipping and falling. If your horse needs shoes in the winter, then special things such as snow pads and studs or borium must be applied to help the horse cope with winter terrain. It is also beneficial to the feet to leave them barefoot for part of the year. This gives the foot a chance to relax - similar to you taking your shoes off after a hard day at work. Even if the horse is barefoot, you should keep your scheduled farrier appointments. They most likely will be further apart than in warmer months, but trims are still needed to keep the feet in good form so they do not split or chip.

Attention to winter hoof care not only plays a part in your cold weather stress management program but also ensures that your horse will be sound and ready to go when riding season rolls around. If warm weather comes on suddenly, you will be ready for those first rides rather than sitting around waiting for the farrier.

The biggest concern during cold weather is providing adequate nutrition and water. Horses need extra calories to keep warm when the temperatures dip to freezing. Horses are designed to eat small amounts of forage over the course of several meals during the day. They generally eat from sunrise to midnight if allowed to. Forage is the primary provider of warmth in the food department. Grains and grain products are digested in the small intestine where carbohydrates are converted into sugars to be used for energy. The small intestine is relatively small and digestion lasts for about one hour. However, forage is digested in the hindgut, where the action of microbial bacteria breaks down the plant fibers into fatty acids. This process takes an average of 48 hours, during which time heat is produced. This "digestive" heat raises the internal temperature and helps warm the horse.

Providing a usable source of water during freezing weather is also a problem. Horses require several gallons of water each day to aid in digestion and keep their bodies hydrated. Not only is it difficult to keep water from freezing, but it is also difficult to get horses to drink during cold weather. Providing clean, fresh water in heated water buckets and tanks encourages drinking and makes your job a lot easier. Horses prefer water temperatures of 40-45 degrees - the temperature that most heaters are pre-set for. If it seems that your horse is not eating or it has rapidly lost weight, then the problem could be dehydration. Check your water sources. Make sure that frozen, lumpy ground isn't preventing the horse from reaching the water source. Providing salt also encourages water consumption.

Another stress faced by some horses is "pecking order". As herd animals, horses establish a hierarchy that allows certain herd members first choice of food and water and others get pushed out to wait their turn until the dominant members are finished...if there is anything left. Providing separate feeding areas in sheds, several small piles of hay on the ground, or stalling ensures that each horse gets it share of food. Pay special attention to older, young and new horses that are generally at the bottom of the herd order.

Feeding supplements in cold weather also helps reduce stress. Often, horse owners believe that their horse only needs joint supplements and electrolytes when they are working. Stress depletes the body of some minerals, therefore it is just as important to provide mineral supplementation in winter as in summer. Additionally, joint issues can be more of a concern during cold weather, as well as when the ground becomes frozen and concussion on joints is exaggerated. If you are feeding supplements to your horses during riding season, it is beneficial to continue to feed them during winter.

Stress also increases the need for some vitamins. When vitamins and minerals become deficient in a horse's diet, it can compromise the immune system. This is especially true of hard keepers, and older and younger horses. When the immune system becomes compromised the system is further stressed, setting up a never ending cycle that can only be resolved by the addition of a proper equine vitamin/mineral supplement. If your horse has persistent rain rot every winter or spring, a tendency to fall prey to lice or mite infestations, or seems to have recurring thrush or other hoof infections, then your horse most likely needs a vitamin/mineral boost over the winter months and possibly during warmer weather as well.

Often cold weather deters us from spending quality time with our horses. Daily grooming becomes impossible but remains a necessity to help your horse deal with cold weather. Keeping the coat clean and fluffed is essential to keeping warm. Grooming also provides a time when you can inspect for rain rot and parasites that might be harboring in thick winter coats. Vigorous currying can help relax tight muscles and increases circulation. During the grooming process, you will also have to remove blankets, giving you a chance to check for rubs and remove embedded dirt or pieces of hay and bedding that might result in sores. Grooming is also a natural way for horses to relax and socially interact. This quality time with your horse is important to its mental well being providing further stress relief.

Although horses do well without shelter, wind and sometimes rain can be a problem. High winds and a wet coat prevent the body's natural mechanisms from controlling the insulating factors of the coat. Muscles attached to the hairs can normally fluff and point hair so that it controls loss of body heat. However, when the wind is blowing hard or the coat is wet enough to lay the hair down or otherwise interrupt its natural movement, loss of body heat becomes inevitable. Providing a windbreak or protection from rain is the

Some pastures afford natural wind and rain breaks in the form of woods, cliffs, brush, or gullies. If those things are not available, then you can easily resolve the issue by allowing access to the side of the barn where the wind isn't blowing, provide a two sided wall that the horses can shelter behind, or provide a run-in shed. When none of these things are available, then blanketing may be necessary. If your horse is not normally blanketed and it has a dense winter coat, then a rain or turnout sheet is all that is generally needed to keep the horse comfortable. This is also a time when horses low on the pecking order become a concern. Often more aggressive horses will not allow pasture mates to enter sheltered areas. Depending on the size of your herd, you can put simple, but sturdy partitions in your run-in or provide several windbreaks where horses can congregate in small groups to keep warm.

When shelters are not available and horses are generally stabled, clipped or otherwise have short coats, then full winter blankets may be needed for protection from the elements. Medium to heavy weight blankets will provide needed warmth and help in preventing weight loss on hard keepers, older, young, and ill horses that cannot possibly eat the amount of forage that they need to keep warm.

Considering the condition, age and normal maintenance of your horse will help you better prepare for cold weather stress intervention. Watching for upcoming storms and increasing forage (hay sources such as forage cubes and pellets, hay or alfalfa or beet pulp), a day or two before helps your horse better prepare to keep warm. Being aware of unusual conditions such as freezing rain and high winds will allow you to prepare an intervention plan.