Winter Care for Horses

_{Horses in the Alladale Wilderness Reserve}

With recent cold weather moving in we hope these top tips below will be helpful in caring for your horses, ponies and donkeys over the winter. 

Nutrition

• Forage/Fibre is king, so feed plenty of it for energy and warmth.
• Keep supplementing with vitamins, minerals and/or balancer.
• Consider yeast supplementation to enhance fibre digestion and support gut health.
• Meet additional calories by increasing fibre/forage in the ration where possible; don’t be tempted to reach for starch-rich concentrates unless your horse is in intense work.
• Make any changes to diet gradually over a period of 10-14 days.

Body Condition

• Monitor weight every 2 weeks and body condition every month (there’s a host of great mobile apps out there to help you).
• It’s normal (and even beneficial) for horses to lose a little over the winter - they will soon regain in the spring and summer.
• Don’t forgot, overweight horses and ponies are still prone to laminitis over winter.

Water

• Closely monitor water intakes and check for ice build-up in water buckets twice daily.
• Horses do not like to drink very cold water; add some hot water daily to water buckets to raise the temperature of the water enough to encourage them to drink.
• Adding a little salt or apples to water can encourage drinking.
• Soak forage to increase water intake; if feeding hard feeds make them sloppy with water.
• Add a ball or bottle filled with saturated salt water to the trough to minimise freezing (bobbing effect).

Shelter

• Horses outside still need shelter, consider a field shelter or move to fields with more natural shelter (tree groups, large hedges etc).
• Have a plan in place for extreme weather conditions.

Rugging

• Horses don’t feel the cold when we would naturally feel it, so don’t be too quick to rug.
• Use well-fitting rugs and ensure plenty of fill for those horses that are clipped.

Paddocks and Tracks

• Check legs and feet regularly if there is a lot of mud in fields. Try and use paddocks that have better drainage and are less prone to mud and poaching.
• Beware of roads, tracks and arenas that are icy - if they are icy don’t ride.
• Keep checking and maintaining fencing and boundaries throughout winter.

Exercise

• Lack of exercise and increased stabling are risk factors for colic.
• Maintain turnout/regular exercise daily wherever possible.
• Horses are often fine turned out in snow if they are sensible; just ensure it’s not too deep and they have a good supply of forage and water available.

Explore our equine and horse care courses at SRUC.

Posted by Peter Hastie on 10/11/2023