Tips to make coping with winter a breeze
Cold noses, frozen hands, fresh horses, icy paths, wind chill, three pairs of socks (all at once). Yep, it’s winter alright. Try these top tips to keep a smile on everyone’s faces
NO MATTER HOW much we love our horses, looking after them in winter is a demanding job. But the commitment needed is completely pushed to its limits when the snow storms hit, everything is frozen, the wind chill is whipping you in the face and your horse is a bit full of himself. Fear not, we’ve got some great advice to keep your horse happy on those snowy days (which can be beautiful, of course) and you inspired to make the most of your time at the yard.
1 It’s so annoying to watch the water buckets freezing over just moments after you’ve refilled them. Try popping plastic bottles of salt water in your troughs and buckets — the salt water won’t freeze and your horse will be able to push the bottle down to create a hole in the top layer of ice.
2 Keep a hammer and kitty litter scoop at the yard for those buckets and troughs that do freeze over. Then simply break the ice with the hammer and scoop out the chunks of ice. It keeps your fingers from getting frozen solid.
3 Have a number of hot water bottles on hand. You never know when you might need one.
4 If you use water containers as your water supply, store them in a warm place or take them home with you at night — if left outside, the lids can freeze shut. If that does happen to you, try blowing on the seal to defrost the ice, then you can prise them open.
5 Take flasks of warm water to the yard with you. They’ll come in handy if you need to unfreeze a rug clip, or even to pour into the water buckets to keep them from freezing over if they haven’t already. A flask full of your favourite hot drink will also keep you sane when the going gets really tough. 6 When the temperature and the weather is against us, sometimes it’s best to leave your horse in the same rugs. By changing them, you yo let all the body heat out — and he probably won’t thank you for throwing a cold rug over his back. 7 Put buckets of water into a bigger bucket and insulate the space between with straw or shavings to stop the water from freezing. 8 If you do need to change your horse’s rugs, bring the spare one into your house. This will warm it up nicely, ready for use the next day/night. 9 If you’re worried that your horse is too cold, invest in a sensor that will tell you if you’re right to be concerned or not. Simply place the sensor under his rug and it will feed the appropriate information back to an app on your phone. Visit arioneo. com for more information. 10 If your horse is a bit chilly and shivering, warm him up by rubbing him vigorously. This stimulates the blood to flow through the body and the friction you create by rubbing will also generate heat.
11 Stock up on extra bedding. If your horse is staying in his stable 24/7 while the weather is bad, it can be trickier to muck out. Get as much muck out as you can and then spread some fresh bedding on top of what’s left behind.
12 Cover the whole of the stable floor with bedding to prevent slippery patches caused by ice.
13 Circulation boots can be useful for helping prevent swelling in the legs if your horse needs to be stabled for long periods of time.
14 Check your field before taking your horse out. You may need to clear a path for him if the gate is snowed shut.
15 If your horse is spending time out in a snowy field, make sure he has plenty of hay to eat — it will keep him warm and entertained.
16 Keep your phone in a warm pocket close to your body. If it gets too chilly, the battery will die quicker. 17 So you don’t get caught out in the cold, keep a stash of woolly hats, gloves and spare socks at the yard. 18 Spray cooking oil or mane and tail conditioner on your snow shovel to prevent snow from sticking to it when you’re hard at work clearing paths. 19 Put your muck heap to work by spreading a thick layer over the ground that covers the water pipes. This keeps everything toasty if the pipes are not buried as deeply as you’d like them to be. 20 Finally, just to brighten everyone’s day, build a snowman in the paddock and stick some carrots in his head. Then let your horse investigate this curious intruder — he’ll love it!