Winter Horse Care Basics

As the cold weather sets in, horse owners face the unique challenge of keeping their equine companions safe, comfortable, and healthy throughout winter. From managing their shelter and nutrition to ensuring proper grooming and exercise, this guide will walk you through the key steps to help your horse thrive during the colder season. With a bit of preparation and attention to detail, you can ensure your horse stays warm, safe, and happy all winter long.

How Do Horses Keep Themselves Warm?
Horses are naturally well-equipped to handle cold weather, as they can regulate their body temperature within a range of 5°C to 25°C. When temperatures drop below 5°C, horses will increase their natural defences against cold by:

• Eating more forage.
• Managing their blood flow, reducing flow to the limbs and pooling most of their blood to their core and vital organs.
• Growing a thick winter hair coat.
• Increasing movement and shivering.
• Seeking shelter.

Several factors may contribute to how well your horse manages the cold, including their age (if they’re very old or young), if they are clipped, whether they have access to shelter, etc. If not properly cared for during the winter, a horse’s body condition may backslide, making for an unhealthy and underweight horse come spring.

Winter Feeding
One of the main ways that horses can keep warm during winter is by eating. The process of microbial fermentation of forage in a horse’s digestive system generates heat in their body. Horses will burn more calories in the winter to stay warm, so compensate for this by feeding them more forage. It is recommended to feed horses 1.5% – 3% of their body weight in forage during the colder months.

Water Intake
One of the challenges of caring for horses in the winter is their disinclination to drink water. This means that dehydration is a great concern in the winter, so finding ways to entice your horse to drink is very important. Most 1000 lb horses require at least 10 -12 gallons of water per day, and the following tips should help you get your horse to drink their daily requirement:

• Install a bucket heater or trough deicer to keep water from freezing
• Increase your horses salt intake by offering a free-choice salt lick in their stall or add a loose mineral supplement to their feed.
• Consider adding electrolytes to your horse’s water to help prevent dehydration
• Keep water clean and fresh for your horse

Provide Shelter
Access to shelter is crucial for helping horses withstand colder temperatures and stay protected during the winter months. A run-in shed provides an important buffer against extreme weather conditions like wind, rain, and snow, which can quickly lower their body temperature and lead to discomfort or health risks. By providing a safe place to retreat from the elements, horses can tolerate lower temperatures and help them stay healthy and comfortable throughout the winter season.

Reducing Ice Buildup
Icy conditions in winter pose slipping risks to not only us but our equine companions as well. It’s essential to be aware of freeze-thaw patterns and stay on top of preventing ice buildup in places your horse frequents, such as stalls, around their water trough, north sides of buildings, paddocks, etc. A few of the ways you can be proactive in preventing and reducing ice buildup are:

• Repair leaky rain gutters on barns or run-ins that drip and form ice.
• Avoid spilling water when filling troughs and repair any leaks that may drip.
• Remove snow from frequently used pathways and paddocks to decrease water buildup and frozen puddles.
• Reduce the amount of manure in the paddock, as it is prone to freezing and will leave you with a muddy mess in the spring!
• Improve your paddock’s grade by building up sunken ground where water may pool and freeze in the winter.
• Create traction in icy areas by putting down shavings, straw, sand or salt. Refrain from feeding horses near where you spread sand or salt, as they may eat it off the ground. Always make sure your horse has an alternative source of salt if you choose to spread pure salt to melt the ice.

Winter Hoof & Health Care
Horse hooves require lots of attention during the winter to ensure potential issues can be addressed quickly. Keep these tasks on your winter horse care to-do list:

• Regularly pick out hooves to remove snow buildup and inspect them to ensure there is no bacteria or infection in the crevices of the frog.
• Although hooves grow slower in the winter, they should still be trimmed every 6-8 weeks.
• Consider removing metal shoes and allowing your horse to go barefoot in the winter. Going barefoot gives your horse more traction on icy winter terrain.
• If you do keep your horse shod in the winter, consider adding metal studs or snow pads to their shoes.
• Ensure horses have access to a dry place to stand and dry their hooves. Hooves that are wet for extended periods of time can lead to rot and infection.

Along with regular hoof care, there are a few other health maintenance tasks to be aware of in the winter to ensure your horse is in the best health:

• Deep mud and snow make it near impossible for your horses’ legs to fully dry off, leading to skin conditions like mud fever. While providing a place for your horse to stand and dry off can help prevent this, we still recommend that you check over your horse’s legs and hooves daily for signs of disease or infection.
• Heavy hair coats and blankets can sometimes hide weight loss, so we recommend regular body condition scoring to check your horse’s weight and assess their health.

Blanketing
Not every horse needs to be blanketed in the winter. Some horses are well-equipped to handle the cold without a blanket. However, blanketing may be necessary for a horse for the following reasons:

• No shelter is available to protect from the elements during turnout when the weather drops below -15 C.
• The horse is clipped.
• The horse is very young or old.
• The horse has a body condition score of 3 or less.
• The horse isn’t acclimated to the cold.
• If there is a chance the horse will become wet due to rain, freezing rain, or calm, warm snowfall.

If you are trying to decide whether to blanket your horse in the winter, we recommend speaking to your equine veterinarian about the best decision for your horse.
If you blanket your horse, make sure that it fits them well to prevent rubbing and sores, and remove and reposition the blanket daily. Always ensure the blanket stays dry, and never put a blanket on a wet horse, as this can lead to infection or fungal diseases such as rain rot.

Exercise
Horses need regular exercise in the winter to get their blood flowing, reduce boredom, raise body temperature, and, of course, stay fit, happy and healthy. Provide lots of turnout time for exercise, and if possible, enjoy a wintertime ride when the weather is nice! One thing to consider when exercising your horse in the winter is cooling them out. Leaving a hot, wet horse to stand in the cold without properly being cooled out can lead to illness.

How to Cool Out Your Horse
Following your ride, walk your horse for 10-15 minutes to allow heat in their muscles to dissipate. Once you’ve dismounted, loosen the girth or cinch, but don’t remove the saddle yet, as cold air can cause warm muscles to cramp. Cover your horse with a cooler to help wick the moisture away while you walk them for a few more minutes. Remove the saddle, but put the cooler back on while you continue to walk your horse for a bit longer until they are cooled down.

Proper winter care is essential to keeping your horse healthy and comfortable throughout the colder months. From adjusting their diet to reducing slipping hazards, every detail matters. For more advice and top-quality products to meet your horse’s winter needs, visit us in-store – our experts are here to help you every step of the way!

For more expert advice and horse care tips, check out our blog!
Horses Hoof and Skin Health
Deworming Your Horse
Importance of Fiber in a Horses Diet

Sources:
Winter horse care tips – World Horse Welfare
Your Guide to Caring for Horses in Winter
Caring for your horse in the winter | UMN Extension
Cooling Out Horses in Winter