Preparing Your Horse For Winter.

            Preparing your horse and equipment for a hard Minnesota winter will help both of you to enjoy it. Today we will be going over food and water, shelter and blanketing, and finally footing and elements. Let’s suit up and head out.

            Will your horse have enough energy to keep warm? In cold weather, your horse will use a lot more energy to keep warm, which means more food will to be accessible. Before winter hits, try and have all the supplies that go scarce in the winter, such as hay or hay cubes. Fresh water with no ice is crucial. Horses may drink more water in the winter when they only get hay because it is dry than green grass, which is wetter.

            Horses should have a place to duck away from the elements. A lean-to or run-in is great for this purpose. In late fall going in to winter, it is not a good idea to blanket horses. If you do blanket them, they may not grow the proper amount of hair for winter. Remember this phrase “horses weren’t made for blankets, blankets were made for horses.”  Most horses don’t need blankets; but some old, sick or young horses do. If you decide to blanket or stall your horse, decide on a temperature that the blanket goes on and come off with. For example, if the temperature drops under 15 degrees, the blanket goes on but if it is above that it comes off.

            Prepare for the winter elements. When the freeze hits, ice can become a problem. Make sure that you have a bucket of sand to sprinkle on any icy areas. Before freeze-up, it is a good idea to smooth out the riding surfaces because it’s hard for the horse to go through rough bumpy frozen terrain. Sometimes snow can get packed in their hooves. It is important to pick their hooves often, whether riding or not.

            Let’s go back in and warm up a bit. We just covered the cold harsh winter with horses. We went over feeding, shelter and even footing for your horse. Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know in the comments below.