Winter Survival Guide
- Thread starter Midnight_Ashes
- Start date
Some good tips here 
I also forgot to add that putting balls (just cheap footballs etc) in water troughs can help keep them unfrozen for longer!
Hanging carrots and turnips can provide a cheap stable toy
Some horses will enjoy apples in their water buckets - endless fun
I also forgot to add that putting balls (just cheap footballs etc) in water troughs can help keep them unfrozen for longer!
Hanging carrots and turnips can provide a cheap stable toy
Some horses will enjoy apples in their water buckets - endless fun
I LOVE this thread... Lots of great ideas.
I always put wood chippings down in gateways/around troughs in the fields to help prevent bogs and top the areas up with another sprinkle as and when needed. They're great as they gently rot away so come spring the grass grows there again.
Im fortunate enough to have a warm boiler room on my yard so all turnout rugs and wet boots, saddle cloths etc go in there over night to dry out and in the morning everything is warm and dry... I am so lucky
My mares which live out have 2 sets of rugs so that they can be dried out and arent on for weeks on end when the weather is at its worst, it also helps prevent rubs.
Make sure you have clothes for they yard which are easy to put on, it might sound silly now but trying to undo fiddly buckles or poppers with freezing cold numb fingers is hell. particularly when youre late for work already
Have lots of buckets handy... nothing worse then rooting around in the dark for feed buckets when you have to go back to the yard, make up feed and bring it back out.
When its super cold I strap a hot water bottle inside my coat its a lifesever
I always put wood chippings down in gateways/around troughs in the fields to help prevent bogs and top the areas up with another sprinkle as and when needed. They're great as they gently rot away so come spring the grass grows there again.
Im fortunate enough to have a warm boiler room on my yard so all turnout rugs and wet boots, saddle cloths etc go in there over night to dry out and in the morning everything is warm and dry... I am so lucky
My mares which live out have 2 sets of rugs so that they can be dried out and arent on for weeks on end when the weather is at its worst, it also helps prevent rubs.
Make sure you have clothes for they yard which are easy to put on, it might sound silly now but trying to undo fiddly buckles or poppers with freezing cold numb fingers is hell. particularly when youre late for work already
Have lots of buckets handy... nothing worse then rooting around in the dark for feed buckets when you have to go back to the yard, make up feed and bring it back out.
When its super cold I strap a hot water bottle inside my coat its a lifesever
I've always wanted to do this but never worked out how to do the hanging bit. How do you do it?
I just drill or bore a hole through the middle, feed some baling twine through and tie a bit knot in the end, then tie it to a haynet ring or rafter or whatever
We have hand warmer gel pads that my mum got me and OH for xmas last year.. God send to warm fingers! You just snap the pad on them and they heat up and last for hours, when you get home just boil them in water and they are ready to go again!
Another lover for the wind up laterns! We love ours - no need for batteries so can never run out on you! Last winter our electric went out and could fix for a week so we mucked out by wind up lantern!! Oh the fun!
We keep salt handy to throw on the sloped areas of the yard to get rid of the ice before leading the horses out. No accidents from slippage then, horse and people alike!!!
We cover our taps in bubble wrap when it freezes.. this seems to help - nothing worse than frozen water!
Wrap hay/straw around your buckets in your stables to stop water freezing. Also if your in outdoor stables like me move your water buckets away from the door.. this serious helps stop freezing.
That's all I can think of now, will add more if I think of any more.
Another lover for the wind up laterns! We love ours - no need for batteries so can never run out on you! Last winter our electric went out and could fix for a week so we mucked out by wind up lantern!! Oh the fun!
We keep salt handy to throw on the sloped areas of the yard to get rid of the ice before leading the horses out. No accidents from slippage then, horse and people alike!!!
We cover our taps in bubble wrap when it freezes.. this seems to help - nothing worse than frozen water!
Wrap hay/straw around your buckets in your stables to stop water freezing. Also if your in outdoor stables like me move your water buckets away from the door.. this serious helps stop freezing.
That's all I can think of now, will add more if I think of any more.
Keeping "emergency rations" of food at the stables can help make evening muck outs a bit more bearable - it's suprising how much better a bar of chocolate can make you feel when you're freezing and starving!
Some brilliant tips here - keep em coming! It will be my frst winter of horse-ownership and I think I will need all the help I can get!
Put them in a distinctive or different pattern, like a square or something, so you know it's your horse you're walking too!!
I can understand it might not appear ideal from the horses POV,but really the inside of the rug that is on the horses skin should not be wet (if it is then either re-proofing or a new turnout is needed!!),it should only be the outside shell part of the rug that is dirty/wet etc.The theory is I *think* that the horses body radiates outwards/upwards (as heat does generally) and so eventually dries the rug from the inside out if that makes sense?? At no time though should the horse actually have wet soggy rugs right next to their skin,that inside layer should always be dry.
If you think about it horses that live out 24/7 would always be in wet rugs,as realistically couldn't change them everytime they got wet,they seem to cope fine!!
I leave my rugs on for day's at a time when weather is bad as are out 24/7 with nowhere to bring in to dry off etc,I alway check insides are dry,no rubs etc,and have never had any problems:smile:
As for tips for winter my top one would be nettex seven day mud away,absolutely brilliant stuff for keeping mud fever at bay.I have had horses living out in knee deep mud all winter with not so much of a sniff of mud fever (various horses and types,so not just because weren't prone),totally down to the mud away IMO.Just spray on once a week,and job done!! Only down side is do have to wash legs a bit or brush out if dry,to get excess mud off that is sitting on the top before re-applying.
Would also recommend pig oil and sulphur for the heavy feathered types,great as a preventative and treatment for any scabs/soreness.
Not sure have much to add to what others have put really.My horse lives out 24/7 so for me it's all about making his life bearable and me staying warm and dry!! Agree with the warm gloves,I always keep a spare pair in my pocket as mine always get wet somehow!!
Fleece lined waterproof trousers are a real treat when sloshing around in wet and mud,woolly hats are essential!!
anti rub vests are great if rugs have to stay for long periods of time and want to ensure doesn't rub.
White grease or de-icer is great for putting on padlocks on gates etc to ensure the locking mechanism doesn't feeze over in very cold weather (this happened to me a lot last year,very inconveneient if need to get in or out of field!!),DO NOT ever be tempeted to use hot water to un-freeze in a hurry,it will stay wet inside the lock and freeze even worse the next day!!
Nik wax rug wash is great stuff for giving rugs a quick wash to get the worst of the dirt out without harming the waterproof cababilities.
Doesn't apply to me now,but corn oil is a great,cheap way of keeping weight on poor doers/big horses during the coldest weather and poor grass.
Will add more if I think of any.
ETA: of course the most important tip is to stay positive and try not to think 'why on earth do we do this' too often lol:tongue:
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