Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have one that I have to blanket when it falls below 40. Although I live
in FL, I live in a cold spot in FL and we are below 40 half of Dec, most
of Jan and about half of Feb plus a few days in Nov and March. I have another
who's magic number is 35. They are both FL bred Arabs. One grows almost no
winter coat. The walking horses and the other other Arab ( came from CA)
do fine in the winter.

So it all depends. 

Truman

Mary Golden wrote:

I am so glad this discussion came up, as it is something that I have been struggling with this winter. 

 

My 5 run on about 15 acres during the winter.  Unfortunately, this doesn't have any trees or a run in for them -- thus, they come in when the weather gets *really* bad and also at night during the winter.  One of my mares, a Canadian-bred horses, never even saw a stall until she came to my place.  She seems perfectly happy being out 24/7 365 days a year for the most part.  she never had shelter of any type before she arrived at my place -- not even trees.  Now one of my horses was bred in FL and spent the first 2 years of her life there;  5 years later, after her move to NY, she still doesn't grow much of a winter coat.  Because our winter was so obnoxiously harsh this year (tons of snow and tons of sub-zero days and nights), she is freezing!  I've tried lack of blanket to encourage a coat, but I just don't think it's going to happen.  So, I do blanket her on those days/nights when it is sub-zero because she will just stand there and shiver -- no matter what.

 

I would like to hear from those of you who do 24/7 in harsh climate on the following topics, as this is something that I have been trying to hash out in my brain these past months:

 

1)  dealing with frost bite

 

2) natural shelters -- what types of trees do you prefer?  if it's pine/fir, is there any issue with sap getting in the horses' manes and tails, and, if so, how do you deal with it?

 

3) run-in sheds...how big and how many for 5 horses?

 

4) keeping water unfrozen

 

And finally (at least for now), I was reading the article in Equus this month about horses and sleep.  Did anyone else read this?  How does being out 24/7 in deep snow affect this "lying down" to sleep issue?  Do you see any affects?

 

Thanks!!!

 

Mary Golden

Northern New York