Re: Winter management (sorry long)

[Lynette Helgeson <helgeson@lansford.ndak.net>]

Sorry Teddy, but  30 degrees is not even COLD. You start
talking 30 degrees below 0 and then we are talking COLD. We get
20 to 30 degrees below 0 every winter and our horses do just fine
left out side. We live in nothern North Dakota by the Canadian border.
All of our horses have access to go in and out of the
barn at any time that they want and we also have wind breaks
around the hay feeders so that they will have protection against the
wind whether they are outside the barn or in. I also have feeders inside
the barn in case the weather gets really bad. And most of the time the
horses prefer to stand outside, even when it is snowing. I have had babies
in the winter and they all do just fine. The only time that I saw all of my
horses get really cold was one winter 2 years ago when the temperature
fell to -40 degrees below zero. They were not use to that. We put down
a lot of straw and closed everyone in the barn and I hauled down warm
water several times a day, (they usually just drink from the well which is
cold water), and we keep hay in front of them at all times. The majority
of horses were in a big pen and there combined
body heat kept them warm but I had a mare with a 2 week old foal and
a stallion in separate box stalls and they were both shivering hard. So I
blanketed both of them and gave them extra warm water to keep them
warm inside and out and they did very well. The colt who had mamma's
warm milk keep wondering what all the fuss was about, but loved all of
the attention.

Now I do believe that if we normally get that cold the horses would have
been just fine but that is unusually cold for here. The wind chill was well
below -100 degrees below zero. I know that there are parts of Canada,
Alaska and places like Iceland that get much more colder then that and
the horses do just fine. You see horses can adapt. The low temperatures
do not happen all at once. Right now our daytime highs are 40 and 50's and
our lows are 30's. The horses are getting hairy and the colder it gets the
more hair they put on. The are use to spells around here of -20 to 30 below 0
so that is what they are adapted too. If we moved them farther north they
may have to adapt to something colder, which they would.

No one around here throws blankets on their horses or keeps them in all
winter. That would be disastrous. They would not get the full hairy coat
that they would need to stay warm. I guess I have never understood why
people who live in milder climates feel that they have to put blankets on
their horses all the time. Nature will take care of the horses is they are just
left alone. By throwing a blanket on you interfere with nature and then you
will have problems. They will not get a full coat on them. The only time
I would see a benefit to a blanket is when for some reason the horse had
to be shaved, and they loose that winter hair.

One more point. Our winters have low humidity. Usually around 10 percent
humidity. That might make a big difference on how they handle the cold.

Sorry this is so long, but I never did know when to shut up.

Lynette Helgeson

Teddy Lancaster wrote:

> I live in SE Ohio.  We get maybe 2 weeks below 30 degrees, but it is damp.  I have
> run-in shed and the horses stay out all year.
>
> Teddy
>
> Leigh331@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I have been very curious about something for a long time. I now have the means
> > to satisfy that curiousity......you. I have often wondered how folks in the
> > northern parts of the US and in Canada deal with their horses in the winter. I
> > have very mild winters here in NC and leave all mine outside all the time. The
> > few that I help out have shown sensitivity to the cold (use waterproof
> > blankets, left outside) or are new moms with babies (they stay inside during
> > bad weather). Wanted to know how others deal with this.
> > Leigh Preddy SE