Do you know horses are one of the most majestic animals on the planet. And horses are widely domesticated across the world for various purposes.

However, regardless of their incredible beauty, strength, and awesomeness, they need to be cared for just like every other being on the planet.

While horse care is a year-round job, it gets especially essential and arduous during the winter, depending upon the weather’s intensity in your area.

Moreover, along with continuously monitoring your horses’ health, you also need to be careful about the methods you use based on their breeds, ages, sizes, coats, etc.

As the winter season approaches, you’ve got to be prepared for everything you need to ensure that your horses are in their best health

Hence, to make this easier for you, we have brought you six simple tips to care for your horse better this winter season.

Here we go!

1. Coat Care

Your horses’ coats can be a protective layer to prevent them from extreme cold, but they can also cause a variety of other problems.

Trapping in moisture, sweat, dust and so much more, too much hair can lead to irritation, discomfort, skin infections or worse.

To avoid this, you need to use the right cordless horse clippers and carefully clip the horse using a rake to ensure you don’t clip too much.

What’s more, you also need to keep a check on their hooves and trim them regularly to keep the horses comfortable during winter. 

2. Water Consumption

To prevent colic and dehydration, you need to ensure that your horse drinks as much water as possible. This is essential because the lack of moisture in their feed during winter needs to be balanced by an increased water intake.

Indirectly affecting their ability to tolerate cold temperatures, a lack of water consumption can lead to severe damage to the horse’s health.

Moreover, not providing enough water can also significantly reduce the horse’s faecal moisture, making it harder for them to digest their food.

Hence, you need to use various techniques like increasing their salt intake and providing them with clean, fresh water to encourage better hydration. 

3. Winter Feed

As the temperature decreases, a horse’s body needs more energy to maintain body warmth and perform day-to-day functions. This makes it essential for your horses to consume more food than they otherwise would.

The horse’s food consumption is directly proportional to its water intake. If they’re consuming less water, they won’t eat enough to keep themselves warm.

You also need to keep an eye on your horse’s body condition score and adjust the feed to maintain a good one.

4. Exercise 

Regardless of the weather, your horses need regular exercises to maintain their health and fitness. While this may get especially difficult in the winter, avoiding exercise can lead to worse problems.

However, given the thickness winter coat, cooling down after exercise gets a little difficult, which is why you need to clip it regularly. This is especially essential because a sweating horse in a cold barn can lead to illnesses.

You also need to remember that a clipped horse may require more feed to be able to keep themselves warmer during cold weather.

5. Shelter

Horses should have appropriate shelter to rest in, especially during the winter season to protect them from storms and extreme cold.

While horses can tolerate great levels of winter, providing them with a sturdy stable or shed can help them be comfortable during the winter.

It also prevents them from other illnesses by preventing snow and rain from entering their coat and locking in extreme moisture, leading to heat loss.

6. Blankets

As the winter approaches, most horses will grow a natural winter coat to keep themselves warm during cold weather. This coat will continue to grow until the winter solstice and then start shedding after that.

The thicker the coat the warmer it keeps the horse, however, you need to ensure that you prevent moisture from entering the coat for better heating.

While the coat is a natural blanket, you might need to clip it from time to time, which is why you might need an external blanket to protect the horse. 

Blanketing is especially recommended for very young or very old horses or horses with poor health.

Conclusion

Now that you know all about the best ways to care for your horse during winter, it’s time you prepare yourselves for a cold winter.

Take great care of your horses and let them enjoy the comfort of spending the winter with everything they need under one roof!