Care for Horses in the Winter – Everything You Should Know

As the temperatures drop and winter approaches, you may worry over your horse’s comfort – especially as you sit in front of the fire with a warm mug of tea (or if you’re like me, coffee). You may wonder what extra care requirements your horse has in the winter, and whether he or she can possibly keep warm in the freezing temperatures that have you scurrying back inside after your barn chores. 

What do horses need in the winter? A horse’s water intake must be monitored, and managed when necessary, in freezing temperatures to prevent colic and other digestive upsets. A horse’s feed intake may also need to be increased if the temperatures are very cold or if the horse is in poor body condition. Horses that don’t have access to shelter may need to be blanketed, and snowed-in paddocks may need to be cleared.

Keep reading to learn the essentials of winter horse care, including how to encourage a horse to drink adequate water and when blanketing and extra feed are necessary.

Winter Horse Care: Keeping Your Horse Hydrated

Summer pasture contains about 60-80% moisture, while hay contains much less – around 15%. When you look upon a snow-covered field, though, you won’t find much in the way of pasture, and horses that obtain their calories entirely from hay will need to make up for that lack of crucial moisture. A horse that is not well-hydrated, even (or especially) in the winter, is more likely to suffer from colic and intestinal blockages, both of which can be very dangerous. 

Horses prefer water that is between 45 and 65 degrees (all of the temperatures I have listed in this post will be in Fahrenheit), though a Canadian study showed that horses increased their water consumption by 40-100% when the water was kept at 60 degrees or higher. If you live in an area with colder winters, here are some tips you can utilize to keep your horse’s water from icing over:

• Use a rubber trough instead of a plastic or metal one.
• Try placing your water bucket inside a larger receptacle, filling the gap between the two with straw or shavings. This will help to insulate the water.
• Electronically heated water buckets are available for purchase, though the wires will need to be protected from rodents (and horses) and will need to be checked regularly.

Winter Care: When Your Horse Needs Extra Calories

You should regularly assess your horse’s body condition through the winter, keeping in mind that a horse’s thicker winter coat may hide a drop in weight. Keeping warm expends energy, and once the temperature dips low enough, a horse will require additional calories to both stay warm and maintain a healthy body condition. It is said that for every degree below 18 degrees, a horse will require an additional one percent energy in his or her diet (this critical temperature point may be as high as 41 degrees if the horse still has his or her summer coat). The additional calories should come from hay and forage because the microbial fermentation produces more heat than does the digestion of grain. 

Winter Horse Care: How Cold is Too Cold?

According to the University of Minnesota, horses are most comfortable at between 18 and 59 degrees. That said, they can withstand temperatures much colder than that. Horses are generally comfortable outdoors in temperatures as low as zero degrees in the absence of wind and rain. With access to shelter, a horse can tolerate temperatures as low as -40 degrees. 

Should you stall your horse, or not?

Believe it or not, horses are generally happiest outdoors, even in temperatures below freezing. There is usually no reason to stall a horse so long as he has access to shelter when needed. Research has shown that in mild winter weather, a horse will spend around 10% of his time under a given shelter. When the wind speed is greater than 11 mph, horses have been shown to spend as much as 62% of their time under shelter. This means that horses are very good at deciding for themselves whether or not they should take cover.

That said, a horse that has no access to shelter would probably appreciate being stalled over standing in the icy rain. Though my horses have never seemed phased by a light drizzle, a harder rain will send them under the barn eaves or under a tree. When stalling your horse, make sure your barn receives adequate ventilation and is cleaned out regularly. A lack of ventilation can negatively impact a horse’s sensitive respiratory system. With all of my “enclosed” animal shelters, I always leave the top 1-2 feet open with only hardware cloth. This keeps the air moving but my animals protected from drafts. 

Should you blanket your horse, or not?

Whether or not to blanket – this is a question for which you will get many different answers. Here is my opinion (and the opinion of many experts) on the matter.

A horse’s most effective blanket is his own winter coat. This coat insulates the horse by trapping and warming the air before it reaches the skin. Coat growth is dependent on daylight, while the thickness is dependent on the temperature. A horse’s winter coat will continue to grow out until mid-late December, after which point the winter coat will slowly shed out (as the days get longer). It is believed that blanketing a horse before December 22 will adversely impact the rate at which he grows his natural winter coat.

Blanketing really is not dependent on temperature. As stated earlier, horses can naturally withstand very low temps. That doesn’t mean they are without their purpose, though. Horses may need to be blanketed for the following reasons.

• Lack of shelter – rain will flatten the coat and prevent the undercoat from providing a layer of warm air. Wind will blow that warm air away from the skin. Therefore, both rain and wind in cold temperatures will impact a horse’s ability to keep himself warm. If a horse does not have shelter during turnout in which to escape the wind and rain, he will probably benefit from a blanket. This is usually not an issue with snow, as snow can actually accumulate on a horse’s coat and provide additional insulation.
• Clipped coat – if a horse has had his coat clipped, he has lost his ability to keep himself warm.
• Age or body condition – very old horses, very young horses, and horses in poor body condition will require more energy to keep themselves warm and healthy. These horses will benefit from extra help in the form of a blanket.
• Lack of acclimatization – a horse who moves from a warmer climate to a colder climate will need to become accustomed to the new climate before he can be expected to keep himself adequately warm. This process takes at least 10-21 days. If you’re moving a horse from Florida to Wisconsin in December, for example, he’ll need to be blanketed during his first winter. 

If you are blanketing your horse, make sure it is waterproof and not so thick as to cause him to sweat. Don’t blanket a wet horse, or you’ll trap that moisture and cause your horse to become colder. Lastly, make sure the blanket is well-fitting so as to prevent sores – remove the blanket daily to assess your horse.

Winter Horse Care: Final Thoughts and Extra Tips

Here are a few more tips on caring for your horse during the winter:

• Though your horse’s hooves will probably grow more slowly during the winter, you will still want to keep up with your regular trimmings every 6-8 weeks. Hooves are prone to impacted snow and ice and will need to be picked out daily.
• You may need to clear excess snow from your horse’s paddock. If the paddock is iced over, you may need to remove the horse (and/or add salt to the ice) until it has melted. Ice can cause a horse to slip and potentially injure himself.
• Before riding, your horse may need longer warm-ups than usual. In cold weather, it may take a bit longer to loosen up the muscles and joints which is important so as to reduce the risk of injury.

While you may be miserable when you’re outside in the coldest weather, it’s important to remember that your horse is not a human and, unlike you, has built-in insulation. Horses are almost always happier being outside, and this is true even in the winter. A horse with adequate shelter opportunities and appropriate acclimatization may likely be happier with an inch of snow on his back and an icicle hanging from his nostril than he would be if he was cooped up in a stall. So while you may be eager to head back indoors after a walk outside in the cold, take comfort that your horse may be looking at you with pity for having to go inside at all.