Horse Riding Lessons Blog

Before winter arrives please check your fencing to make sure it is strong and will last
throughout winter and the extreme weather conditions and anything horses can throw at it.

If a horse and his mates can escape they will and they usually do it at the most inconvenient
times…..like when the school is being evacuated due to the surrounding roads flooding and you
have to pick the kids up now, in the middle of a thunderstorm with gale force winds when all you want to do is be curled up in front of the heater with a good book….no you are wet, cold, cursing and chasing a horse half way across your village wondering why you didn’t get cat instead of a horse.

Take the time to check trees and other fixtures as well that might break in a strong storm and crash through a rail, or if you have wire fencing check for any old wire that may get hidden under snow that can tangle around a horse’s leg. Wire is not very visible to horses and in winter extremes can be nearly invisible and can cause all types of trouble from cuts to permanent injuries.

Snow and extreme weather can also effect plastic fences, in summer the UV rays can make it become brittle and then in winter can get so frigid it can splinter and severely cut a horse.

All fencing has some type of danger to a horse whether it is wood, wire, plastic or vinyl. It will always deteriorate through weather and what horses dish out to it so check it regularly and repair it early and you won’t ever think to be trading your horse in on a cat.

horse fencing, horse fencing dangers, horses winter dangers

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So many winter accidents (both 2 and 4 legged) are avoidable and doesn’t take much planning or time to make it safer all round.

If you live in an area where it freezes make sure you check regularly for holes, hollows or just where horses stand. Any dips should be leveled out or filled in so that any rain or water that settles doesn’t turn to ice making it a slippery hazard.

A horse can seriously hurt itself if it slips and then tries to get up on the slippery surface. If the ice doesn’t break then a horse runs the risk of thrashing around trying to regain his footing and could quite easily break a leg. If the ice does break it can have the same effect as glass and cause some serious deep cuts.

Granular salt can help roughen up slippery surfaces but do so sparingly or only in extreme circumstances as it is caustic and irritating to their hooves and legs and winter and all its elements all ready put enough stress on them. Clean and dress their feet daily to keep them in good condition, it only takes a few minutes to do.

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While many of us look forward to ringing in the New Year it can be really stressful on our pets.

Many people lock their dogs and cats away in a quiet room where they can escape the noise but horse owners need to be a little bit more prepared.

Horses get frightened easily by loud noises and bright flashes so its always good to find out if there is going to be
fireworks, bonfires or large parties anywhere near your stables or fields. If there is then its a good idea to have at least 1 capable adult in the stables as this alone has a calming effect on horses. Also give them plenty of hay to occupy themselves and close any barn doors to keep noise and flashes to a minimum.

The last thing you want at midnight is trying to find a very frightened horse that has escaped or calling out the vet
to see to injuries that could have easily been prevented by a terrified horse trying to escape his stall or breaking through a fence.

Its always good to have a fire extinguisher, sand or extra water around the stable as well, just in case of any fire hazards from the fireworks.

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As winter approaches horses start to grow a different type of coat to help them stay as warm as possible. The first coat is fluffy and stands up to trap warm body heat while the second coat is a longer hair that helps repel water off of them and away from their skin. Obviously if your horse is exposed to windy and/or rainy conditions they can lose this advantage as a wet horse can lose its body heat up to 20 times faster than a dry horse.
So you have decided that your horse should be rugged that leads to the question of what type of rug or blanket should be used. Go online or into any saddler store and you will be faced with hundreds of different styles, brands and choices it’s hard to know where to begin.
The best thing to remember is that the purpose of a rug is to keep your horse warm. A blanket is no substitute for protection from the wind and rain, you rug for warmth not as an alternative to protection from the winter elements, nobody likes to be stuck in the wind and the rain and neither does your horse.

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When the weather turns cold and wintery it is very easy for horse owners to want to keep their horses warm, dry and happy. When we walk outside and get a blast of icy cold air in our face our first reaction is to put on a coat and rug up to keep warm. We tend to want to do this with our horses as well. It’s very easy to compare our own winter comfort level to that of their horse and we tend to over rug them. Heat actually stresses a horse out more than cold conditions.
Depending on the weather conditions and what you use your horse for should determine if you rug him or not. If you are going to keep your horse in work through the winter months then it is best to rug him in a good quality waterproof turnout blanket even if he has access to shelter.
Some horses just naturally feel the cold and need to be rugged for their own comfort and look for them when it starts to turn cold. I have had a few like that who love their blankets and I have owned others who have made it a sport to see how quickly they can remove them!
After hard exercise even in the most chilliest of weather your horse is going to raise a sweat and get hot if his coat is allowed to get too thick. It’s very important that the horse be dried thoroughly after exercise and that the hair is brushed so that it stands up. This prevents the sweat from causing a chill, which can lead to illness. Would you like to be turned out into cold wintery conditions while still damp?
By brushing your horses hair up it provides insulation against the cold. Fluffy hair traps air and keeps the horse warm; hair plastered down flat or wet from rainy conditions lets body heat escape and that’s when horses get cold and miserable. A well exercised horse needs to be cooled out thoroughly then brushed to stand the hair up again before turning them back out.

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