Friday 15 December 2017

All About ... Horses and the Winter


At this time of year there are a lot of things to think about with horses and fewer light hours to actually do things - so here is a reminder of some of the key things.


1.       Some horses will feel the cold more than others - have a look at my blog to find out more about how horses are adapted to cope with different weather conditions.


2.       Stabling: check out my blog I posted a couple of weeks ago about restricted grazing.  There are a lot of things to think about when your horse is stabled for long periods of time!


3.       Mud Fever: can be a big problem at this time of year so do everything you can to prevent it occurring in the first place, check out my video for tips.


4.       RAO is more often a problem in the winter when horses are stabled more and fed more hay.  The environment can be dusty and causes problems for some horses' respiratory systems.


5.       What you feed to your horse during the winter often needs to be different to their summer feed, I wrote a blog a couple of years ago about the important points to think about with this.


6.       Riding can be a challenge in the winter too with the dark and gloomy days and the risk of icy roads so check you my blog for a few things to think about.


7.       Chesney has had problems with soft soles on his feet and has had abscesses over the last 2 winters so I will be looking out for this and trying to prevent his feet becoming soft in the first place this year.  I have a concoction from the vet to paint on weekly but there are other products available with eucalyptus which work well.


8.       Rainscald can be a problem for some horses at this time of year, treating it can be difficult at this time of year too, because generally horses need washing - and it is cold!!  Access to heat lamps would definitely be an advantage!

  
Have you seen this week's video 'One Day in December' on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love..  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy. 

Until next time!
Jo

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