Horses can get dehydrated more easily in the cold weather, particularly if the water is too cold to drink, so it is important to keep an eye on their water intake. Horses also tend to burn more calories in the winter trying to keep warm, so they will potentially need extra hay to maintain their weight and condition.
Their long winter hair coat traps air next to the skin, which helps insulate them against cold weather. In fact, horses in good body condition can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit without difficulty.
Horses will start feeling cold below certain critical temperatures. For a clipped horse, or one with a summer coat, the average critical temperature is 40°F. For horses with a thick winter coat, the critical temperature can be as low as 18°F.
Common Horse Sicknesses Caused By Cold Weather. Cold weather can cause a number of different health problems for horses. Some of the most common ways that the cold weather affects horses includes arthritis, colic, frostbite, hypothermia and respiratory illnesses.
When horses exhibit cold stress, typical comfort-seeking behavior is expressed, such as huddling together and seeking shelter from wind. Foals will curl up to minimize body surface area. Shivering is also a sign of cold sensitivity. This happens when a horse might not have enough body fat or energy to keep warm.
“A full winter hair coat is perfect for insulating the horse against the cold winter weather. However, that insulation is lost if the hair coat gets wet. Providing shelter allows the horse to stay dry on wet, snowy days and, ultimately, allows them to stay warm.” Another way to keep horses warm is to feed them hay.
A general rule of thumb is to rest a horse one week for every day of fever, for a minimum of two to three weeks after infection.
Cold Stress
Critical temperature is the temperature below which a horse starts to expend additional energy to provide warmth. This temperature for individual horses will vary because of fat cover, hair thickness, acclimatization of the horse to cold, hair/coat wetness, and wind chill.
The anatomy of the lower limbs are very well adapted for coping with the cold. As there are no muscles below the knee the cells in the leg require less blood circulation, meaning they lose less heat. Whilst your toes are one of the first appendages to get cold, this is not a problem for your horse.
The blanket should be checked and removed every couple of days. You'll need to do this to make sure it is still fitting the way it should, and so that you can check the horse's body condition under the blanket to make sure they haven't lost too much weight in the cold weather.
In all scenarios, in winter months horses should be given at least 1.5 to 3% of their body weight in some form of forage; it could be in the form of long stem hay, chopped hays, forage based cubes, or combinations thereof. They should also have access to salt at all times and unlimited ice free water.
A basic warm-up should begin with 10 minutes of active walk on a long rein. Encourage your horse to stretch their topline 'long and low', which helps them relax, engages their core and warms up their back muscles. Horses working with a raised head are more likely to be tense through their back.
Truth: Forage (hay or pasture) provides large amounts of insoluble fiber which is primarily digested in the hindgut (where bacterial fermentation produces internal body heat). High fiber feeds produce long lasting internal body heat to maintain core body temperature. The hindgut is your horse's furnace!
Proper warm up is essential to keeping your horse fit and muscle tone elastic. Warming up and cooling down will help to minimize muscle stiffness and loss of range of motion.
Shivering is a sure sign that your horse is cold. Reflexive contractions of the muscles, shivering helps the body keep warm but at great metabolic cost. If you find a horse shivering, immediately help him warm up with a blanket or shelter.
Blanketing a wet horse will increase the chances of developing rain rot, but it's better to deal with [potential] rain rot later than to deal with a colicky horse that got too cold.
Horses are known to be social creatures – herd animals by nature that thrive on a group dynamic. While there are varying degrees of friendship needs, from a large field with several herd members to a trio or even just a pair, horses that are on their own, by contrast, can get lonely.
Stabling horses often suits our needs as people (e.g., convenience), not the horses. Horses are social, herd animals and we know that they are not meant to live alone. Isolation and confinement suppress their natural instincts for friends, forage and freedom [1].
Cold weather can bring a number of environmental conditions that can increase the likelihood of developing colic during the winter months. Increases in grain, poorer quality hay and straw, lowered exercise levels, and freezing water can all contribute to the origination of colic in horses.
Shivering is a natural response to the cold. Horses, like people, shiver when they are cold. If your horse is shivering, it is clearly uncomfortable, and this is an obvious and definitive sign that your horse is cold.
Winter coughs in horses who are stabled is usually down to dust particles and fungal spores being inhaled into the lungs, triggering an inflammation and increase in mucus production.