Most horses are a lot tougher than I thought. In cold climates, they will grow a nice winter haircoat and what they can do is get hairs to stand up and kind of make an impenetrable blanket in the cold weather. I grew up in MN and the horses loved to be outside. Granted, if we got a really "wet" snow, we would brush them off when they came inside as it would melt and penetrate their coat. My quarter horse mare who was a pampered show horse the first 5 years of her life survived a winter in MN living outside with a band of broodmares. I had my doubts as some winters in MN can get pretty nasty, but she seemed to love it (she was a lot tougher than I thought she was). There were no man made shelters in this pasture, but plenty of trees. Now I live in OH and during the summer, the horses will just sit outside in the rain, but when the weather gets cold, they will use the shelters when it rains (unless they have a blanket on). Kelli ----- Original Message ----- From: Heidi Smith Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 4:49 PM To: Sullivan; Bob Morris; Dabney Finch; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Do Pastured Horses Come In Out of the Rain? > I have heard also from a friend, that it is common in Idaho to just turn
> horses out for the winter. I suspect they grow awesome coats and are
> very tough individuals. What I think makes ALL the difference, is if they
> can move around to get warm.
>
> Personally, even in mild Calif climate, I have seen them shiver in a
> rain...I
> could not stand that, so feel they need the option of shelter.
>
> Another thing to consider is if you ever have a sick h orse....y ou will
> wish
> you have a dry place.
Actually, it isn't just common in Idaho--it is common in lots of places. It
is far healthier to be out in the REALLY cold weather than it is in the
rain, because when it is REALLY cold, the hair stays dry, and they stay
insulated. Our horses are turned out all winter in the cold, and they LOVE
it. They don't shiver, they feel good, and they are virtually never sick.
(By contrast, stalled horses have a significantly higher rate of pneumonias,
due to ammonia and dust problems--there have even been some pretty
impressive studies done on this.) The biggest issues in winter are ensuring
adequate feed (they DO eat more, as they need the heat of digestion and the
additional calories to generate body heat), and adequate water that isn't
all frozen up. The most miserable weather for horses is 33 and raining, for
sure. One reason we like Idaho is that we just don't get much of that sort
of weather. :-)
Heidi
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
If you are an AERC member - PLEASE VOTE in the Director at Large
and By Laws Elections.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
|
