Re: Winter management

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-10-31 23:33:18 EST, Leigh331@aol.com writes:

<< I have been very curious about something for a long time. I now have the
means
 to satisfy that curiousity......you. I have often wondered how folks in the
 northern parts of the US and in Canada deal with their horses in the winter.
I
 have very mild winters here in NC and leave all mine outside all the time.
The
 few that I help out have shown sensitivity to the cold (use waterproof
 blankets, left outside) or are new moms with babies (they stay inside during
 bad weather). Wanted to know how others deal with this.
 Leigh Preddy SE >>

The worst possible climate for horses in the winter is one where the weather
is at or near freezing and there is precipitation.  If horses can stay DRY and
can get enough calories, they are quite tolerant to the cold.  We get both
sorts of weather here (33 and raining, or zero and occasionally colder and
dry, and I have been in central Idaho and Montana in the 50 below stuff) and
the horses are most definitely the most miserable at 33 and raining.  A good
winter coat is such good insulation that if it is cold enough for snow to stay
frozen, I have seen horses with an inch of snow unmelted on their backs, quite
content, with the hair keeping the body heat in so well that it doesn't even
melt the snow.  Cold weather is the one time that ALL of our horses get
alfalfa, though--protein has a high heat of digestion, which means that it
gives off heat during the digestive process.  That is undesirable as an
endurance feed, but perfect for a cold weather feed.  We do NOT feed big grain
servings at night in the winter, because of the blood-sugar/insulin roller
coaster that some of them can go through.  Hence, the winter program is that
any who get grain get it in the mornings, and the last thing we do at night is
make sure that everyone has some alfalfa.  We don't have barns here, but we do
have windbreaks, and I think that is important in the cold, too.  Something
with a roof would be more appropriate if we got more rain, but what we get can
be fairly well escaped under our juniper trees.

BTW--we just had a new baby on October 26, and we have done nothing special
with her for the weather since she is quite healthy.  She has juniper trees
and windbreaks, but Mother Nature looks after her own quite well, and this
late baby was born with a nice woolly set of pajamas, all ready for winter.
We have had some pretty cold frosty nights already, and when I go out to check
on her, she is either happily curled up in the old grass near a windbreak or
running laps in the moonlight.  We are pretty proud of this baby--she is a
stunning bay filly by Lawmoss--he was by Lawseyn, who is a familiar name to
those who look at a lot of successful endurance pedigrees.  Lawmoss died of
bone cancer in his jaw in April; knowing that it was likely the last chance to
get another foal by him, I took one of my best mares to him last Thanksgiving,
and told the woman that owned him that I didn't care when she bred.  The mare
is a double Muhuli mare (her sire Abu Malacar and her maternal grandsire
Wynterfyre are both Muhuli sons that have produced good endurnance horses) and
her granddam Rabigale is a full sister to Rabiytu, the sire of RT Muffin.
(Muffy's dam, by the way, was by Muhuli, too.)  Anyway, the mare bred on
December 2.  Lawmoss only settled one mare after that, and her owners think
she may have resorbed, so this filly may well be her daddy's last--since she
is bay like daddy and has four flashy stockings and a blaze like daddy, she is
named Laws Finale.  Needless to say, she is pretty precious to us.

Heidi