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  Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
   
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | With all this talk about suddenly cold weather.....
http://qheventer.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/water-for-winter/
WATER FOR WINTER....
Cold weather is here and in some cases the temperature has dropped drastically in a matter of just a few hours. While extreme changes in weather can cause some concerns for managing your horse, there are things you can do to minimize your horse’s risk of getting sick.
Any time the thermometer drops it’s a good idea to add water to your horse’s feed. Horses generally drink less and eat more hay when it’s cold. This of course is the prime set up for compaction colic. Adding water to the feed is a great way to get some guaranteed fluids in their digestive system and avoid choke at the same time.
Some owners will add salt to the feed to encourage their horses to drink. While this may work for a lot of horses, I have seen some horses with digestive issues that will not up their water intake even with the salt. The result is that they become dehydrated much faster because they don’t drink enough water to compensate for the added salt. This is why wetting down feed is a good option.
Even if your horse’s weight is where it should be and they don’t require additional grain, it’s still a good idea to add soaked roughage during the changes in weather. Adding a small amount of soaked alfalfa or beet pulp is a great choices for horses that are on hay and/or pasture and don’t require feed.
Soaked Alfalfa cubes
Alfalfa comes in small squares or cubes and in pelleted form. Beet pulp comes in pelleted, shredded, or meal form. Both options are high in fiber and expand when water is added. As both can be used to replace a small part of the hay intake (20-30%) they’re a great way to stretch your hay supply.
When soaking feed or cubes, it’s a good idea to let it soak until it’s soft and expanded. If you feed a straight grain, you can still add some water to the grain until it softens. Hot water can shorten the amount of time needed to soften and expand. If more convenient you can also soak overnight as long as the water does not freeze. Freezing will make it impossible to get the feed or forage out of the bucket.
Soaked Beet Pulp
A good rule of thumb for soaking is to cover the cubes, pellets, or shreds with at least an inch of water. If you’re feeding straight grain, you won’t need as much water. For pellets that are extremely hard or for beet pulp shreds you’ll want to add a little more water. Horses with teeth issues will also need a wetter mix.
As fresh drinking water is a critical component to managing horses well in cold weather, make sure your horses have free access to their water buckets or troughs. Keep the ice busted up and if necessary periodically off them warm water to encourage them to drink. If tank warmers are not an option, setting your troughs in an area where they receive direct sunlight on a daily basis will help minimize the amount of ice that accumulates.
What concerns do you have for your horse this winter? What are your strategies to avoid those concerns?
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 Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7619
Location: Dubach, LA | *sigh* I haul hot water from the house to the barn. It's amazing how much they will drink while it's hot. Oh to have a hot water tank in the barn! |
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 Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| CanCan - 2014-11-15 9:21 PM
*sigh* I haul hot water from the house to the barn. It's amazing how much they will drink while it's hot. Oh to have a hot water tank in the barn!
This is what I do. Its a pain but worth it. Thank goodness for a gator! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 830
Location: Paradise , tx | We also haul hot water from the house to the barn ( or mostly my hubby) |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | And this is why I love my automatic waterers...Now to grapple with my eternal battle of blanketing: letting my horses be natural OR being an overprotective mom. |
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Warrior Mom
Posts: 4400
| cavyrunsbarrels - 2014-11-16 1:52 PM
And this is why I love my automatic waterers...Now to grapple with my eternal battle of blanketing: letting my horses be natural OR being an overprotective mom.
We just moved to the new house. The barn is equipped with auto waters. But im still hauling warm waters to them twice a day. Until we get those heaters up and running anyway. |
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 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | To fix your blanketing questions I have found a handy dandy chart from facebook
My horses fall under the category of wussies.
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 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Oh my heck....I love that chart ...sooo true LOL |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| I am feeding extra alfalfa to the ones on a round bale and extra hay to the ones in the barn. All of mine have blankets right now as it is 25 degrees and snowing. They all have access to get in out of the wind and snow but some choose not to. I also haul warm water. They have cold water to drink (I have tank de-icers) but everyone gets warm breakfast and dinner and I top off waters with my warm water when I can't get water through the hose. My barn is a few miles down the road so I drive to the barn after filling several 5 gallon containers in the kitchen. |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I hauled a bucket of hot water from the house to one pen of my horses Friday and only one was super interested in drinking it. Streak drank about 1/3 of the bucket right off, then Clifford acted like it burned his lips and Chance went and drank out of the icy tank instead. Cliff drank some when it cooled off a little bit, and I refilled the warm bucket a few times for him and Chance to drink, but all 3 of them were happily drinking out of the tank where I had busted the ice.
That said, those three have had blankets on since Monday evening but when it starts getting up above 40 during the days I'll pull the blankets. Joker is a complete fuzzball so I haven't blanketed him. He doesn't really have a shed he can get completely in but he can stand partially under it and the wind is blocked. I carried a blanket out towards him one night and he ran away so he is doing the natural hair thing this winter, as long as he can get out of the wind. |
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Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | Back when I blanketed my biggest delima was trying to figure out what to do on those days when it was 20 degrees when I left for work and 70 by noon and I couldn't come home. Now they're all just fuzzy and get thrown put when it's raining even...they do have a run in. Every time I habe stopped watering their feed I have had issues. Best preventitive in the world! |
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