Winter Care Tips for Horses

Winter weather in the northern parts of the world necessitates extra care in horse keeping. In the northern climates you have snow, ice, and freezing or even subzero temperatures often followed by endless mud only to refreeze again. Grass is no longer a component of the horses’ diet. Even when horses get to go outside they are limited in how much energy outlet, movement, and play opportunity they have. 

The footing or ground in winter can be treacherous. If there is a lot of snow where you live you have seen horses come in with huge snowballs in their hoofs. This can put strain on their legs. Snow pads or plain pads might be a good option if your horse is shod. Snow pads are plastic pads that are rounded in the center to prevent snowballs from forming inside your horse's hoof. If you have a lot of ice or slippery conditions you can also add borium to your shoes for traction. There is also an option of going barefoot for the winter. Not all horses can do this. Talk with your farrier and vet at the beginning of winter and see what they suggest for your horse and the conditions where you live and the workload your horse will have. 

Photo Credit: The Horse

When it is super icy there is not much you can do to prevent your horse from slipping. Your best bet to prevent injury is to leave them in until it softens or melts. Speaking of melting, there is mud! During muddy times it is very easy for horses to pull shoes. They also can develop skin conditions from the moisture against their skin. It is not always best to continually wash the mud off as this adds more moisture and if the horse has a full coat and furry legs it doesn’t dry well making the problem worse. When you wash your horses legs make sure you towel dry them and allow them to dry completely. Make sure you are checking for and treating thrush regularly also. 

There is a significant amount of land management needed to handle winter weather and mud to keep turn out areas good year round. Even more so if you try to keep grass. All weather paddocks are a godsend if you have small areas to turn out or not much land. Keeping your horses off the grass in wet or muddy weather is key to maintaining the grass will be there when it is dry. Deep divots or torn up ground is not good when it refreezes. This is normal around the hay, water, or gates. If the paddocks are not large enough for there to be flat areas then those should be closed off when the ground is soft. Also over grazing of grass paddocks in the winter can damage the root system and the grass will have trouble returning well in the spring. The shorter your growing season the more impact there is. 

The most important part of winter care for horses is they need to have shelter available when outside for long periods of time. They need to be able to stay dry or get somewhere dry. They must have hay and water available at all times, especially when outside as the temperatures drop. Water is the hardest thing about winter care. Frozen buckets, troughs and hoses can be a nightmare. Trough heaters and heated buckets can help so much. Make sure you drain hoses well after each use and/or bring them in somewhere warm to prevent them from freezing. You will be carrying some buckets as well. You may need to change their calorie intake in winter. Consider adding alfalfa cubes or chaffe hay to replace the grass they aren’t getting. There are many products out there. 

No matter what climate you live in for the winter, horses grow a thicker coat as daylight hours decline. Different breeds have a tendency to thicker coats as well. Thoroughbreds and other hot blooded breeds typically have lighter coats while draft and cold blooded breeds grow a heavier coat. Then there are ponies. You can lose your hand in the depth of some of their fur!!

Horses are adapted to living outdoors. Horses that live outside and have a natural coat are able to cope with very cold temperatures. They have a unique ability to have their hair stand up to fluff up their coat to trap air and heat near the skin and can even repel wetness. If you have a horse with a full natural coat take care to not put tight or heavy blankets on them as it will push the hair flat and take away this natural insulating factor. 

Many horsemen struggle with the choice to clip or not. Clipping has its advantages. A clipped horse is easier to keep clean, it dries easily and quickly, you can easily discover any wounds or skin stuff happening but also requires more stringent blanketing and management. Natural coats require less blanketing and the coat offers much more natural protection for the horse. If your horse is in enough work in the winter months that they get sweaty you should consider clipping. Again dryness is key. If they can’t dry well before they are exposed to colder temps they should be clipped or not work as much to reduce sweat. There are also many different types of clip you can give your horse. If a full clip won’t work for your horse or stabling situation then consider a form of a trace or blanket clip.

Here is a video on my YouTube channel where I walk through the steps of clipping. Products: Clippers& Blades ( Use code AFL-CXTQ for 5% off!), Clipper Spray, Laser Sheen, Blade Care

It is important to know your horse and if they run hot or cold. One horse may be shivering in a heavy rug and the horse next to him is sweating in a light rug in the same weather. If you have a horse that runs hot you have to be careful how heavy you blanket them. You do not want your horse getting sweaty under the blankets. They will get more chilled as the temps drop and then risk getting sick. Other factors that will affect the blanketing decisions are wind chill, precipitation, sun, night turn out, day turn out, duration of turn out, heated barn, open barn, and of course, coat thickness.

When is it too cold to ride?  My rule of thumb is I don’t train under 25 degrees in the arena. Walking, groundwork and easy work is great.  If they aren’t getting outside they absolutely need to move around. I’m talking about asking the horse to do anything strenuous. In my mind their muscles and soft tissue won’t be able to get warm and loose enough to withstand stress. If under 40 degrees my clipped horses always wear a quarter sheet.

A quick video on how to put on a quarter sheet. Like this quarter sheet? Click here to buy!

A budget friendly hack! You can purchase fleece here.

The final factor that winter impacts is the horses’ energy level. With footing outside uncertain and horses on limited turn out or they go out but don’t or can’t really do much they have all that extra energy to deal with. A horse that is super quiet in warmer weather may suddenly be a dragon. You have to give them safe outlets for all that energy. Some turn out in the indoor or a safe structured lunge before you get on can help them mentally and physically. That doesn't mean to let them rip around and hurt themselves or continually make themselves more fit. It is unfair however to keep them bottled up. Beware of multiple days off and be mindful of keeping work consistent to keep their exuberance under control. When they have multiple days off for whatever reason, start them back slowly. See my blog Horses Need Vacations Too. In your training start to teach your horse how to deal with excess energy in a healthy and safe way and keep their focus on you. 

Stay safe and warm this winter and spring will come eventually! Or go south for the winter!

Caring for your Equine Athlete

Not everyone looks at riding horses as an athletic endeavor. Many horse owners feel their horse, is more of a pet. Especially if they don’t follow competition pursuits. Whether you do light, dressage, take jumping lessons over small jumps, fox hunt or go on long trail rides over terrain or any level of work above that our horses deserve to feel their best. If we are asking our horses to do anything that might break a sweat or breathe hard we are asking them to be athletes at some level. Athletic bodies need care. Think of any athletic team; football, basketball etc. These teams all have care workers on staff!

First and foremost good nutrition is a must. Good quality forage is the most important factor. Supplements also have their place. There are so many out there. I have my horses on an amazing collagen product that helps support them on a cellular level that helps with digestive support, joint, skin and hoof. Digestive support is the most important. Most horses have been found to have ulcer issues. These can cause so many behavioral and health issues.

Also properly fitting tack and good shoeing is a cornerstone of good equine care.

On a daily basis it is imperative to properly warm up your horse and yourself. A short routine of stretches before you mount and/or after you mount can make you feel so much more grounded in the tack. Also a few stretches and a little groundwork for your horse during their grooming routine and before mounting can help them be so much looser. Even 5 minutes of this can help your ride be that much more pleasant.

Walking is the most important part of your ride. You wouldn’t jump out of bed and immediately start running, would you? You can’t ask your horse to either. Doing a 10 - 15 minute walk warm up allows you and your horse to be soft and supple before your work. Walking is where so much training can be obtained. Allow your horse to stretch and get relaxed. Go through lateral work and transitions between halt and walk and even backing. Ask for bending to stretch each side of the horse. Change pace at the walk. Change the length of your frame by engaging the hind into contact and then allowing them to stretch.

Another important facet of the care of the athlete is bodywork. I like the horses to be seen by the bodyworker regularly, every 4 - 6 weeks. Their feedback is invaluable in how the horse is feeling and if there is something going on that I need to adjust my training to accommodate or if I need to have the chiropractor or vet out sooner.

The second line of defense so to speak is chiropractic care. I like the horses to be seen by the chiropractor every or every other month. Chiropractic in conjunction with bodywork can keep the horse's bodies quite healthy and help avoid compensation patterns which will in turn extend the time that vet work may be needed.

There are also many modalities available that can support this care. There is Bemer, Pemf magnawave, Centurion, red light therapy, and Equisage to name a few. If you are able to bring these therapies into your program it can also drastically help the horses stay feeling good. I find every horse responds a little differently to different modalities so it helps to experiment.

Regular vet wellness exams are the final yet most important cog in the athlete’s care wheel. DO NOT wait until your horse is sore or lame to have the vet come out. Very often something can be caught much earlier and addressed before it becomes an injury. Not to say that horses won’t injure themselves in a heartbeat but wear and tear type issues can be helped more easily much earlier. Horses develop compensation patterns. So say they are a little sore in the hocks but enough to notice much then they will dump more of their weight to the front end thus making their coffin joints sore. Or maybe the RH is tweaked then they dump to their LF. If this pattern is left unattended pretty soon they are sore everywhere. Somewhere along the line your training has become difficult and the whole downward spiral could have been avoided. For healthy horses in light work the vet should do a soundness evaluation every 6 months. For horses in medium to harder work every 4 months. For horses that are competing regularly or in hard work I have the vet come quarterly. This absolutely doesn’t mean they get injections quarterly. Sometimes its a matter of they should have a little time off, maybe some topical care or medicating is in order, maybe an adjustment to supplements, or the bodyworker or chiropractor should come out an extra time, or a shoeing change. Any number of things can be adjusted to prevent an injury or lameness from surfacing.

To recap your athletic care regime for your horse to keep them healthy is ...

1. Nutrition

2. Warm Up

3. Bodywork and Therapies

4. Chiropractic and Acupuncture

5. Regular Wellness Exams with your Vet

It is also important for you as the rider to maintain your own health. If a rider is asymmetrical it can have a detrimental effect on the horse. I find yoga to be extremely beneficial for me as a rider for strength, suppleness and awareness in my body. Bodywork, chiropractic and cross training for the rider can go a long way in helping the horse.

Horses Need Vacations Too

An integral part of any athlete’s program is rest. Our horses are no different. They need to be able to rest and recover, mentally and physically. They need time to be a horse. I usually give my event and dressage horses a few days off after every event or show and a lighter workload the remainder of that post show week. My hunters, jumpers and equitation horses would get longer times off after several weeks of showing. The horses always have 1 or 2 days off per week depending on the fitness requirements of their level of sport. The young horses end up having time off throughout the year when they stay home while we are at shows. I also give the non show horses about 10 days off around the holidays and small breaks throughout the year.

 At the end of the show season the horses get a longer time off. I usually do 14 - 21 days totally off.  Our current show season goes from late March to mid November. When you have a show season that starts in December or January you have to manage the time a bit differently. When I’ve gone to Florida for the season my horses would get a few weeks off after Florida.

Some horses need to be kept ticking over a little bit. Especially the older ones. This can be a great time for a little ground work or light lunging. Many horses appreciate being totally left alone to be a horse. Let them be dirty and furry. It is imperative that this off time is not spent in a stall. As much turn out as possible is a must. This is a perfect time to pull shoes for the winter if that is part of your program. 

Depending on the horse and the turn out situation I’ll start messing with them after 2 to 3 weeks. I like to ease them back into work. They’ll get 2 weeks of ground work, long lining, or lunge work 3 or 4 days a week. If it is nice out and they are sane some light trail rides are good too. I do like them to have plenty of time with no rider though.

After this 4 to 5 weeks of no work and then light no under saddle work, the horses will start to flat more. I’ll still keep it to about 4 days per week. Trail rides or hacking out is great at this time. Their work consists of lighter flatwork, long lining, and work on the line. Pole work is great at this time too. Their work remains light or even some extra couple days off over the holidays. Then January begins with vet checks and winter homework sets in!

Get Ready for Show Season!

As the holidays wind down and the new year begins thoughts of the upcoming show season starts to become more real. For those that will get started showing with the spring thaw in March now is the time to chart out your year. Those of you that are lucky enough to go south for the winter have already planned out at least the winter season. 

Managing an equine competition athlete takes a lot of prep and planning. Your horse should be just getting back into steady work after his winter or post season break. It is time to sit down and plan the show schedule for the year. Take out your calendar, have your browser ready to search show dates and get ready to lay it all out. Do you have any special goals for the year? Are you trying to qualify for something? Move up a level? Maybe there is a destination show you really want to go to.  If you are an amatuer or junior, request a meeting with your trainer to discuss your goals. If you are a trainer, make sure you know what goals and plans all your clients have so you can create a cohesive schedule for your entire clientele. Know exactly what you need to have in order to qualify for what you want. No matter the discipline there are specific rules for qualifying for anything. Make sure you attend shows that meet these specs. If you want to move up then plan what a good competition would be for a move up and plan the season prior to that accordingly so you feel confident and ready. You should not move up a division at the biggest show on your calendar or after a longer break. Plan for warm up shows or smaller shows to prep you and your horse for the bigger competitions. Horses and riders need to practice at competing before they can be competitive. It is easy to be rusty. It is easy to have nerves, for the horse and the rider! For eventers it is great to plan some jumper or dressage shows. Find some mini trials or CT’s to get yourself back in the groove.

Now you roughly know your plan. The first step to being ready for this plan is to have your vet out for soundness exams. Make sure everything is good before you start much conditioning and gearing up for the upcoming season. Get a base line on how your horse is feeling after its break so you know if there are any special things that need addressing or to keep an eye on as you start with winter homework. If dentals were not done during their break they should be done now. You may have cut back on chiropractic and body work during their break. Start getting those appointments on the books again as well. 

Once you have a baseline on your horses’ health and you have your year mapped out then it’s time to get ready with winter training! It’s the best time to start over with the basics and work on the small details without a competition looming.

A Girl and Her horse

I am a horse trainer. I have been a horse trainer my whole life. I started on this journey because I loved horses. As a young girl and a teenager I lived and breathed horses. My horses lived in my backyard so I was lucky enough to do all their care and see them when I woke up and before I went to sleep. 

Then horses became my job. While trying to build a business around other peoples’ horses I didn't own a horse of my own for a long time. I had school horses. I had sale horses. They weren't mine though. They had a job or an agenda. Of course I loved all of them but I couldn’t completely let them into my heart because then I could never let them go. And that is bad for business. 

As the business progressed and prospered I was fortunate to get pretty busy. I couldn’t spare any time on my own horse. That would be a frivolous waste of billable hours. (Can you tell I have a business degree?) My job was to facilitate my clients relationship with their horses. While this is extremely fulfilling it did leave a hole. I was very far from the horse crazy girl with her horse in her backyard. Most days I never got to leave the arena. The grooms would bring me horse after horse to ride and then the lessons would come one after another. I was grateful to be busy. Then one day I realized I could not remember the last time I grazed a horse. Or brushed or bathed one. Or did anything in any hands on form of caring for them. I rode, taught and showed. When I wasn’t doing that I was dealing with the multitude of managerial and customer relations items that had to be dealt with. The closest I got to hands on was taking off the bridle.   

This wasn’t me. This wasn’t why I got into horses to begin with. I lost touch with the love of each horse’s soul. I learned very early on that a professional can't get attached to other peoples’ horses. It is too heartbreaking when they leave. In an effort to save my heart I stayed guarded and didn’t let myself get attached. Some horses did get closer than others. One day it occurred to me that through this process of saving myself from being broken hearted I had stopped allowing myself to love horses at all. 

In the long, daunting, and sometimes painful process (a story for another time) of getting back to loving horses I decided that I needed a horse of my own again. Financially a very stupid idea while for my happiness and my heart a brilliant one. I expressed this thought to my barn mate and very soon after that, maybe it was even on the same day, I found myself in a local dealer’s barn. We looked at several prospects and settled on a scrawny 15.3h 3 year old TB off the track. He had already had his rest and let down from racing. The original plan was to bring him in as a sales prospect. He wasn’t going to be a hunter prospect so my barn mate was not interested in him as a project. I had gotten to thinking about this guy. He got under my skin. So even though it was a pretty dumb idea financially and rationally I bought this horse. I wanted to be a girl that loved her horsey again. I wanted a horse in my life that had no agenda. He wasn’t for sale. He didn’t belong to someone else that I had to answer to or get him ready for. There was no rush or external pressure. No one could change their minds and take him away from me. I could open my heart completely and let him in. I was very much at a crossroads in my career and in my life. When I got him I knew that I would make decisions in my life because of him or for him that I wouldn't make otherwise. I was very much ok with that.  

This horse was Lotus. Lotus did change my life. Lotus began to grow up. And did he grow!   His nicknames became “the Beast” and “Monster”. By the age of 7 he had become a 17.3h mound of muscle. I loved him but our bond took a long time. Lotus was not super affectionate. He was kinda mean, a little standoffish, very strong, and pretty crazy.

    I did make some pretty intense life changes because of Lotus. Lotus came along quite well in his training. He wasn’t going to be a hunter. He could have been a pretty good jumper. At the time I was feeling quite alienated and despondent with the whole hunter jumper world. These feelings had led me back to an early love of mine, eventing. And Lotus showed promise. I had a job at a hunter jumper barn that didn’t allow me much freedom of time to go do things like cross country school or show. I decided to leave that job in order to have more time and freedom to pursue training for eventing. I also made the move from IL to KY in order for Lotus to be able to live outside, for me to be immersed more in the eventing lifestyle, and to be where there was better conditioning and more opportunity to train for the sport. 

Then life happened. It was much harder to find work than expected. Finances were nil.  My friend hooked me up with a great place for him to live. He had a wonderful rolling KY farm with a big super hilly field where he lived 24/7. I had lots of adjusting to do for the change in lifestyle. I didn’t have any money to go do stuff with him. I didn’t know anyone. I had lots of hopes and dreams for us but it was put on hold. During this very dry spell I finally had time to really bond with Lotus. He actually let me come in his stall while he was laying down one day. He wasn’t mean anymore. He would trot or gallop up to me in the field when I went to catch him. Mostly because I was going to feed him but still this was impressive. He started to figure out I was his person. 

My phone rang at 7:30 am. I jumped out of bed knowing that something was up. It was the  barn owner calling to tell me the Lotus had passed during the night. I was in shock. He was only 7. He’d been healthy. There were no signs of struggle or discomfort. The necropsy results came back with a broken neck as cause of death most likely from lightning strike. 

Now what do I do? The whole reason for moving and changing my life was now gone. All my hopes and plans were now empty. We had just started to really form that personal relationship I had craved and he was gone. I was completely lost and without direction. Financially this was probably a big help. Horses are not cheap. What did I do? What does any horse crazy girl do? I did a very stupid irrational but utterly imperative thing and got another horse. 

Competitive Level and Teaching Ability

The title of horse trainer encompasses many definitions, descriptions, focuses and levels. From riding instructors that teach summer camps and up down beginner kids to coaches and riders at the top FEI levels and everything in between fall under the umbrella title of horse trainer. Some trainers specialize in something specific such as jumpers only or young horses while others cover many categories. It is important for any professional to focus on what they are good at.  When you are looking for a trainer you have to know what strengths you are looking for and what weaknesses you can live with. There are countless people that are impressed by riders’ competitive accomplishments. Rightly so, it takes a lot to campaign and be successful competing in any equine discipline. However, whatever a rider has won, or whatever level they’ve ridden at, has much less bearing on what they could teach you than you might think. . There are very different skill sets involved with training a horse to do things, teaching a rider to do things, or being a competitive rider. Yes experience is invaluable. You need to be realistic that what the person has experience in is what you actually need. 

 Some of the best and most influential trainers I know don’t ride due to physical issues, or don’t compete for whatever reason. They watch. They have the best eye for when a rider is about to mess something up. One of them is a R judge. He would teach from  the judges perspective rather than what a rider would say or think. It was enlightening. People that don’t ride as well, or don’t have that draw to performing in competition can be amazing students of the art of riding horses. A very dear friend of mine is one of the best teachers I’ve had. She rides but doesn’t really show. She rode a lot in her pony and junior career. Now she is a judge and an avid studier of the sport. She is constantly watching horse shows, clinics,  anything she finds online. She has worked for some top trainers in the hunter/jumper industry and watched their methods. I’ve gotten some of my best instructions ever from both of these trainers. 

A rider looking for help needs to be aware of what they truly need in a trainer. In the hunter/jumper world there are many professionals that primarily show. They live on the road and show lots of horses every week. They catch ride all the time. I think of these pros as jump jockeys. They will most likely do a great job showing your horse to the best of its ability but they might not be the best at giving the pre show pep talk or talking a rider off the ledge about a particular confidence issue. When the riding part comes easy or naturally to someone they might not even be aware of what they do to be able to teach someone else how to do it. They may not have the time to train at home to help your horse improve.  

Clients that deam competitive level as such an important criteria in a trainers credentials may miss out on someone with the talent that they could really benefit from. Not every trainer has the financial backing or desire and mental fortitude to compete. Performing in front of others and being judged for it is a very specific task required in any type of performance activity, be it a sport, a recital, acting, being a public speaker or anything like that. Showing horses also takes a lot of time and money and this is exponential to get to upper levels. Not everyone can swing that. In eventing there are not pro days and amatuer days of showing. A pro can’t show the horse to prepare it for the amatuer. It is even harder in that discipline to be able to compete as a trainer as owners are less likely to pay for the pro to show their horse. So the burden of showing or building one's own show record comes to the pro owning their own horses and paying for their own to show. It is very expensive and most trainers don’t make enough for that nor can afford to buy quality young horses that they can train up and be competitive in today’s show ring. 

It is important that a trainer knows the sport, knows what is required, and is involved in the sport but to have ridden at a certain level does not preclude if they can train to that level. There are some riders that get to upper levels with their one very special talented horse. That doesn’t mean they can ride multiple kinds of horses. That doesn’t make them a great instructor. Being able to verbalize a concept, know the riding theory behind what you are asking a student  to do, know multiple ways to get the same thing accomplished, understanding different learning styles of riders, knowing proper technique and position, understanding anatomy, knowing where to start and how to progress are all skills that make up a good teacher. A good trainer of horses is another skill set altogether as is being a good jump jockey in the show ring.

When you are looking for a trainer, determine what you or your horse need help with most. Find out what the trainers you are interested in specialize in or what their training focus is. Find out what level they’ve trained horses and riders too. That would have more bearing on what you may need. Find out if their horsemanship and training philosophy resonates with yours. These talents are most likely more important for the majority of clients out there.