It’s finally wintertime for us. December felt more like June for most of the month.  The up and down temperature fluctuations make it difficult for all of us acclimate to cold weather. This is especially true for the horse because of the way they grow a longer hair coat quickly in response to cooler weather and decreasing daylight.  Then they become too hot when three days later, the temperature rises by twenty degrees.  Winterizing plans on the Gulf Coast are different from up north.  If you keep your horses stalled and blanketed, make sure you or someone responsible is available to take those blankets off when it gets warmer than the weatherman said it would. Horses can overheat in blankets in our unpredictable wintertime and this can make them susceptible to colic and respiratory problems.   Closing the barn doors and windows makes the barn toasty warm but if the ammonia and dust levels builds, open it up some to ventilate.  Continue to add lite salt or electrolytes to their feed to encourage drinking even when it is cold as horses are less likely to drink when their water is cold. If you have a picky horse, consider adding hot water to their water bucket twice daily to encourage drinking. As always, keep quality hay in front off them as this helps keep their core body temperature up. Consider cutting the grain some if they will be stalled and not worked for a few days because of foul weather. Also they are not getting adequate turn out, at least try lunging to prevent colic, give fresh air to the lungs and circulation to the feet.  If using heat lamps long term, get the more expensive ones designed for livestock use as they are less of a fire hazard and make sure that the cords are out of reach of the bored horse. 

    If your horses are pastured, make sure they have good wind breaks to get against. Blanketing the pasture horse may make you feel better but really is not necessary if you have a wind break. There is no blanket around that can substitute for a good natural hair coat.  A blanket will prevent or hinder them from growing that hair coat. A blanket flattens the hair taking away its insulating property.  It can be risky in freezing rain.  Even “weatherproof” rugs do not keep out the rain completely and I have seen one old horse have an ill fitted weatherproof rug frozen to his body.  The outcome was not good so check on them regularly if you keep these blankets on in the freezing rain.   Again, good quality hay in the form of a round bale is great for the pasture horse even in rainy weather.  Pasture grass has almost no nutritional value this time of year.  It is recommended that you check your pasture horses a little closer as a long hair coat hides many things such as small wounds and skin fungus or “rain rot”.   Frogs also tend to get thrush so regular cleaning and applying Clorox to the frog area helps.  Brush them off if they are muddy, this fluffs the hair and restores that insulating property. Pay particular attention to the older horse or the one at the bottom of the pecking order as they are least likely to get the good spot at the wind break, shed or round bale. Possibly make alternate arrangements for them if they are struggling.  Make sure their weight stays good as it is much harder to keep warm if they are underweight. Don’t just look at the horse’s weight as a long hair coat can hide minor weight loss, feel for rib depth to get an accurate assessment. 

   From a veterinarian’s standpoint, make sure that your horse trailer is accessible even if it is pouring down rain and the ground is soft. This is in case you have to make an emergency trip to a hospital.  January is a good time to get routine work done as it is a time that is easy to remember every year and not much is going on in the cold weather. It is also a good time to go through and throw away any old or expired medications and ointments and restock what is necessary to have on hand.  Keep on your regular worming schedule as it never gets cold enough around here to kill worms or their eggs.  If you haven’t done so already make sure the teeth are in good condition as they will be eating more hay at this time of year.  Winter time is actually much more difficult for us than for our horses but still should not be taken lightly.

   Dr Angela Chenault owns La Paloma Equine Clinic in Waller and services the surrounding areas.