Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Winterizing Your Horse

by Mary Freeman

Keeping your horse healthy through the Arkansas winter takes a little planning and elbow grease.

"Cold and wet weather can cause problems with hooves, colic, stable vices - such as cribbing - and increase the horse's nutritional needs," says Steve Jones, horse specialist for the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas.

"As the weather gets cold, horses expend more energy staying warm," Jones says. "Horsemen should normally increase the feed by one or two pounds during the cold weather to provide adequate energy to assist the horse in maintaining his body temperature."

It's also important to provide roughage to help prevent cribbing and impaction colic. "This time of year, grass is 80 to 90 percent water; therefore horses that are grazing are consuming mostly water," Jones says. "Their desire to chew on something is not satisfied and cribbing often begins during times of wet weather.

"Horsemen should provide hay free choice to satisfy these needs," he says.

Hoof care becomes critical during the wet winter months. "Many times a horse's feet become so wet that the outer covering of the foot deteriorates, which causes cracking and splitting. Mud and sand can work their way into the cracks, causing the hoof to spread even further," he says.

The best strategy is to try and keep the hoofs as dry as possible and use a hoof dressing to keep the hoof from becoming water-soaked.

Horsemen must take extra care to protect a horse's respiratory tract during the winter. While it may be tempting to shut the barn doors to keep the cold wind out "it is better to open the barn doors and have good air flow than to reduce air quality," Jones says.

Cleaning out wet manure and bedding also goes a long way to maintaining good air quality.

A publication called `Responsible Horse Care for Winter and Summer' is available from the Cooperative Extension Service. Call your county agent for more information.