Are you winter ready?

It’s growing colder and the days are getting shorter, so prepare now to avoid being caught out later

The short days are drawing in, but there’s still plenty you can do to keep your horse and yard in check over winter. The list may seem tedious, but it does mean you’re one step ahead and fully prepared for those long winter months.

Ice-ice baby

Are your water systems ready for those freezing days ahead? Frozen water pipes, taps and troughs are never helpful when your horse needs access to water. However, there are ways to help prevent this from happening, such as insulating pipes and taps and partly covering the water trough to prevent it from freezing over.

Mud be gone

Muddy gateways present a ton of problems. Not only is it a problem for your horse, but it also becomes a huge issue for people, too, as you’ll know if you’ve ever had to lead your horse through a muddy, slippery gateway? It’s like Bambi on ice! There are ways to help prevent this, such as laying rubber grass mats to help with grip.

Fabulous feeding

Some horses struggle through the winter and need extra encouragement to help maintain weight and condition. As we go into winter, think about whether you need to switch or add feed but always remember to do it gradually, so as not to upset your horse’s digestive system.

Dust is in the air

Through winter, your horse may be stabled more often due to the weather. Being in a stable environment for longer can be quite dusty for your horse, especially with certain types of bedding – and then there’s the hay, too. This can lead to coughing and respiratory issues. To help with this, turn out for as long as you can, use dust-free bedding and soak your hay or use haylage.

Spring clean

Now your spring/summer rugs are no longer in use, now is the best time to take them to be cleaned and repaired, so you’re all ready for when spring rolls around!

Worming around

Vets recommend that horses should be wormed for encysted small redworm during the period December to February, so now is the time to order those worming supplies to help keep those worms away!

Winter wonderland

Although the winter makes everything glisten with pretty ice to create a magical winter wonderland, it can also be dangerous. To keep safe, remember to pop some grit or salt down on the yard to prevent horses and humans from slipping over. Don’t forget areas near water taps, too – and even the muck heap ramp can be lethal!

Frost away

Something you can never go wrong with having on the yard is de-icer. There’s nothing worse than getting to the yard and finding your padlocks are frozen shut and you can’t get into the yard to feed very hungry horses that are waiting.