Here in North America, even in the southeastern region, caring for our beloved equines has turned from insect control and coping with the summer heat to protecting them from the falling temperatures.
You may think this is a trite concern. After all, horses have survived in the wild with no protection from the winter elements for hundreds of years. However, there are some differences between those hardy animals and our own domestic horses. Wild horses live in large herds which bunch together to share body heat. They also cover a wide territory and will seek out forest cover, deep canyons, or mountainsides where they can get some protection from the wind. These animals are also bred through natural selection to be very hardy and adaptable, with very thick winter coats. Even with these adaptations, in extreme weather conditions wild horses can starve and freeze to death.
Our horses need some type of shelter for protection. It doesn’t have to be a fancy barn; a three-sided shed that the horse can run in and out of as he chooses will provide adequate protection. The main concern is that he be able to get out of the rain or snow and have something to block the wind. Horses that are stabled or pastured together in groups are able to share body heat like horses in the wild. However, sometimes one horse will be ostracized from the group, and may need some special care.
Maintaining body heat requires energy. Energy requires food, and with our pastures now brown or covered with snow that means providing lots of good quality hay. If you haven’t got a stockpile yet it may not be too late. The further into the winter you get, the harder it will be to find and the more expensive it will be. Generally speaking, you can not feed too much hay. After all, in the summer your horse is grazing on pasture all day long, the hay you feed is just substituting for the pasture. The rare exception would be the same horses that have a problem with unlimited pasture grazing. The very obese, the horse or pony that easily founders (especially if you are feeding a high protein hay such as Timothy or Clover or one that has Alfalfa mixed in it) or the one who will over eat until they colic, will need to have some rationing. Never feed Alfalfa hay in unlimited quantities. Some horses may also require more grain during the winter months.
