- Make sure your horse drinks plenty of water. That means frequent checks to ensure that buckets and troughs remain unfrozen. Even still, some horses shun very cold water. If your horse reduces its water intake, try offering warm water.
- Consider a warm meal. The occasional bran mash—as frequently as every third day—can add vital fluids to your horse’s system. Soak one cup of bran in warm water—make it good and sloppy.
- Beware of slippery footing. Ice is an obvious danger, but frozen ground, when the sun warms only the topmost layer, can be extremely slick as well.
- Monitor your horse’s winter comfort. Most horses will do well outside all winter, provided they are not clipped. Clipped and thin-coated horses should be blanketed. Precipitation can be deceiving. A steady rain at 48ºF will chill your horse quicker than 3 inches of snow piling up on its back at 30ºF. (Just like on your roof, if the snow is accumulating and not melting, it means your horse is well-insulated from the cold.)
- Keep your Coggins, deworming and vaccines up-to-date.
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