Category Archives: Horse Conditions in Winter

Caring for Your Horse- Mistakes to Avoid

In case you haven’t looked outside lately, winter is officially here, at least on our side of town! When we get chilly during the winter months we like to turn up the heat and get cozy under some nice, warm blankets but that’s not always the best strategy to use when caring for your horse. They need to maintain a balance of staying fit outside and getting out of the cold to warm up. We are providing you with tips to take into consideration to keep your horses as healthy as they can be during the frigid winter months:

  • Keep exercising! When it gets too cold outdoors for us to play sports we usually get gym memberships to keep active in the winter. That’s obviously not possible for your horse. If you can, take your horse for a ride a couple times a week during the winter. Once the conditions become too much for you to bare, letting your horse roam a large pasture for a little while each day will do wonders, but don’t forget about them out there!  
  • Don’t drape them in blankets. Horses have a thick, natural coat but that sometimes doesn’t horse-on-snow-1412948-mseem to hack it in our minds when the weather is harsh. But as long as your horse is in a barn or is in some way sheltered, you can be assured that they will be okay. Covering your horse with too many blankets can lead to overheating or dehydration, so just make sure they have a roof over their head.
  • Feed them more. You may not know that horses burn more calories during the winter in order to stay warm and keep their body heat up. So increasing the amount of hay or feed you give your horse will keep their body weight right where it needs to be. Speak to a veterinarian about this, though, if your horse is on a firm diet.
  • Make sure drinking water is unfrozen. Impaction Colic develops in horses when blockages in the large colon form due to feed material obstruction. To avoid it, remember to check your horse’s water to make sure it’s not frozen solid. It may be a good idea to invest in a water or trough heater during the winter months.

As long as you keep these tips in mind and continue grooming your horse as you would during the rest of the year, you’ll both have a safe and happy winter season! If you’re looking to pick up some natural, performance enhancing supplements to keep your horse healthy in anticipation of next spring and summer’s riding season, please feel free to contact us

How To Help Horse Joint Pain In The Cold Winter Season

The leaves have just begun to fall, there’s a chill so we bring our jackets out, but what do we do when we feel that pain? We are familiar with human joint pains in the winter, the cold air and changes in air pressure causing our joints to ache. Our horses are the same way, except horses have much more trouble handling the cold winter months in places all over the world from Canada and Chicago to Russia and France. Horses can be stopped from doing the easiest things, especially elderly horses in freezing weather with snow and frozen footing. Horses have trouble staying warm, holding their weight and moving around in the winter, there are few important things you can do for your horse along with giving your horses our all natural horse supplements.

1. Warmth From Feeding

When a horse eats a meal, their digestive track starts to work and generate heat in their body. When a horse eats hay also known as Forage it digests more slowly than grain because of its longer metabolizing and produces more heat in the horse. Doctors of Veterinary medicine recommends feeding horse hay and lots of it from the fact it will go a long way keeping the horse warm at any age. And that if older horses do not eat enough they can suffer from weight loss in the winter and lose the layers that are keeping them warm, then the horse uses more energy to stay warm and can cause them to lose more weight and become thinner. How to feed older horses in the winter.

2. Warmth from Blanketing

If a young horse has shelter, is maintaining their weight, eating and healthy they most likely do not need to be blanketed for health. But older horses and young horses that have health conditions should be blanketed when temperatures drop below 40 degrees. They may have less muscle mass and fat to insulate them. When a horse is cold it can become stressed, thin and weak while its body tries to keep in the warm temperature. So keep your horse warm and healthy ready to race for the next season or maintain its health after a life of horse racing.

It is important to keep your horses healthy in the winter and prepared for the summer racing season. Abbey Roads All Natural Horse Supplements and products can help your horses during the winter and summer months. Getting your horses prepared, healthy and healed if injured it is imperative to their performance. Our all natural horse products help horses all over the country and at racetracks like Woodbine in Canada and Arlington Racetrack in Chicago, Illinois. Keep your horses healthy this coming winter season and contact us for any questions on our products at 248-521-2221 and LIKE US on FB for information and specials.