And, yes! Teaching lessons is a cold ass job! I have been frozen solid after a couple of hours of lessons in an indoor on 30 degree days. If you’re not riding around and you’re standing or walking around on cold ground,not is next to impossible to stay warm.
[QUOTE=GoodTimes;8528331]
Mine lives out 24/7 as well. He’s got hay 24/7 and he’s top dog so I know if he wants in the shelter he can always get in.
Yesterday I was freezing my buns off when I went to go get him and he was snoozing in the wide open field.
The only time I would be concerned about frostbite would be if there was wet snow falling during very cold temps, or a horse who had had his ears clipped within the last couple months.[/QUOTE]
The herd lives out in 24/7 with a nice big shelter to accommodate all of them at once, and what do they all do? Stand around a tree. :rolleyes: They’re so special. The Drama King gets a nice big blanket, but the other 3 are woolly mammoths and have never so much as shivered.
Give them hay all the hay they can eat, water, and shelter (blankets if needed) and watch them, but in my experience, the horses prefer to be outside in all sorts of weather. Even when the Drama King had access to a warm barn that was pretty much closed in except for the in-and-out door, he preferred to stand outside with his butt to the wind. The herd gets much more cranky in hot weather (anything above 90 degrees) than I’ve ever seen them get in the winter.
We start canceling lessons when it’s below 10. If they high is 15 and it’s going to be 8 when the lesson is scheduled, we will usually hold the lesson anyways. But if it’s 5 or below, we will certainly cancel.
However, I will ride when it’s colder. But lessons are harder on the horses, and I don’t consider a stretching our legs ride to be the same as a lesson.
Plus, it sucks to be instructor when it’s that cold. And I don’t like to torture people.
All of that being said… we only alter our turnout if the wind chill will be below -40. (But we do increase hay appropriately.) The horses survive.
[QUOTE=Mango20;8527896]
You guys are tougher than me! With spring a ways off and no immediate goals for competing, I’m not riding when it’s too cold. I hate being cold. I think mid-20’s is about as low as I’ll go (I do not have an indoor). I don’t like to ski in the bitter cold, either. I have trouble keeping my fingers and toes from freezing no matter what I try.[/QUOTE]
It’s okay, I’m the same way. I have no desire to ride when it’s 25F or below, even in the indoor where it’s warmer and wind-free. Even if I have an UnderArmor body suit with a ton of extra thermal gear on top. Even if my horse is wearing a quarter sheet.
I just don’t wanna, so I’m not gonna. There’s plenty of time to ride in the spring.
[QUOTE=IFG;8528288]
My guys live in/out 24/7. They will have hay both in and out tomorrow. I suspect, they will choose to be out. Honestly, I think that they stay warmer walking around than being stalled.[/QUOTE]
Charter member of the Pansy Club here!
I do have an indoor, but never think about getting on a horse - even bareback = Warmest Seat in the House - if it goes below 20F.
My horses have a choice - stall doors are open 24/7 & even in today’s -20 windchill they are standing in the open, blanketed & toasty. No shelters in my pastures, but they were out waiting for me this morning when it was 3F.
Helps that it is sunny, but still awful cold!
There is uneaten hay in their stalls (I overfeed hay when it’s this cold), heated water buckets too & a 50gal trough in front of the barn with a de-icer.
I am bundled up like the Michelin Man to go out to feed 3X daily & check them obsessively for signs they are chilled - ears, brisket, belly.
Always warm as toast.
They have been sleeping inside as evidenced by multi piles of manure in the stalls & the “breading” of bedding in manes.
My last nightcheck is well after dark - 9 or 10P - and they are usually out, coming in when they see the light go on, because that means CookieTime.
I don’t worry about them losing fitness, we can put that back when the weather gets decent.
The Amish don’t want a horse over 11 or 12 years old, which is why some of the purebreds “lose their papers” around that time and get sent to auction for someone else to use up and/or send to slaughter.
That says it all, I think.
Well I did see an Amish horse pulling a buggy at a good clip today. I also rode one horse. It was low teens without the wind. The wind chill had it in the negative numbers. My horse had been out and happy before the wind picked up. My indoor ring was fine. Footing good and we were comfortable lightly working. My fingers and toes didn’t even get cold but it was a fairly short ride just to loosen him up.
Had both horses bundled up last night. My daughter’s horse was wearing two heavy weight blankets. Apparently, he thought that was over-kill as he ripped open the front snaps and removed one of the heavies in the middle of the night. He was still warm under the remaining heavy this AM, and he was still opting to stay outside rather than in the barn.
Would like to PM me so I can give you my informations so you can contact the SPCA?
[QUOTE=frugalannie;8528222]
Sorry but I think turning horses out in windchills of -35 (F) is punitive. And even though they have extended neck blankets their ears could actually be frostbitten. I remember a polo mare with frostbitten ears: her barn name was Possum, in case you haven’t seen one and want to have a visual. Mine will go out in short sets in a sheltered area behind the barn while their stalls are cleaned. Then they’ll come in and won’t be ridden. I can’t imagine that I’m an effective rider when my hands feel like frozen hams![/QUOTE]
How rude your are to those of us who take pride in the way we care for our animals but choose to have 24/7 turnout and live in a climate where it gets cold.
I have had horses out 24/7 in the upper midwest for many years with NO FROZEN EARS or dead horses for that matter.
My barn is perfectly situated to block the NW wind, which is the worst, and I do chores when it’s -50 windchill and am just fine, hardly a breeze.
Dry, with -35 windchill? Punitive? Hardly. 30s and rain/mist snow sucks, especially if temps drop after, or get down to -0 or colder, then I worry and they get shut in the run in, which is open on one side, so they still get wind and such, but hopefully stay dry - one mare will hang her head out though.
ICE? Scary, whether its 40 or 10 or - 35 degrees.
I can think of so many things worse than windchill for animals with fur. My herd appears way more miserable in the summer heat and bugs, despite having shade under the run in and up to three fans going then even a snap of 5 days of nasty windchills. I worry more about them in severe heat than cold.
Akor, I have no doubt your horses are happy and healthy. Rest assured I will not be calling the SPCA on you.
For my bunch of marshmallows, it would be punitive. Howling winds and cold actual temps are not their (or my) idea of fun. Heck, their collective noses are out of joint if they’re out in rain anytime of the year!
Also, keep in mind that we had high 40 degree temps last week and will be at 50 degrees by Tuesday. A little consistency, please, weather gods? This is New England for heaven’s sake. I’m trying to manage them to avoid any colics, injuries or other misadventures. I had one come in Saturday three legged lame. Good news is that I think it’s only an abscess, and it broke out overnight after soaking etc. so she’s back to her usual self. Tomorrow I’ll get to see if the fields have frozen 5 inch deep hoof marks in them from the muddy turnout last week and will hope to get them out even if in limited areas.
I grew up in New England on the equitation circuit. I was too poor to go to Florida, and not good enough to pass up a few Medal/Maclay/USET wins at the winter shows (this was back in the day when you had to win the class for it to count, and there was no calibrating based on the level of competition, so a win was a win). Winters were spent with two lessons a week, equitation shows Friday night and Sunday morning, horses got Monday off while we caught up on our homework.
It was miserable in 1983-86, and I DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT ANYMORE. So I don’t.
It’s been hovering around 14-17* here for the last week. I typically have my horses at home year round, but this time I splurged and boarded out.
I haven’t so much as see my horse in a week and I refuse to feel guilty about it. He’s well-taken care of and I’ve done my time. Plus, we’re remodling the upstairs of our house and I’ve spent most of that time on a ladder.
When I was at a fully heated facility, 50F in the indoor felt cold to me. Now I have my own barn, and only the stall area is heated. The indoor isn’t. I heat the barn to 38F to keep liquids from freezing, and the indoor seems to stay quite nice on its own. We’ve gotten down to 20 below zero a few times, and the wet spots in the indoor have never frozen. I’ll ride in there during the day in just about any weather. At night it does get quite cold without the sun shining on it. As long as my face doesn’t freeze I’m fine! And I figure if I’m warm enough, the horses are more than fine.
I’m a complete wimp when it gets below 30. Heck even 30 to 40 can be too cold if the wind is really bad for me. Of course even in my winter boots with smart wool socks on I’ve had really bad cold feet.
If it’s below 30 I won’t ride unless I have to. Generally though 20 to 30 I’ll go out and let him run in the indoor/groom or longe the walk and trot. He’s perfectly fine so it’s just me at that point. :lol: below that you’ll find me tucked away inside my house, with a blanket.
I’ve been riding in my Carharrt overalls and puffy down coat the last couple of days. Every time I get on my horse a piece of George Morris dies.
I rode today, it was 12 degrees. I had expected it to be warmer and I’m shipping out for a lesson on thursday so the horse needs to work. We survived, though a few tantrums were thrown since he’d had 3 days off. It’s supposed to warm up later this week so I’m crossing fingers I can ride every day.
When I lived up in the Rocky Mountains, my rule of thumb for myself was that I wouldn’t run when it was colder than 0 F outside. For the horse, for the time I boarded at an indoor, I would ride down to -20F in the indoor, and only after he’d free-lunged with a warm sheet on until he, me and the indoor were feeling usably warm (though I never had a thermometer to figure out what temp that was). But that was a horse who was living outdoors in that same -20F weather, so he was accustomed to it. We would do full flatwork sessions, not just walking.
I used to feel guilty if I wasn’t out there EVERY. DAY.
I’m over it. We aren’t going to the Olympics and the footing is such that its very slippery frequently. Horse is young, and new to me so I am unwilling to go out when I think the wheels could come off the cart. So, its less a matter of cold and more a matter of footing usually, BUT, sometimes the footing is okay enough, but its cold and I don’t feel like riding. So we don’t.
When I was a kid growing up in VT the horses all had the winter off, no one had indoors to ride in and they all came back well with careful conditioning. So I am no longer going to listen to the voices in my head that yell at me to “be a REAL rider and get out there”!
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;8528653]
What some may call lazy, others call having a hobby and not feeling obligated to torture oneself if it is unpleasant. I am no longer a professional being paid to show up and ride. I HATE the cold. My horse hates the cold. My DOG hates the cold. It’s mid February, my horse has a basic level of fitness and if we WERE eventing in the spring, missing a few days when the weather is how it currently is (howling winds with real feel temps in the single digits- VERY cold for VA) would not have a negative impact on our fitness. Call me and the rest of us pansies lazy if you must, but riding is a blissful hobby for me now and I am a-ok with staying inside when the weather is unpleasant.[/QUOTE]
Heck yeah, man. We’re in Texas now and so not used to cold anymore (although, by Ollie’s hair growth, he thinks he lives in Siberia). If it’s really cold and windy, I’m not riding. Don’t care, man.
We ride in a coverall arena, and it stays fairly warm, but it isn’t heated. There is vents at the top end of each side. In the summer, it gets too warm in there. I prefer riding in the cold weather as you can warm up! The heat, you can’t get away from!
I live in the midwest so we kind of run the gamut of weather in winter, this week we are going to get into the 40s for highs, but then we’ll get cold again and get wind chills down to -20. Most of ours are naked and live out at all times within reason, they have free choice hay and a shed and we bring in the ones that struggle with it more, like the old and young and my mare that just seems to run cold (she’s also blanketed). When it’s windy or a cold rain seems to be when they have the hardest time and many of ours will meet us at the gate and let it be knows that they want to come in, and others are totally comfortable.
As far as riding, I don’t have a hard cutoff, but if we’re having an extended cold snap I like to get them in the arena at least doing light flatwork to stretch their bodies out on non-frozen ground. Or at least turn them out in the indoor to get some of the sillies out that they have a hard time doing on the frozen ground that gets uneven due to our frequent freeze/thaw cycles. I’m not doing any jumping really right now just due to the size of our indoor, but wouldn’t do anything like that to get them working too hard if it was below about 15 degrees.
