They are really agressive, maybe a fight or flight thing and defending themselves in a vulnerable half weak from freezing state?
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Why do you get so bent out of shape every time someone doesn’t agree with your thinking?
If YOU want to keep your horses in year round work then do it. Just don’t suck up all the resources to heat your indoor arena to do it. Dress accordingly for the weather and ride-- like people used to do ( myself included).
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Horses came through the worst of the storm well. They’re in again today because the pastures are still a sheet of ice, but everyone’s getting rotated into the indoor for a little bit to stretch. Thankfully the power is still holding at the farm.
Can’t say the same for my apartment complex. Now I’m worried about my pint-sized fur kids (two cats) because the power’s been out for more than 24 hours with no timeline for restoration. Hearing from some friends that temps inside have started dropping into the 40s. My neighbor checked them this morning and said they’re all right but it’s chilly in there. I cranked the heat before I left town yesterday because I was afraid this would happen. I’m in an upper unit so hopefully that helps a smidge. Ugh.
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Our well froze. Ughhhh. Horses have plenty of water but what a pita. We still have electric thank heavens. Working to get everything unfroze now. Plus added heat tape to barn pipes.
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So these really work? This morning I discovered that my horse’s plug-in heated bucket now only functions as desired at above 32 degrees. 
Grateful to my barn for giving my horse and one of his fieldmates a couple of hours out in the sunshine today. The overnight RealFeel low tonight is going to be a whole 30 degrees warmer than it was last night, so I slathered the old man’s hocks in Surpass and sent him out. Big drink from the heated trough, then mosey on down to the shed and pick out a hay pile. Good job, horses.
As far as I’m concerned, the power company’s employees are doing a downright heroic job.
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~ raises hand ~
Yup. Nasty cold, yes, but something at least I am quite used to here in North Dakota. Although this winter has been an incredibly difficult one. This week made blizzard number FOUR for the year for us. (so I should probably update the title on my other thread) Today we finally got a bit of a break. It was about -3F but very little wind. It felt so warm after having several days of -20F with nearly -50F wind of 30-40 mph which created a ground blizzard. My horses were wandering around all over the place today it was so nice. Didn’t even see them in the shelter at all today.
I would encourage you to still let your horse out to run around. They won’t freeze in 15 minutes. 
I’m a really big believer in 24/7 turnout when possible. Movement is so important for a horse’s health and circulation.
My horses live outside 24/7. This year is the first winter I’ve had a run-in shelter. Before that, it was just a small 2-sided windbreak that they weathered a historic 4-day blizzard with (my anxiety was a bit high for that one, and that’s why the shelter got built this summer). It’s still been tough. But I am lucky my 3 horses are healthy. I don’t blanket. When the snow covers them, that actually provides great insulation. They have access to hay/water/salt at all times. When it gets real bad, I fork hay from the bale into the shelter and will also offer water from my frost free hydrant while they are in their shelter, so they don’t have to go to the fountain which is in the wind.
Your horse will be cozy and warm in a barn and if I were you, I would not worry one bit. She’s got it made.
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Went down to the teens last night and the water inside the buckets stayed unfrozen. No film of ice beginning to form.
We top off with warm (not hot) water every two or three hours when we’re awake, but not during the overnight hours.
My husband just said, when I asked him his opinion: “They’re great,” “There hasn’t been any frozen water, not even close.”
Insulated bucket covers have been a very worthwhile purchase for us.
They stay on very well, too. IME.
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I second the bucket cozies…they work really well down to the low 20s or around 18° or 19°. At the bottom end of the mercury there will be thin ice but it won’t freeze solid and they can break through the thin layer of ice. If you fill the buckets with warm water, they work even better.
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Ooohh what is surpass??!!
Just fed dinner and carted another 2 buckets of warm water out to the barn. Im sweating!! 1 degree with no wind feels like a heat wave even in the dark right now. Took my neck fleece gaitor off and watched the steam pour from it and my skin haha.
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We have a heated barn. I highly recommend it. We went with in floor heating in the barn, and in wall heat in the arena. Highly efficient and will stay warm even if the power goes out (as the cement holds heat for days). 16 foot ceilings help offset keeping things fairly closed, but there is still some air flow around the sliding doors. It is nice to be able to be in the barn when it is -40 outside, and not have cold toes. The barn cats approve to. We turn out even when cold - the horses don’t seem to mind the cold, its more wind or rain they dislike, but I hate leaving horses in 24/7.
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I barely skimmed this thread so i hope I don’t upset anyone. Weather has been warmer here in Maine for several years now. We used to have several days in a row where 0 degrees Fahrenheit was the high for the day. Several times during the winter, of course. BO installled heated Nelsons and life was much easier. We didn’t have to pound ice and drag hoses around filling tubs. My Paint gelding was on outside board with a few other mares and geldings and all of the school horses. A sure sign it was a cold winter is when the drain pipe for the toilet froze between the outside wall and the septic tank. Theoretically it was below the frost line.
We would ride until it got down to around 15, which is where the horses have to work harder to stay warm. The last couple of winters have been dry without much snow. Summer weather usually is a pretty good indicator of winter weather. We have had droughts the past few years.
This past summer hay was being cut and baled continously from June into September. We haven’t had a whopper snow storm or genuine blizzard in a while.
DH kept a track for us around the edge of the hayfield. You don’t plow it, you pack it down. One of the neatest things to do was when there was a foot of new fluffy snow and you walked your initials into the hayfield. A few people had to give it some thought because you have to do it in cursive. There are a few combinations of letters that are challenging.
I posted these photos in another thread. One is Cynthia and her friend at the skijoring clinic in 2010. The other is Kristina galloping through new snow, which was Speckles’ absolutely most favorite thing to do.
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Surpass is a topical NSAID.
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I had never heard of it, good to know thanks!!
Surpass is Diclofenac, the same as Voltaren gel for people. Surpass needs a prescription, but you can get diclofenac arthritis gel at walmart or any drugstore and use it on horses.
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Diclofenac topical- an NSAID. In the US you can now get it OTC at the pharmacy for humans (it was RX only for years) though from what I’ve read the human formulation doesn’t cross the horse skin barrier as well. I keep a tube in the house for me and use it on old horse hocks all winter. Good stuff.
@Jarpur and @Shagyas_Rock, about the bucket cozies- is there a brand you recommend?
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I have always wondered if hand warmers tucked underneath a pet bed might offer some welcome warmth in a pinch.
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I used the XL ones for my barncat.
They lasted 8h once opened & activated & she loooved them tucked under her fleece blanket in her fleece house.
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I tried a horse at a heated barn in Indiana. Although it was immaculate it still smelled of urine. The indoor, though watered, also seemed dusty with kind of a musty feeling that hung in the air. That sort of thing might be nice for riders but it can’t be good for horses.
My vet said it’s fine to use Voltaren if you can’t find Surpass. Just clip the area well. Surpass has a better carrier to get through fur but Voltaren is actually slightly higher concentration and both work fine. There have been times when Surpass was in short supply but I’ve always (knock on wood) been able to find Voltaren.
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