It’s a little less cold here. 25 with a feels like of 12 currently. Dog and I bundled up and went outside to drink coffee and bark at squirrels.
Horses have free choice of in or out. I expect they’ll be laid out in the sun once the wind dies down.
14 Likes
It’s 8 with wind chill of -12 here in the NC mountains. Wind 23 with higher gusts.
All the horses are blanketed but out. Even my yak of a Fjord. The run ins are open on 3 sides so no break from the wind.
The trough heaters work well and they have plenty of water.
I’m ready for spring now! 
5 Likes
Such a handsome dog!
My black lab is so energized and happy about this weather! 
He is the only one having a good time with it.
In the warm weather the lab does his outside property inspection and is then quickly ready to retreat into the air conditioning. Today below 20 degrees he is running and grinning a happy and disappears into the woods for a half hour. I do not see what is so special about the frozen outside! 
2 Likes
Ugh! Did you get any snow? It rained overnight but quit before I got out. No real ice accumulation either.
1 Like
-9 at 7:00 when I headed to barn with wind gusts up to 30 mph. Felt like -34. Thankfully, none of the outside waters froze though one got stuck. Everyone was in a shelter which are bedded with straw. Those in the barn were toasty. Lane blows in with the snow, so an SUV is a must if you want in or out in this weather. Those who brave it snap photos of others’ horses and let them know they are fine. One more day… this be iowa
6 Likes
Totally agree. Thankfully we have kept the pipes unfrozen so far.
I am considering buying tank heater / de icer thingies. I’ve never used such a thing bc FL but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have them on hand. It’s supposed to be below freezing from 4 pm this afternoon until 2pm tomorrow with a low of 18. That’s a lot of freezing for us. Worried the troughs will freeze solid.
1 Like
Ugh! Stay safe!
1 Like
It has been -30C with a wind chill of at least -40 hear since Saturday. My four have done well outside. They have a bedded shelter, free choice hay, heated water, and I give them warm soaked alfalfa cubes with extra salt once a day. Most of them have 3 blankets on (heavy weight stable blanket without a neck, heavyweight stable with neck, and heavyweight turnout with neck) and all are completely fine and happy. I boarded my WB at a different barn in the north for 4 years and I got so much shame for “over blanketing”, but you know, the horse was never too hot, and he was the only one not cowering in the shelter but instead happily eating outside. I think once you start blanketing for the year, once it gets this cold you really have to step up your game. Granted, this isn’t once in a generation for is, we get this for a few weeks every year.
5 Likes
Thank you! She’s a lot of dog but a real mama’s girl. She was also pleased with the weather today like your dog lol. The cat is a little more discerning. Cat went with me to check the horses at dawn, ran around like she was possessed with her fur on end and then beat me back to the house meowing to go inside lol.
7 Likes
People can be real touchy about blankets. I like when folks start talking bout how my horses don’t need blankets bc FL. Ummm. My horses’s winter coats have approximately half inch hairs with a few long guard hairs on legs n chins. Ya they want a blanket.
8 Likes
Just a dusting, enough to make everything slick. BUT we just lost power…like I posted the screenshot of my weather and dh came up n said powers out lets start the fire now. I had JUST boiled water n ponys beetpulp mash thank goodness. Got that soaking, cleaned out the pan and filled it to the brim with the warm water still in the tap and covered it up on the same burner i used to try to keep it warm for when I got outside again here soon.
5 Likes
I tend to be too cautious but I’d probably buy at least one tank heater. They’re a life saver.
You may not need it again for 10 years but you’ll have it.
3 Likes
I’m also in a climate where this is extraordinary winter weather. Our shedrow barn is designed for warm to hot weather, however, it’s also positioned to cut off the wind from the direction from whence severe weather normally comes. It’s ventilated but not drafty.
Although all the pipes are wrapped, I expect the Nelson auto waterers to freeze today, even with the horses in the barn. Each stall has a five gallon bucket in one of those insulating wraps that velcro on – like a parka for a bucket. We top off the buckets with warm water as they drink. Right now, they’re drinking well, so haven’t tried adding any flavoring to increase consumption yet.
We have a light on the well pump (what are we all going to do after incandescent bulbs are off the market next year?), and clean muck buckets full of extra water in the tackroom, insulated with hay bales and covered with plywood. Brought a few additional hay bales over to the barn, too.
There is extra bedding over the rubber stall mats, and we keep the hay bags full, been adding alfalfa as a treat and to facilitate drinking. Their Redmond salt block is outside, but I always add a little plain salt to one of their meals daily. No blankets on the horses yet – I don’t own anything heavy, would have to layer what I do have. It’s very unusual to blanket them, as they get long, dense plush coats – this winter especially.
Both of mine are older, and I can’t help but worry about them and we check on them every couple of hours, but they’re eating, drinking, pooping, and urinating, and seem fine. I am keeping them inside; their stalls are spacious, especially since my horses are on the small side, and they handle confinement very well, even though normally they’d be turned out.
We’re blessed that there’s no precipitation currently, and I sure hope it stays that way.
6 Likes
You can raise the grade over your pipes by adding more soil if your drainage will allow for it.
We had exposed waste pipes going into our septic and buried them under moldy hay bales and a tarp. Of all the issues with the septic freezing hasn’t been a problem.
3 Likes
I’m glad you posted. I was just thinking about you and wondering if you still had power.
My DH refuses to even chain me up so I might try getting to the barn. Fingers crossed miss maresy will continue drinking enough water.
Hope you made it home safely. Must have been a tad of turbulence with 70mph winds!
1 Like
Mine are boarded so I can’t do the extra things other than bundling them up well. Field boarded 12 yr old has a heavy weight with an attached hood on. Stall boarded 20 yr old has a new Schneiders medium which is ridiculously warm on. I just ordered the neck cover- in the wrong size- and given the weather probably can’t get out to put it on anyhow. They will probably stay indoors anyway and the BO is very attentive. Not worried about either one. That’s honestly the best feeling! Good care is priceless.
5 Likes
Just got the alert that the power is out. We got 1.5” of rain overnight and it was 45°F when I left the house at 4AM. It’s currently 24°F with a RealFeel of 5°F. Sustained 40mph winds and gusts up to 70mph.
BM decided to keep everybody in for the day. It’s just too icy for them too go out safely, especially since my young TB and his band of merry minions enjoy airs above the ground on a good day.
The barn is well-winterized and the horses have been prepped with lots of hay and electrolytes. Now I just hope that all the humans can get themselves safely home.
4 Likes
Oh don’t get me started! I admin 2 groups on FB, 1 is pretty decent about this, the other can be downright ridiculous about always and never blanketing. Several times a Winter I break out the “we don’t laugh at you northerners sticking fans in front of your horses when temps hit 80, so don’t come at us about blanketing when it’s “only” 20* (or whatever).” Way too many people need to learn the physiology of hair and acclimation and shorter daylight hours up north creating longer and/or denser coats and what conditions horses acclimate to. Northern conditions are regularly a lot colder than even some of our southern more extreme blips in the Winter, so just stop.
6 Likes
