Heat tape! It looks like an electrical cord but it heats up. We have it wrapped around various exposed pipes under foam insulation and duct tape. Amazing stuff. Though it all seems like a fire hazard.
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Well you know: They may not need blankets, but they do enjoy wearing them; never had one of mine complain when I went to put one on.
Ours were/are all nice and toasty under their heavyweight Weatherbeeta blankets in minus twenty degree weather; you may have seen my foto above of George the Mule with his ears tucked in. Tell me he doesnât like his turnout . . .
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Not to mention that a 30 degree temperature shift in 24 hours is just absolutely shocking physically - in either direction. Itâs not unexpected to shift 20 degrees from day to night where we are, but it still requires management, and to go from âpleasant winterâ to âpolar vortex/bomb cycloneâ is even harder.
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Solar heat lamp?
Buy any incandescent bulbs you can fine, and stockpile them.
I wish I had thought to get some of the incandescent garage door bulbs, since the LEDs donât work as well, and in some cases Iâve heard about the LED lights wonât operate at all with some garage door opener models.
( I finally figured out that LEDs in warm are much better than the bright white ones.)
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I put some grass square bales in my feed room so we donât have to try and get a wheelbarrow of loose hay across the yard ( what my goats leave) in 40 mph winds. I also moved their hay feeder( 100 gallon trough) over so they can eat blocked from the West wind. They are getting a lot more hay than normal.
They always have heated water.
Other than that they are doing what they always do except they are making a mess in the 3 sided shed since it is so cold. -10 with a -35mph windchill and they are fine.
You let your (handsome) dog drink coffee? 
& You! Leave those squirrels be! 
I just drove myself the 250â to the barn to check on horses.
Threw down hay (though they had remnants from 6A) topped water buckets (Yay! Theyâre drinking!) & gave each a cookie.
Still nasty here, though sun appears & disappears, wind is unrelenting @ 29mph 
-4F, feels like -34F 
Now I can nap & watch cooking shows without guilt until I need to go backâŠ
And Iâll drive myself down again & again for last check around 10P.
Sending WARM THOUGHTS to all!
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Impractical and unhealthy for the horses. I donât like for my animals to be cold but they are not human. They( under most- normal circumstances) do just fine in cold weather as long as they have plenty of food, drinkable water and a way to get out of the elements if they choose.
We can hardly supply electric or propane or natural gas to supply our people demands let alone heat/cool barns for animals.
It is better to have on hand things it will take to keep your horse comfortable if it does get colder than we normally experience . Especially when you have an older horse or a hard keeper.
I put a foal blanket on one of my goats because I knew it would be hard on her with it being so cold but I wouldnât run a heat source.
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I understand the heated barns or arenas in places like Saskatchewan and Quebec just barely keep the temperature up around or below freezing.
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Yes but to even accomplish that you have to have the place closed up tight and that is not healthy for the horses respiratory system and with any place that size it would be a extreme draw on resources. It is done in places here too. I know it makes it more comfortable for the people too. Just not a fan.
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Yes. Iâve been in 3 over the years. The first and the current donât run the heat for health*/expense reasons. The second was done really, really well and had in-floor heat in the grooming/wash stall and lounge rooms only. The actual barns were not heated. It was absolutely the perfect combination of healthy environment for the horses and creature comforts for the humans.
In the barn Iâm currently at, there is a living space above the grooming room. Some of the heat from up there escapes downward 
Weâre absolutely anal about keeping the doors closed so the wash stall never freezes and the grooming stalls are always comfortable, not warm, but comfortable.
Also didnât mention barn bathrooms - theyâre usually heated because cracked toilets and blown pipes are not a small inconvenience.
Barns are also sometimes strategically designed with what I call heat zones too. Open doors in the summer to create breezeways to maximize cooling from prevailing winds and north facing doorways. Close all kinds of doors in sub-freezing temps to keep heat where itâs needed most - central hose area, grooming area, horse areas to keep body heat enclosed during the worst weather so buckets donât freeze, etc.
Further north from me, heated barns, even heated arenas are more of a thing. Itâs that or donât do anything with the horses for several months of the year.
*neither barn was designed with a really good ventilation system to overcome the moisture problem, well, actually the first one was supposed to be, but the âwindows can be kept 1â open all winter" thing turned out to a) not happen and b) not be sufficient anyway even when it was done because the resident trainer wanted it summer warm in there
I agree closed up tight isnât great, and Iâve never had horses in a place this cold. I did spend 2 winters in Montreal and am not sure how you could ride in winter at all.
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@Scribbler letâs transplant Candyappy to Edmonton for a year. Weâll supply her with a couple of horses that need to be kept in training year round 
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If I had a indoor arena I wouldnât need heat if I wanted to ride year round. I lived in MN for 5 long Winters and some people rode all year and the indoor wasnât heated at the BB I worked at. The lounge was heated though but sadly no indoor bathroom( yikes).
@sascha I am at the age I donât care to even think about that possibility.
When the arena footing freezes its hard to do much in an indoor.
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Not to mention that riding year round and keeping horses in training and in excellent physical health year round are two different things!
Frozen indoor footing sucks so bad! I mean, there are ways to prevent it in my area, but going further north, well, even salt packs it in and nopes on out when it gets cold enough.
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That is when you agree that both you and the horse need some time off? I donât ride from Dec - mid Feb because of footing and I donât have an arena. A break is good for everyone.
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We are at about -4° with a -25° windchill right now. Our barn in built into a bank and its about 20° in there ⊠the barn kitties are curled up inside igloo shaped bedsâŠthey are fleece lined and foam insulated.
I did turn the horses outâŠthe 2 mares are wearing a teknofleece stable blanket, a 180 gram liner over that, and a medium weight over that, with a medium neck cover. The gelding whoes coat is fairly thick is wearing a medium weight with medium neck cover. They all have some shelter from the wind, heated water tubs and they all got extra hay. But they will all be glad to come in laterâŠ
I bedded deeper this morning and will likely bring them in a bit earlier.
But our water froze last nightâŠit has been thawingâŠhopefully weâll be okay in a couple of hours
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My Labrador is too. I had to stop her from playing because she is prone to tail sprains in the cold weather.
In other news, the hose from well pump to tank froze and broke while we tried to thaw it. Good news is our well company called everyone in and they are fixing as I type. They sent an installation crew rather than a repair crew. We were told it would be tomorrow, so we were out working on picking up things we needed to be out of water through the next few days, when they showed up.
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In a case of really excellent timing, the gauge on our underground propane tank broke and the company told us to run the tank down and let them know when itâs empty so they can come fix the gauge and fill the tank. Ya know, the propane that powers our water heater and furnace as well as the generator that will keep the heat and well pump and the horsesâ auto waterer running if/when the power goes out. The power has flickered many times today due to the insane winds. They insist they will come immediately, even on Christmas, butâŠ
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