"Once in a generation" polar vortex

YOU don’t ride from December to mid-February because of footing and you don’t have an arena. WTF does that have to do with horses that are kept in actual training year round? Nothing. A break of 2.5 months (and it would be more in colder climates) is NOT necessarily good for everyone.

There is a myriad of health reasons to keep a horse working year round besides the fact that training needs to continue year round for those that are serious about training/showing/sales/etc.

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:frowning: My nerves would have eaten a hole through my stomach by now. Fingers x’d they don’t need to come because your tank’s contents gets your through the worst of it, or if it does run down they are true to their word!

I’ve been doing this for years, as various ones have been taken off the market, but my supply is finally dwindling. Need to beat the bushes and find some more.

Just replaced the bulbs in the fixture over our kitchen sink with LED ones, after one of the incandescents blew out and we didn’t have a replacement, but I don’t like the light as much (even though it’s only 2700K, it feels “cold” to me).

Almost every fixture in our home is on a dimmer switch; we frequently dim lights, and typically get at least 10 to 12 years use out of a bulb. Been here the better part of 25 years and many bulbs have only been changed once, some twice, some never. Have yet to change the bulbs on the upstairs landing, the ones in the powder room or guest bath or our dressing room, or the ones lighting the hallways outside the laundry and the guest bath, for example.

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As an Edmontonian, I can confirm that you would absolutely need heat, at least a tiny bit, in both an arena and barn to do any sort of serious riding in the winter. The footing freezes, the horses shiver if they sweat at all, you are so cold you want to keel over. I grew without an indoor or arena at all, my horses had basically from November to April almost completely off. Barn wise, it’s not so much that it’s cold and therefor uncomfortable, it’s that you have no way of keeping pipes unfrozen otherwise…and if they freeze, they burst. Doors will freeze shut due to the moisture from the horses and you will have to chisel them out even morning. There’s no way to keep water or soaked feed liquid, unless you use heated buckets which is a huge fire hazard. It’s just genuinely a necessity in some places on this continent. We have fans and vents for ventilation, and the air quality in most bigger barns is very good.

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Just came in from evening chores…br! I have really lost my tough Maine skin for this kind of thing. We opted to leave everyone out with access to water with tank heaters. The little barn can only run one tank heater at a time…so we decided to put the old girl and Yankee Pony in the big field together where they can share a water tank with a heater run off of my house. The big guy gets the old girl’s paddock and tank w/ a heater. It is a bit of a chess game!

I did get to try out the new liner system and hood on Yankee Pony’s new blanket set. I am thrilled with it. Great buy.

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I’ve been surprised by my anxiety too. There’s the normal crap that can go wrong but it felt like more. It’s better now that we’re mostly through day one. What I’ve come to is the thought that these bizarre weather events will get worse over the years. We watched that movie about the world ending and everyone froze. That’s what I remember anyways. :grinning: Maybe The Day After Tomorrow?

Then I see the poor birds suffering and then there’s all the news reports lately about having lost what 70% of all species? Is that right? It just adds to all the normal anxiety?

CBD oil. That’s how I cope.

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In an area where this kind of weather used to be very very rare - once every 10 years - but now seems to be every 2-5 years … The forecast (which has been fluid the last few days) has been saying that in 5 days there will be a high in the 70’s, overnight low 50’s.

Unfortunately the forecast has also extended the continuous freeze into Sunday. It keeps creeping forward by 24 hours every couple of days or so.

This does not work for me, or for many, many other people trying to have a Christmas.

Not this year, but I’ve been at airports during horrendous full-midwest winter weather when all flights are uncertain. Those people on the news clips who are camping in the terminal – give up and go home in daylight while you can. You do not want to be in a below-freezing airport parking garage trying to go home after all of the air travel options failed, in the dark until after midnight, with a car that won’t start in the cold, waiting on a very over-worked airport jump-start service. Especially with kids. Don’t be tough. Take the easy way out and give up! :slight_smile:

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Looking at the weather channel – it could be worse. Much, much worse than we have it here in a warmer climate.

Yeah, supplies like that have a way of disappearing from the store shelves when they are most needed! The rest of the time they take up space and are in the way. But as you say, when you need it, you really need it.

Awesome idea. Will be following up on this.

Amazing how sometimes the answers aren’t as complicated I think they have to be. :slight_smile:

I have learned to stay away from blanket arguments. The “never” and “always” people can’t learn any new facts. (Same for the “to shoe or not to shoe” arguments). Unfortunately they sometimes influence newer horse owners, or horse owners not experienced with extreme weather.

I’ve tried pointing out that most of the horses at a board barn I was at had never in their short lives experienced below-freezing temperatures. They have winter coats for lows in the 50’s.

Doesn’t matter to the hard-set opinionators, the way they do it in New Hampshire with unclipped pasture horses is the only way to do it.

But today the local feed store, which had has had a big nearly-untouched display of winter blankets up for a couple of months, had like 3 winter blankets left. I guess the locals do have a heart for their pasture horses. And as someone said, I never saw a horse object to a blanket that they really needed. :grin:

This is what horse people are doing while all the sane people are cuddled up in front of the fire with hot chocolate, going nowhere.

I hope this resolves ok for you!

And of course farm people with animals have a hard time bailing out for a better situation elsewhere. Thinking of you !!! :snowflake:

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Wednesday evening in Colorado was :open_mouth:

I’d finished riding (inside, as it was stupid windy all day), and it was about 45 at feeding time (4pm or so). By 5:30 when I had driven the 10 minutes home, it was 9. I gave my one horse an extra bucket with Gatorade as the front was moving in. Both got extra probiotics the past few days.

The BM said it was -24 when he pulled in to feed Friday morning. Very glad mine have a heated barn (heated just to keep pipes from freezing as there are a lot of exposed water lines). With all the horses in and eating, can be in the 40s.

Today was worse in the barn for my stall rest horse because the others got turnout, and another night of negative teens. My other horse got turned out in 600g (200 stable blanket and 400g turnout with hood), and he was not as toasty as I expected him to be in that. He was clipped in early November.

First time I’ve had to plug in the diesel out here. But very thankful for the heated barn and attached heated indoor to keep the horses moving. I did lots of hand walking yesterday.

Horses that live outside were double blanketed, extra bay and bedding, and waters checked regularly. Only one waterer was causing some trouble freezing in the bowl.

Supposed to reach the 40s tomorrow afternoon. I’d say I can’t wait except there will be mud!

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I did soaked alfalfa (hydration hay i think is the brand/name) that i had left over from our move in a lottttt of hot water so that it was soupy. I also soaked his grain and gave a little extra. Basically, being in the southern part of the mess, the temperatures are above 0 again so he’s outside (in his 300g) but i’m most concerned about hydration.

Tomorrow I’ll probably do the same again. Luckily he has a ton of hay between the bale i left in his run in last night and the free choice round bale in the pasture. Those ice buckets don’t stay unfrozen very long below 10 degrees :sweat_smile:

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UGH! My landlord texted me to double check that the hose was disconnected from the spigot. I step outside (in the dark) to hear the hooves of three horses running laps. I corraled Yankee Pony and brought the old girl in. She was still worked up, so I brought the big guy in and she settled. Everyone was warm, sweatish under their blankets. UGH!

Old girl and big guy are in their stalls. Yankee Pony is in his smaller field with tank with a heater. Everyone got some fresh hay. I’m going to check on them all in a bit. Mr Yankee is in charge of midnight water for the stalled ones. UGH!

Fingers crossed no one was too upset that they colic. UGH!

ETA: the hoses were already disconnected. But it could have been another hour or two before I went out to check them all again. So it was sheer luck my landlord asked me to double check…

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I’m watching The Weather Channel, and a weather newscaster in Kansas is wearing a knit face covering. How sensible. Especially since the weather in Kansas City is so cold. They showed a raw egg, with a ‘stand’ under it of frozen egg white. Yes, it looked like a futuristic sculpture with the egg on the frozen egg whites. Totally bizarre.

The lows in Atlanta, and New Orleans are scary. The highs will be above average in the Texas, Louisiana areas, by Wednesday and Thursday.

Just remember if you’re in an Iguana area, watch for falling Iguanas, and don’t take them inside to warm up, they won’t like it when they defrost.

North New York State Buffalo area’s prediction is awful, blizzard conditions, winds 60 to 70 mph, stranded motorists. TWC named it Winter Storm Elliott (not a real name from the National Weather Service, they TWC just started naming winter storms).

TWC announcer just said Nashville wind chill will be 7 degrees. In lower Alabama, it’s not going to be above freezing through Sunday afternoon.

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wait what?

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The iguanas get cold, and fall out of trees, apparently when it’s close to freezing.

A few years ago the authorities had to warn people not to ‘rescue’ the iguanas, after some took them inside to warm up. Iguanas apparently don’t want to warm up, and become pets, so they get really angry.

I remember hearing about one man who loaded one or more iguanas in a cardboard box, loaded them in his car, and was taking them somewhere to warm up. Unfortunately, the iguana or iguanas warmed up, and didn’t want to be rescued, and he found out rescuing iguanas was a terrible idea. I would love to see the video on that.

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Thanks for the new-to-me information! lol

I’m not clear exactly what happens when iguanas are miffed at being warmed up. So do the iguanas bite when they are awakened from this hypothermic ‘sleep’? I’d bite too, don’t blame them.

Iguanas are actually pretty nasty - or correctly, wild animals - so they’ll defend themselves and “ask questions later.” If tamed when young, they’re reasonably good pets, though.

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I am feeling very grateful to be where we are. Last night was nasty and I was glad I decided to leave my old man inside. I just don’t think he would have had any fun. But the winds appear to have blown through faster than expected. Right now we have clear bright skies melting all the leftover ice, and the overnight real feel is unpleasant but not obscene.

I hope all your lights are on and your troughs unfrozen and NOBODY COLICKED.

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We lost power for a couple hours last night, immediately after watching Scrooged on Pluto. Blinked off and on a few times, then stayed off.

Power came back on around midnight. Horses still eating, drinking, pooping, etc., and appear to be doing well. Wind has died down completely, which is great, and if it stays that way, we’ll get the horses out of their stalls this afternoon when it’s supposed to warm up a few degrees.

Very glad I bought the insulating covers for water buckets when they were on clearance at SmartPak a couple years ago. Had never needed something such as that in all my decades of horsekeeping; took a chance that they weren’t a complete waste of money and might prove useful someday. They’ve been lifesavers.

Fixed the horses a warm mash of soaked alfalfa pellets this morning (first time ever). One scarfed it right down, while the other asked “What is this goop?” But he became more interested after realizing that his buddy was eating it.

edited to move non-horse-related info to Off Topic thread.

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A puffy leg and a scratch from last night’s shenanigans. But plenty of poop, happy eaters and drinkers. That I can deal with.

Mr Yankee was carrying buckets of warm water to the stalled horses at 2:30am. Bless him. Give him a task and he completes it to a T.

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I’m in a dilemma here as the freezing rain has mostly not materialized in my location-- lots of sleet/snow drifted around, and paddocks are a bit icy, but gravel poking up allows for slow speed turnout of my retired, low fuss boys. They both prefer to be ‘in and out’ in their paddock with 12x36 overhang out of the prevailing winds. But…at 26 degrees/40mph wind, the rain is about to arrive. Lock them in the stalls or leave them as is until later when I feed?? One gelding fusses incessantly when locked in a stall-- stands at his Dutch door staring out, paces, resumes standing. Some eating, less drinking. Not ideal. The other boy eats, walks a circle, eats, repeats. Total stall trashing. Should warm up by evening, but icy conditions will remain. I hate ice!!