"Once in a generation" polar vortex

[Texarkana]

@PamnReba

The forecast for last night’s low was mid 30’s at 6 am, so I didn’t blanket my two - who had been wearing them previously when temps were in the teens and low 20’s, but off during the day when it hit close to 70 (no place has temperature swings like Texas does). Ah, a heat wave, thinks I. When I woke up at 6 and saw it was actually 26 outside, I felt like crap for leaving them nekkid. No one was shivering, but I could tell they weren’t particularly comfy, either. Fortunately, it warmed up quickly as the sun rose.

Isn’t it frustrating when that happens? I’ve definitely been there- you watch the forecast like a Hawk and still end up getting it wrong.

Sometimes there are these memes that circulate about how “wild” Maryland or PA’s weather can be. They make me LOL because here in the mid-Atlantic, we have some of the most predictable weather in the country. Texas definitely wins the prize for most extreme temperature swings. When I lived there, my friends used to plan an annual February camping trip, which was bonkers to me coming from PA. We did it for years; they actually still do it, I just can never make it anymore. I experienced everything from upper 80s and sunburn to trying to survive in a tent when it was below freezing… often in the same weekend!

[PamnReba]

This past Thursday when the front came through, I was hauling a horse from south to north about 90 miles. When I left the southern location, it was in the 60’s. When I arrived two hours later at my northern destination, truck said the outside temp was 29. Trailer is fully enclosed and horse was blanketed - I knew we might have a bit of a swing, but that was way extreme!

[JB]

@lenapesadie

I could have left a no fill sheet on him during the day and he probably wouldn’t have overheated in it and it might have kept him from shivering until I got home. He kinda hates his current no fill sheet so I best make a decision on ordering him a new one!

80-100gm lightweight sheets are wonderful for those situations! Some horses do worse if it’s just a sheet, others are fine, it depends on the exact conditions that are making them cold.

Yes, 32! I’ve only had him for about 17 of those years, and until maybe 6 years ago he was the easiest keeper he’d always been, and then one Winter it just changed to needing a Sr feed instead of a ration balancer for the Winter (still muzzled on grass in Summer), and then last Winter it changed again to not chewing hay too well, and needing the Sr feed 2x a day. It’s a journey for sure, feeding the old guy is new territory for me, I’m glad I have a couple decades’ worth of reading how others have done it!

@Texarkana

here in the mid-Atlantic, we have some of the most predictable weather in the country.

which part of the Mid-Atlantic? There are definitely parts of Va that have wild temp swings, especially the more southern areas, especially in Winter. We can cycle through Fall-Winter-Spring all in a week LOL

I don’t count these Winter storms as normal swings, they’re anomalies around here (north cental NC) though we do get some variation of this kind of thing once every 1-2 years, but usually not until January. But it IS common to cycle through 3 seasons in a week!

[Djones]

Karma bit me squarely in the derriere lol

I THOUGHT I had set the LQ propane heat to pull from either tank to keep a bit of wam air inside. Nope. Turns out I was dead wrong, it ran overnight blowing nothing but cold air. I had blown the water lines out with air…but I had stashed Dexamethasone injectable and albuteral for inhalation in the cabinets. It went down to about 20. Both are supposed to be at room temperature. Shoot me now.

[Texarkana]

@JB

which part of the Mid-Atlantic? There are definitely parts of Va that have wild temp swings, especially the more southern areas, especially in Winter. We can cycle through Fall-Winter-Spring all in a week LOL

Oh, I’m not saying mid-Atlantic doesn’t get temp swings and bad weather. It happens everywhere. That fall-winter-spring in a week pattern is not unusual in much of th US.

But Texas, not to mention most of the western states, get those patterns a lot more frequently and generally with greater temp swings. Shoot, my friend’s place in CO went from 51F to -17F (actual temperature) in less than 48 hours with this last system. I think most of the mid-Atlantic would have died if that happened.

[candyappy]

@enjoytheride

Seems to me you’re doing exactly the same thing? You want people to quit riding or “dress accordingly” but you’re getting bent out of shape if they do things differently. What’s it to you if they are paying to heat their barn or arena?

I can’t control what others do and I am certainly not bent out of shape about it. What I can do is express my opinion on how wasteful it is to use electric, natural gas or propane to heat an arena so people can ride without winter clothing or heat a barn so the horses don’t get cold.

It is an unneeded luxury.

All 3 of those heating methods are in short supply, especially now and should be reserved for homes and normal businesses. Not the elite few. Let them heat their arena & barns with solar or wind or outdoor wood boilers or whatever methods are out there where you produce your own.

[sascha]

@candyappy

What I can do is express my opinion on how wasteful it is to use electric, natural gas or propane to heat an arena so people can ride without winter clothing or heat a barn so the horses don’t get cold

Seriously? Seriously? This after all the explanations? It is NOT about not needing to wear winter clothing or about the horses getting cold. You are the only one who believes that.

Also, turn your damned heat down already, keeping it anything above 31F is wasteful. Put on a damned sweater and make use of your hot air to blow on your pipes so they don’t freeze.

[Shagyas_Rock]

I bought my bucket cozies a long time ago and can’t remember the brand but I think they were called bucket “Kozies”…but I may not remember correctly. I am thinking of just googling it and see what comes up. I am sorry I am not more helpful.
I get frustrated with “black-and-white” thinking as regards blanketing, or shoeing, too. As diverse and individual as horses are…no two ever alike…that’s why it takes so many decades of experience to become a horseman/woman and not just a horse owner…you would think more folks would figure out that there is no black and white in the world of horses. To be a good horseman one must always study and consider what is best for each one.
I have 3 horses and their needs are all different; I care for them accordingly. For instance…in windchill of -45° they all went out in blankets…the two thin skinned, finer coated mares in layers and neck covers. My hairy yak gelding in just his medium weight with neck cover. Inside the barn the girls wore their tekno fleece stable blankets, my boy was fine naked.

[lenapesadie]

I have a 50, 80 and 100 gram that fit him well enough. I might could have left the 50 gram on him, the others would have been too much for him I think. I guess yesterday I would have rather had him a tad too toasty for an hour or two as opposed to shaking in his horse shoes from cold. I haven’t personally experienced a situation where a sheet made a horse colder, but I have read that’s a possibility.

Sounds like a learning journey with your old guy! Mine hasn’t ever been an easy keeper as far as I know, but he’s doing ok currently on a RB and lots of alfalfa. I do love the old horse brains though. The elderly ones are really wise to the game

[MiniHorseMom]

I was the one that asked originally about heated barns. What I was concerned about was areas like Buffalo or Minnesota or Wyoming where it is routinely below zero for long periods. Extreme weather. Not so the princess can ride in the indoor arena without a coat.

[Calvincrowe]

I’m not sure Candyappy is reading for comprehension-- I’ve been in a ‘heated’ arena in upstate NY in February. Believe me, we had on winter clothing while riding. It wasn’t warm in there! But, it was certainly not the negative temps outside, either. I cannot imagine trying to ride in the regions of N. America that routinely get REAL cold for months without a ‘warmed to just above 32 degrees arena that is designed for that with insulation and all that jazz’ (maybe that will help her understand??)

Anyway-- the Polar Vortex on the West Coast is now the Pineapple Express! Warm (50 degrees), very wet (inches of rain) and windy (gusts over 50mph). Yay! So more power outages, wild horse who can’t be turned out, trees down on fences, soggy/muddy paddocks and wet drippy barns. Gotta love the PNW-- the weather is never the same!

[JanM]

I see this one every winter, I think it’s cute. Combined with falling iguana warnings, it’s been a strange weather season.

[JB]

@lenapesadie

I guess yesterday I would have rather had him a tad too toasty for an hour or two as opposed to shaking in his horse shoes from cold.

I agree, a couple hours a bit too warm, OR too cool, is better than 6 hours of either, so I always try to opt for the least amount of time of being a bit uncomfy, whichever way it is. It’s almost always a couple hours of potentially a bit too warm, in order to avoid many hours of very likely too cold.

[Amy3996]

@Calvincrowe

I’ve been in a ‘heated’ arena in upstate NY in February. Believe me, we had on winter clothing while riding. It wasn’t warm in there! But, it was certainly not the negative temps outside, either.

Yup. I showed at a heated venue a couple of weeks ago. December in NWNY - it was in the teens outside. The arena was heated to 50°F, maybe 55°F. It warmed up considerably beyond that with horses and spectators in and out of the arena, but we definitely weren’t hanging out in tank tops.

[enjoytheride]

I rode at a heated barn. Heated to 50. By a wood stove. Is that approved?

[candyappy]

@sascha

Seriously? Seriously? This after all the explanations? It is NOT about not needing to wear winter clothing or about the horses getting cold. You are the only one who believes that.

Also, turn your damned heat down already, keeping it anything above 31F is wasteful. Put on a damned sweater and make use of your hot air to blow on your pipes so they don’t freeze.

I am not going to feed this beast any longer. I am sorry that I have somehow caused you some mental instability over this subject as you are becoming abusive and make no sense to me.

[piccolopony]

I live and board in Minnesota (horse is technically in WI) and heated barns are common up here. You can find everything from just the barn (stall, grooming, tack room) or just the arena or both heated or insulated. Most barns just keep it somewhere above freezing so that water buckets or other liquids don’t freeze. Our winters are so long that it’s not just a simple “take a month off” answer so most people who compete at some level want to have some ability to functionally ride during the winter. It’s not just about human comfort at all. The horse’s lungs, tendons, muscles, etc also aren’t meant to work at those low temps and it can be super cold here for upwards of 4+ months so is really tough to have a horse fit and ready to go for show season every year. Not impossible, for sure some people manage without but it is difficult. My barn has a well insulated arena that stays pretty decent through the winter and our tack room is a cozy 70ish degrees so it’s good for warming up. It’s doable but it takes some careful planning and a heroic mindset to get through the tacking up process and then the careful riding warmup while your fingers feel brittle like icicles before you get to any real work. Well designed heated barns are lovely, there are definitely some that trap an insane amount of ammonia all winter and are for sure not good for horse’s lungs.

[MiniHorseMom]

Thank you! This is exactly what I wanted to know. I’m assuming that to have any type of heat in the barn or writing arena is not something that would be super cost effective for a small place?

[piccolopony]

It’s definitely spendy but in a well insulated barn with the horse’s body heat I don’t think it actually takes that much to keep it pleasant. Many arenas also aren’t heated 24/7, instead there are couple of big heaters that are turned on during prime riding time just to take some of the chill out of the air and get it to the 30s/low 40s. Of course there are barns out there that heat closer to 60+ but those do tend to be the higher end facilities and there for sure human comfort is a part of it.

[sascha]

Your sense of humour is fabulous!!!