When is it too cold for horses outdoors?

[asb_own_me]

I am LOL-ing @ Paula’s description of the bundled-up horses in Florida!!! My retired mare, who has spent plenty of winters living out 24/7, and my show gelding (who is a complete pansy) are READY to come in by about 2pm most days. The Irish mare and the mini donkeys are only concerned about getting some feed, and they march back off into the wind most days.

Thanks for all the input - I guess I will keep following the horses’ leads. There were a few days when even the Irish mare and the donkeys were clamoring to get inside, and I listened to them. I can rest easy when they make it so clear

[NessLaw]

What temps are you all keeping the horses inside for horses in winter without a shelter? We have daily turn out for our stalled horses but the new pastures do not currently have shelters. I know horses can tolerate cold quite well but without a shelter what are your thoughts? Thx!!

[tazycat]

@NessLaw

What temps are you all keeping the horses inside for horses in winter without a shelter? We have daily turn out for our stalled horses but the new pastures do not currently have shelters. I know horses can tolerate cold quite well but without a shelter what are your thoughts? Thx!!

You do realise this is a 9 year old thread. My horse’s are out 24/7 no matter how cold it is.30 below zero or 50 below zero wind chills. Outside with shelter they never use in winter months,their horses not indoor dogs that can’t handle the extreme cold.

[downen]

Please keep in mind all horses are different. I never blanketed UNTIL I got my sweet little TB who can’t stand the cold. After two winters of ulcers I finally got smart and now he gets blanketed when the temps drop below 35 and he comes in at night. He is now happy and ulcer-free. And my 35 year old QH is outside, furry as a yak and just as happy.

[Palm_Beach]

@asb_own_me

It is 22 degrees right now. The horses in question have winter coats and are wearing turnout blankets. They were used to being in the barn at night, but the barn is not heated/insulated and seems to only run about 5 degrees warmer than outdoors. They do have a shelter to go into, a heated water tub and a round bale to munch on.

Opinions? It’s supposed to be quite a bit colder in the coming days…think negative wind chills. I know other people’s horses are out 24/7 and are fine. Am I being silly?

Yes, you are being silly. University of Minnesota says you are just fine and dandy at 22 degrees at your facility which has everything they need plus blankets.

https://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/equine-winter-care/

[candyappy]

It is never too cold and they do better in the cold when they can move around. As long as they can get out of the wind and have access to hay and water they are better off outside. Your not silly. I worry about my guys on occasion too.

[S1969]

@tazycat

You do realise this is a 9 year old thread. My horse’s are out 24/7 no matter how cold it is.30 below zero or 50 below zero wind chills. Outside with shelter they never use in winter months,their horses not indoor dogs that can’t handle the extreme cold.

I find it hard to believe that your horses are not trying to find a shelter in -50F wind chill.

NessLaw - where do you live? What are the temperatures? Do your horses have blankets?

My barn is just as cold as being outside, but it is a wind break. When it is cold and windy - e.g. earlier this week it was about 5F with wind chill - they tend to stand in their stalls (which are always open like a run-in). Since I knew they were happier out of the wind, I put their overnight hay there instead of in their paddock.

Every horse is different so it’s not really about the temperature but about each horse. Some of mine are more cold-hardy than others, but they tend to stay together as a herd. So my older TB mare is blanketed because she will be cold even when my others are not.

[imaginique]

I’ve owned horses for 42 years and never blanketed. It was -20 for two months a couple of winters in a row here. No blankets but LOTS of hay and my horses were happy as clams. They were turned out with the option of going into their stalls if they wanted but they rarely ever did. They also had all the unfrozen water they could drink and they drank a LOT. The frost free hydrant froze and I was hauling water about 4 x a day. It was a pain but the horses were happy. As long as they have enough hay they are fine with cold–even really cold–temps.

[ActNatural]

@imaginique

I’ve owned horses for 42 years and never blanketed. It was -20 for two months a couple of winters in a row here. No blankets but LOTS of hay and my horses were happy as clams. They were turned out with the option of going into their stalls if they wanted but they rarely ever did. They also had all the unfrozen water they could drink and they drank a LOT. The frost free hydrant froze and I was hauling water about 4 x a day. It was a pain but the horses were happy. As long as they have enough hay they are fine with cold–even really cold–temps.

Man, where were you last week when I told someone that their normal, healthy, average age horse with a winter coat didn’t need a blanket if they had optional shelter and plenty of hay? I got totally berated for my horse abuse.

[tazycat]

@S1969 nope they don’t seek shelter in those temps. Hay is put far from water source and shelter. They stay where hay is, food out does shelter when bitter cold. Both horse’s are blanketed this winter.

They want water they have to walk a distance to get it. Keeps them lean and muscled.

[enjoytheride]

@tazycat

@S1969 nope they don’t seek shelter in those temps. Hay is put far from water source and shelter. They stay where hay is, food out does shelter when bitter cold. Both horse’s are blanketed this winter.

They want water they have to walk a distance to get it. Keeps them lean and muscled.

You had a thread in the summer with pictures of your underweight gelding, as well as another thread with a few dead horses due to your feeding practices. I do not think your idea of horse keeping is in line with other people.

[ASB_Stars]

@tazycat

@S1969 nope they don’t seek shelter in those temps. Hay is put far from water source and shelter. They stay where hay is, food out does shelter when bitter cold. Both horse’s are blanketed this winter.

They want water they have to walk a distance to get it. Keeps them lean and muscled.

[edit] What is this? Survivor-my horses? Make their lives miserable- and short?

My horses have heated tanks, and their hay is either in the shed, or immediately in front of it. I want them to be happy, healthy, and flourish. That would be because I care about them.

[enjoytheride]

@S1969

I find it hard to believe that your horses are not trying to find a shelter in -50F wind chill.

NessLaw - where do you live? What are the temperatures? Do your horses have blankets?

My barn is just as cold as being outside, but it is a wind break. When it is cold and windy - e.g. earlier this week it was about 5F with wind chill - they tend to stand in their stalls (which are always open like a run-in). Since I knew they were happier out of the wind, I put their overnight hay there instead of in their paddock.

Every horse is different so it’s not really about the temperature but about each horse. Some of mine are more cold-hardy than others, but they tend to stay together as a herd. So my older TB mare is blanketed because she will be cold even when my others are not.

Tazycat has a strange history with her horse keeping practices. Do some research.

[enjoytheride]

@ASB Stars

[edit] What is this? Survivor-my horses? Make their lives miserable- and short?

My horses have heated tanks, and their hay is either in the shed, or immediately in front of it. I want them to be happy, healthy, and flourish. That would be because I care about them.

Do some research on this poster. She has had quite a few issues due to her horse keeping practices.

[S1969]

@tazycat

@S1969 nope they don’t seek shelter in those temps. Hay is put far from water source and shelter. They stay where hay is, food out does shelter when bitter cold. Both horse’s are blanketed this winter.

They want water they have to walk a distance to get it. Keeps them lean and muscled.

Of course they stay where the hay is, because without it they will freeze to death. With the hay they are just miserable and cold, but apparently still alive.

Why don’t you put the hay where their shelter is? Too far for you to walk?

[edit]

[S1969]

@ActNatural

Man, where were you last week when I told someone that their normal, healthy, average age horse with a winter coat didn’t need a blanket if they had optional shelter and plenty of hay? I got totally berated for my horse abuse.

Some horses might be ok at -20F. I have one that probably would be fine. Two months though…ugh. I might blanket just to help them conserve heat so they didn’t have to eat 24/7. That’s a lot of hay.

[Equestrian.abby]

I think it depends on each individual horse. My trainer turns all the horses at her barn out when it’s cold out, but a lot of them have heavy coats. Also, some owners will request that their horses aren’t turned out.

[Palm_Beach]

@trafalgar

SHEETS CAN MAKE HORSES COLDER

A FEW YEARS AGO A RAMBO REP TOLD ME THAT THE ‘LITE’ RAMBOS AND RHINOS WERE ONLY TO KEEP HORSES DRY BUT NOT WARM. HE SAID THAT BECAUSE THEY SMOOTH DOWN THE HORSES COAT THEY ACTUALLY CAN BE DETRIMENTAL IN THE COLD BECAUSE THE HAIR CANNOT FLUFF UP HENCE THE HORSE GETS COLDER THAN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IF HE WERE ‘AU NATURAL’. I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO USE THE LITES IN THE WINTER BUT IT’S A TERRIBLE MISTAKE UNLESS IT IS JUST A WARMISH RAINY DAY. I AM SURE THIS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED ON THIS FORUM BEFORE.

Old wives tale and completey totally untrue. Your rambo rep was just trying to sell you a more expensive blanket.

[Palm_Beach]

@ASB Stars

[edit] What is this? Survivor-my horses? Make their lives miserable- and short?

My horses have heated tanks, and their hay is either in the shed, or immediately in front of it. I want them to be happy, healthy, and flourish. That would be because I care about them.

They do so much better when they move around. I get tbs in for r&r and they go outside as much as possible. I pull their shoes and they might gimp around a bit (if they are really bad they get hoof boots) and their ankles swell but they pull themselves together at about 60 days and are so much healthier and stronger for having to move around for forage and water and deal with uneven frozen ground. The horses I usually take in are older and have run 70+ times and have a variety of issues that make them difficult to rehome. I am very close to a vet who helps me with these horses pro bono and she refuses to let me bring these horses into the barn and do them up - she wants them outside and moving around.

Horses evolved on the steppes of Asia where winters are really brutal (50+ below zero) and they are well suited to cold temps and having to trek long distances to food and water. Our modern day horses are very much babied.

[enjoytheride]

There is a huge difference in babying horses and someone having a history of dead, sick, and underweight horses due to [edit] poor horse keeping practices forcing horses to travel long distances for food, water, or shelter.