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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Original poster

Horses in the snow

34 replies

Tralalee · 01/03/2018 13:44

I have two at home. Both the water butt and the piped water trough are frozen solid, so I'm carrying buckets of water up three or four times a day. Rode one this morning and turned one out for a couple of hours but they are both in now and bad weather forecast at about 3pm. How are you coping?

OP posts:
Martyngibson · 01/03/2018 15:45

Mine are in. First day ever they have had to stay in but the snow has drifted so much it's dangerous. Checking them every couple of hours and topping up water and hay. They don't seem bothered.

Personwithhorse · 01/03/2018 15:50

Mine is in the lovely people at the yard are looking after him, the only problem is the drinkers are frozen. That’s a lot of buckets to transport. Warming up here so hopefully will be back to normal soon

Butkin1 · 01/03/2018 15:53

They come in every evening anyway. Last couple of days we've been putting hay out for them - despite the snow - (we're in Suffolk)but today we left them in. The snow is thick and the windchill is minus 10 so we couldn't see the point in turning them out. We've also left their neck covers on in the stable as they insist on looking out the whole time..

Butkin1 · 01/03/2018 15:54

The biggest hassle has been water as out (indoor) taps at the stables are frozen despite lagging. We've therefore been bringing water from home. We use hot water for the sugar beet and even put hot water in their water buckets as last night it froze hard and we had to take out discus' of ice before topping up.

Original poster
Tralalee · 01/03/2018 16:00

What do you put your hot water in? Our stables are a 10 min walk from the house. I'm half filling two buckets and covering them with clingfilm!

OP posts:
DuckBilledAardvark · 01/03/2018 16:01

Mine is out without a rug on and I'm taking water down from home in a container.

I was going to pop a rug on her last night but she felt warm (even her ears were warm) so haven't bothered.

DuckBilledAardvark · 01/03/2018 16:02

I use the WarHorse container that I use in the trailer, I load it at home and I can drive up to the field (4x4)

Original poster
Tralalee · 01/03/2018 16:02

Mine are hunter clipped. They have heavyweight turnouts on then a warm stable rug over the top at night!

OP posts:
Tronkmanton · 01/03/2018 16:11

Both mine are in on full room service. They are in stables in a reasonable sized shed so I’ve got my DD to be a human ‘horsewalker’ three times a day Grin. The main problem is water, only non frozen tap is in the house so a bit of haulage. They’re loving it, as I would be if I was waited on hand and foot!!

Martyngibson · 01/03/2018 16:49

I've left mine in their medium weight turnouts for the last two days. They are warm under but not too hot. My hay bill is going to be horrendous this month.

plominoagain · 01/03/2018 16:53

Mine are in as well . I did give them the option of going out and they lasted ten minutes before coming back onto the yard . They've been rugged up , eating hay with abandon and listening to classic fm all day !

britnay · 01/03/2018 19:06

One pony is out 24/7, plenty of hay in sheltered bit of field.
One pony was out today but in at night.
Two horses stayed in (first time this winter) as the wind was making them too doolally to risk turning them out.

All our outdoor taps are frozen, so I've been wheelbarrowing 25l bottles of water up from the house for the last few days. I've also been taking wood for the fire down to the house on some of the journeys down. My poor thighs!

I've got an old kettle in the tack room that I've been topping up their water trugs with to try and make the water a bit more drinkable and hopefully it'll stop it from freezing over for a bit.

Our lane is pretty much impassable (three vehicles, including two 4x4s have had to be pulled out today alone), so I've told the owners that I'd rather they didn't risk coming to do their horses.

I'm knackered!

Original poster
Tralalee · 01/03/2018 20:09

So am I! My face is burning with windburn and I've got an earache. Dd wants to ride her horse tomorrow - is it safe to ride in deep snow??!?

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WhyDidIEatThat · 01/03/2018 20:41

waves to butkin from under massive snowdrift in Suffolk

It’s been horrific, nobody can get to work on the full livery yard and hardly any diy-ers have been able to do their own horses. Initial thrill of commuting by quad bike has completely worn off, running out of water.

SilverdaleGlen · 01/03/2018 20:46

My two are in and probably bored shitless. I want to turn them out for a bit but dsis who I share with is too concerned that all their mud they churned up when it was wet and the big puddle (we live on fenland) will now be frozen and hidden under inches of snow meaning they may slip and damage a leg.

So they are staying in, eating their heads off and looking VERY bored.

plominoagain · 01/03/2018 21:11

Silver Dale - another fen dweller here too ! Mine went out , played in the snow for ten minutes, then the wind blew and they scooted back onto the yard sharpish ! I left them in with the radio on , and they’re happy as Larry . Even the feisty welsh one chickened out .

SilverdaleGlen · 01/03/2018 21:37

They tend to hover around the gate looking mournful at the best of times when it's wet the big wusses so maybe I will feel less guilty and invest in a radio!

puppymouse · 01/03/2018 21:49

Mine wanted to come in by 9am but he panics if he's in alone so I left him. By the time his friend was coming in he'd pretty much shut down and finished all his hay for the first time. The snow has been blowing over and under his door so he has half a bag of bedding spread at the front to soak up and stop him slipping. I want to go up and check on him but it's deep snow and pitch black and a little bit tricky to navigate the potholes at the best of times on foot... can't keep water from freezing. Hate it hate it.

Original poster
Tralalee · 02/03/2018 07:30

About to go out. The wind is horrendous and the drifts are huge Sad

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Moanranger · 02/03/2018 08:14

Tralalee riding in snow is tricky, it quickly balls up under hooves so they lose their footing. I am told putting Vaseline on the frogs will prevent this, but has never worked successfully for me. If you have some cleared gravel/ hardcore tracks & can stay in the wheel ruts, then she might be able to toddle around for a bit.
Good luck!

StaffiesAndPonies · 02/03/2018 08:44

I don’t have mains water or electricity at the best of times and the tap on my rainwater tank broke so I lost some of the contents and now having to barrow water from home. The horses are out in the day and in at night. They seem OK with plenty of haylage and warm rugs but two of them are in their late 20s so it’s a worrying time.

The snow here (Chilterns) isn’t currently deep but we’re supposed to be getting loads later today.

Butkin1 · 02/03/2018 10:49

Ours in again today - interestingly they weren't pushing to get out which is unusual for them. We hope to get them out for a couple of hours from 3 to 5 this afternoon but the wind chill and snow cover makes it a waste of time this morning.

Tralalee - we take hot water to our yard in 25 litre containers. The same ones we use to transport cold water to show.. Essential bit of kit.. All tack shops sell them.. Something like this:

www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/manufacturers/sealants_and_tools_direct/sandtd_mixed_tools/25_litre_plastic_water_storage_container_drum_petrol_can_fuel_liquid_P28145.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAieTUBRCaARIsAHeLDCS8zGBhTx6iAh1shNIYBT651Y32vpjGJywlwhpuFzqponArlLwtwUUaAkE6EALw_wcB

Original poster
Tralalee · 02/03/2018 11:04

I've got one butkin but we can't currently drive to the stables. I've done one lot of bukets and will do another run at lunch time. Dd is definitely not riding, the ice is treacherous.

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Martyngibson · 02/03/2018 11:20

Mine went out for 45 minutes this morning while I gave their stables a really good muck out. They were ready to come in and I've taken their rugs off for a couple of hours as they were dragging on their withers.

kingjofferyworksintescos · 02/03/2018 11:33

I no longer have horses so I'm lucky with no lugging water around , but those who have got horses please remember to have the water warmed to take the chill off it , very cold water can lead to colic ,
please keep beds deep and also put bedding across the whole floor right up to the door to keep them warm , prevent drafts , and give them something to stand on , standing on concrete isn't good for limbs and it's bloody cold ,
check under rugs make sure they feel warm but not sweaty , a light under rug can help by layering ,
when you muck out check dropping are normal , smaller hard ones show signs of dehydration and may lead to colic .
If they are not getting any / much exercise cut the concentrate right down, up the roughage and ad-lib hay to keep them full and busy .
If anyone goes and does regular night checks make sure you tell someone when you go out and take a charged phone , be careful not to slip and hurt yourself , a small layer of muck/ shavings / straw on the slippy areas helps to prevent slipping over and easy to sweep up later once the weather has cleared up
Writing this brings back memories of just how much hard work snow is with a yard full of horses . Let's hope the weather warms up very soon