This season is the acid test when it comes to horsekeeping – especially if you keep your horses at home and care for them yourself.  It’s the season of frozen fingers, icy whiskers, blankets and heated buckets.  Everyone knows about electric buckets and breathable turn-outs, here are a few small winter survival tips that can make a big difference.

1)      If your tack room’s not heated, see if you can keep your tack in the house.  A collapsible saddle rack doesn’t take up much room in an out-of-the-way closet, and warm leather is easier to deal with than cold.

2)      Zip-lock freezer bags.  Don’t have one of those handy-dandy bit heaters?  Take a gallon zip-lock freezer bag and fill it with really hot water.  Zip it firmly closed, and wrap it around your bit.  Wrap that with an old towel, and by the time you’re done grooming, your bit will be nicely warmed – and chances are the water will still be warm enough to take the worst of the nip out of chilled fingers, too.  (BONUS TIP:  If you’re traveling this holiday season and have a “horse sitter” coming in, bag up your horse’s feed with all appropriate supplements in individual feedings.  This way, the sitter just has to tip the contents into the feed bucket, and you have the peace of mind that comes with knowing your horse is getting the right supplements in the right amount at each feeding.)

3)      WD-40.  On the hinges of the barn and stall doors and pasture gates, the axel of the wheelbarrow, the snaps of the lead shanks and (especially!) the snaps that hold the and feed water buckets.

4)      Warm water.  By some estimates, horses will drink up to 30% more water in the winter if it’s warm.  It’s an inexpensive and easy way to help ward off colic.  Adding some warm water to your horse’s grain or offering an occasional mash are also good ways of upping your horse’s water intake.

5)      Dryer sheets.  If you layer your horse’s blankets (particularly if you use a polar fleece liner), static electricity can build up and cause quite a rodeo when you change blankets.  Store your blankets with a dryer sheet or two tucked inside them, and tumble your fleece liner in the dryer with a couple dryer sheets on the “low heat” setting – this cuts down quite a bit on static build-up.  I even tuck a dryer sheet between my mare’s fleece liner and the turn-out.  It usually falls out at some point, but the residue goes a long way toward keeping static to a minimum.

6)      Pam.  If you’re shoveling wet, heavy snow, a good coating of Pam (or other non-stick cooking spray) on your snow shovel allows the snow to slide off rather than building up.

7)      Pet-friendly de-icer and sand.  Mixed, these provide traction and help melt ice in slippery spots without the burning associated with urea or sodium chloride.   Especially helpful if you have dogs and/or cats who like to help with barn chores.

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