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We have recently experienced some unusual weather for Bahrain, so with winter here or coming it means we need to be considering our horses' welfare and ensuring we are ready for winter.
Although we are lucky that winter here does not produce snow, sleet, ice and sub-zero temperatures it does get pretty nippy at night!
We tend to think that if we are cold, our horses must be cold. Not necessarily! The horse's winter coat is its first defence from the cold. When allowed to grow, a horse's natural hair coat acts as a very effective thermal blanket.
It increases both in length and density, becoming a tremendous insulator, along with it being naturally greasy, helping to repel wet conditions. Horses have the ability to 'fluff' out their coats in cold weather, which traps a layer of air in the coat and gives an insulating layer. However, once the hair becomes wet, the hair lies down and loses its insulating ability.
The combination of cold wind and rain is probably the worst case scenario for a horse; under these conditions without shelter he can quickly become chilled. Older horses, in particular, from their late teens on up tend to have difficulty maintaining their internal temperatures in such circumstances.
A horse's ears are said to be a good indicator of whether or not he is cold - cold ears mean a cold horse. Also watch to see if your horse is shivering, a warm-blooded animal shivers to produce more body heat, if they are shivering, they are not warm enough.
Bear in mind that when using rugs/blankets at night, a blanket that is not warm enough is worse than no blanket at all, as a blanket will flatten the coat causing loss of insulating ability.
When temperatures dip, the best heat source for your horse is extra hay. During the cold weather it is best to increase the amount of hay, not concentrated feeds. Hay is digested in the cecum and colon which results in heat production by bacterial fermentation.
On the other hand, concentrated feed is primarily digested in the small intestine in a short amount of time and does not produce much heat. This means a greater amount of heat is produced through using hay rather than concentrated feed.
Without water, nothing in your horse's body will function. Horses will often reduce their water intake as temperatures fall. This reduced water intake, combined with increased forage consumption can lead to a greater incidence of impaction and colic. Whenever possible, offer your horse warm water at a temperature of about 45-65¡F.
Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that a horse's water intake in winter increases dramatically if he has access to warm water. Recent research has shown a 40 per cent increase in water intake when horses are offered warm water on wintery days.
