When you live near the Rocky Mountain the temps range to below freezing and WELL below freezing. It’s possible to be 6 below 0 and even 25 below 0! Most might think really cold is just really code the difference between 6 below and 25 below means being able to work horses or not.

Years of practice and training fine tuned rules for weather, from what blankets to wear to when it’s too cold to work them. It’s tricky working horses in ultra-cold weather, even in a warm indoor arena. Breaking a sweat can mean they might not dry and will have a serious chill all night which is reason why blanketing mainly to try and keep the horses coats down so they can work in the warm indoor without a huge amount of sweat.

Another challenge for cold weather is to be diligent about checking the water buckets. Many of you use water heaters in the winter, which is great, BUT you need to make sure they are working AND that your horses are still drinking. In winter try feeding extra straight grass hay so horses can eat all night long.

No hoof, no horse right? Check your horses feet regularly to see if they are getting sore from the cold and hard ice.

Horses are incredibly adaptable animals and able to adjust to the most extreme environments. That’s how they’ve not only survived but thrived through the millennium. But adjusting them to meet our personal demands (live in a high-altitude mountain environment but still be on a performance horse regimen) sometime takes some strategy.

If you have moved from a warmer client to a colder climate this winter. Don’t freak out if your horse looks like a Woolley mammoth this season. Typically they over compensate their first year moving from warmer to colder climates. With situations like this, you can still blanket but just make sure to feel under the blanket and make sure you horse isn’t sweating. If he sweats under his blanket on his extra long winter coat then he’ll eventually get cold because that wetness won’t dry out.

Do you have tips for cold weathering your horses? Please feel free to share them here ↓ below! Thanks for reading!