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How do you prepare for winter?

6K views 56 replies 13 participants last post by  Acadianartist 
#1 ·
This post is meant for those who live in cold climates where the temperature can stay below freezing for several months.

As most of you know, I just built a barn last June so this will be my first winter with my horses at home. I did spend lots of time at various barns over the last few years so I have some ideas of what to expect, but because my layout is very different from others, I also have questions.

How do you prepare? What are the sorts of issues you've had to deal with and how did you solve them? What are the things you now do differently?

A little info on my setup: my stalls have dutch doors leading to a paddock, which then leads into a pasture. The plan is to shut the gate to the pasture when the snow gets too deep - or possibly sooner since the grass will no longer be growing at some point. We need to prep the field for spring too... so that probably means dragging and disking it to break up the manure that we haven't picked up (we get some of it, but not all) and to break up the soil and maybe lime it.

Ideally, I'd like to keep the dutch doors open during the day for as much of the winter as possible. There is a ten foot overhang and it's in a somewhat sheltered area, but when a blizzard is blowing, obviously I'll have to close the stall doors. I like the idea of letting the horses come in out of the storm, but it's no good if there's four feet of snow in their stalls.

And then there's water... I replaced my plastic muck bucket with a rubber one so the ice doesn't crack the plastic. But I have to figure out where to put it so I can dump out the dirty water without creating an ice rink. My water line inside the barn is in a box with an outlet for a light. I've heard this is a good way to keep your water from freezing. Anyone do this? I have one heated water bucket and will get another if I find I am using them a lot. However, I am home for a pretty good part of the day so I can easily water them three times a day. Once in the morning, once late afternoon and once in the evening.

I plan on building some hay feeders to keep the horses from trampling their hay and getting it buried underneath the snow. I've seen too much hay wasted that way. I'd like to keep my hay off the ground a little and will be using slow feeder nets that hold an entire square bale.

What am I missing?
 
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#2 ·
I live in OK which you would not think of as all that cold. HOWEVER, when we get an ice storm it can hang around for a while and knock power out to a large area for a long time. Last bad storm we had a friend of mine lost power for over 1 month. So, I've dealt with some pretty cold ugly spells. What I find is that individual buckets freeze really quickly (unless heated of course) so most of mine have tubs that hold 20-25 gallons in them and I use a quick heater to defrost them quickly. I also have a heavy net with metal frame to break ice and haul it out of the tubs. Heated buckets are great unless you lose power.

I've had my hay in since July/Aug, blankets are all clean and sorted by size. I buy fresh feed every 2 weeks, just takes up too much room to store it otherwise. Oh and I have lots of bedding for the messiness of winter. Since we freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw, it gets really muddy and yuck.

For power, do you have some kind of back up?
 
#3 ·
I used a plastic flat bottom sled, like kids use, to pull my muck bucket out into the field to dump it. I lived where it was -30F for a good part of the winter, and wind. My underground water lines never froze, but my water hydrant (the kind with the long handle that drains the water back down into the line) would get frozen so I couldn't pull it up to turn on water. I kept a regular heating pad in the barn that I could tie around the faucet and handle to heat it up in a very short time. A hair dryer would also work. I had a 150 gallon galvanized trough for water with a floating heater to keep off ice. Since they were out during the day, they got lots of water and didn't drink that much out of a bucket while stalled. If I think of more I'll be back. It's been a long time since I cared for my own horses.
 
#4 ·
My tank has a bottom plug so I attach a hose and let it run away outside the pasture. I have waterproof winter gloves from Cabela's.

I use a sled that fits one bale to feed from so I can scatter the hay better. Meds get brought in. I feed on the ground in most pastures. At one place I feed in tire tubs with wood bottoms.

My horses have a run in shed and wind breaks. No stalls.
 
#5 ·
Dreamcatcher - yes, we have a generator for extended power outages. Though we could probably make do without one for a while as far as the horses go. Our paddock has a solid top board and I keep them in there if the power goes out. If we have an extended power outage, we plug in the generator a couple of hours a day just to keep things going. We have the ability to heat our house without electricity so the generator is just to power up essentials like the water pump.

Whinnie - I love the sled idea. Currently, I have a wagon rather than a wheelbarrow for mucking out. Works fine this time of year, but eventually, that might get messy. A muck bucket in a sled is a great idea. I'm looking at various options to keep the water from freezing too quickly, including insulating it along with using a water heater.

boots - I like the idea of the plug and actually looked for one, but wasn't able to find one. But my water trough is not too big for me to dump out, however, it's going to be too messy to do that in the winter. Maybe I should put the water trough on a sled! You're also reminding me that I need to bring my first aid kit and anything else containing liquids into my basement. I think that's probably where I'll keep their hay cubes as well, since I soak them. The garage would be convenient too, since it's attached to the house and stays cool all winter, but rarely freezes.
 
#14 ·
Dreamcatcher - yes, we have a generator for extended power outages. Though we could probably make do without one for a while as far as the horses go. Our paddock has a solid top board and I keep them in there if the power goes out. If we have an extended power outage, we plug in the generator a couple of hours a day just to keep things going. We have the ability to heat our house without electricity so the generator is just to power up essentials like the water pump.
I was thinking in terms of heated water buckets and/or the quickie defroster that I use. Without power they aren't very useful.

Here's my quick heater: Rapid Water Heater in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery

This is the best $20 I ever spent: Dura-Tech® Strainer & Ice Breaker in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery

I'm going to try a couple of these this winter and see how they hold up:
High Country Insulated Bucket Holder in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery
 
#6 ·
I use 16 gallon heated buckets. One is in a stall that opens to a paddock, the other is in a paddock further down that I bucket water to. I've decided I hate freezing hoses enough that it is worth just bucketing water to the back paddock. Plus I like being able to clean them regularly, as they are easy to handle.

I have two pastures and both gates to them are shut by the end of October. My pastures are small, and I've read that giving the smaller pastures a break from horse traffic in the winter benefits them.

A couple sleds for trucking hay are life savers! Hay bags also help with hay waste. I have an all wooden paddock that shares a fence line with a partially wire paddock. I hang bags all along the wood on both sides. I try to hang enough to only have to do it every two days, but if it's super cold and they are eating more, they may only last a day. I love hay bags! So little hay waste!! No more throwing a bale on the ground in the middle of s snow storm, only to watch it blow right out the fence into the corn field.

I was actually just prepping for winter today! It's too soon! Much too soon! Rumor has it we'll be seeing a lot of snow this year. 😢 I just can't think about that!!!
 
#7 ·
My pasture is small too... and if we want to drag it and lime it before the ground freezes hard, it would probably be wise to close it off sooner. Not much point in letting them in there when the grass has stopped growing either.

What are hay bags? Can you post a picture or a link to something similar? I was going to use hay nets with small holes and build a wooden box that would fit a bale for the paddock, but in their stalls, I'd like something that would slow down their eating. They have slow-feeder hay nets that are a cheap version of a nibble net, but honestly, I don't think it makes much difference - they just plow through that hay! Maybe the holes are too big.
 
#8 ·
Why am I calling them bags??? Forgive me, I'm tired! They're nets, but I guess they could be bags, as one brand I have had are called "Nag Bags." I buy mine here Hay Chix I Simple Feeding Solutions I Made in USA I (651) 465-3333 I Cinch Chix

Nag Bags are out of Canada. I love their netting material, but I have found that they are not as easy to use as the Hay Chix brand. The Hay Chix brand comes with a toggle that prevents the rope from slipping through. The Nag Bags don't have this so the rope can pull right through the net - pain to deal with when your hands are already close to frostbite!
 
#9 ·
Yep, these look a lot like mine. I haven't used them yet so don't know if there is something to prevent the rope from slipping through, but I know EXACTLY what you mean! I have one that is meant for hanging and it does that. Very annoying.

And I agree, I have zero interest in throwing a hay bale on the snow just to see half of it blown away or wasted. I have just enough hay for the winter with just a little to spare - mostly because I don't have a lot of storage. Don't worry, we have a plan B in case we run out (we have friends who run a large boarding facility and just bought 9000 bales of hay!), but I'm not keen on wasting it. For the first time in a year, my Arab is not coughing because of this hay. I aim to treat it like lobster!
 
#10 ·
I bought my first tank heater probably 30 years ago and have never looked back. I prefer the drain plug de-icers but use a floating one for the minis tank since it's a galvanized metal tank. Have the Rubbermaid 100 gallon tanks and the heaters specifically for them for the other horses. Wouldn't be without them. I drain the hose after each use when it starts getting cold so I don't have issues with frozen hoses unless hubby uses them. Then I just stuff them down into the tank that still has the most water in it and it doesn't take long for the ice inside the hose to melt enough to let water flow through which will flush out the rest of the ice. If the electricity goes out we might have to bust the ice on top for a few days but I think the longest our power has ever been out has been about 72 hours and that was because tornadoes knocked down trees over the wires and sheared off a bunch of poles so both poles and wires had to be replaced.

All liquids will get moved to the garage.

Round and square bales are ready for when we need them. Usually we don't need to start feeding hay (well except the minis who get hay year round instead of pasture) until sometime in Dec.

That's pretty much all we have to do to get ready for winter. I think hubby puts some kind of additive in his tractor & truck which both use diesel. I haven't had to blanket a horse since an old mare, who would get the shivers if she was cold and wet, has been gone.

Oh, and it's sad to say our trailer is still winterized from last year since we haven't used it at all this year.
 
#11 ·
If you lose power where will you get water from?

I always shut the horses in during bad weather. If the stalls are shut the horses are in them.

Ice will be your biggest problem and you may need to shut them in for periods that are super icey.

Our water pump is insulated and we only had a problem once. You can get a heated wrap for it but ours doesn't need it (and it's outside too).

I try to hay inside.

There are definitely times when you will be wanting 2 buckets :)

I'll get back to this if I think of anything else.
 
#13 ·
I've thought about the water issue. There's no easy solution, especially if the power outage goes on for several days. It will require some work to keep the horses watered, but it can be done in several ways. We can run the water pump with the generator (probably the easiest because it only has to run for a few minutes, but there have been instances where is was nearly impossible to get gas for generators because gas stations had no power - we keep our generator full and have extra gas cans, but at some point, we could run out I suppose). We can get water from the streams on our property. That would be a lot more work because we'd have to break the ice with an ax, but we have actually done this before so we could flush the toilets in the house. Hubby has an ATV with tracks and we have large containers that we can use to haul water. A lot of work, but not impossible. Inside the house, we have a wood stove so we could also melt snow on it, but that would take a pretty long time.

I should add that anytime a big storm comes in, we have gotten in the habit of filling the tub with water. We keep jugs of drinking water in storage, but having a full tub means we can scoop it out to wash dishes, flush toilets, etc. I suppose I could fill some buckets in the garage for the horses too.
 
#16 ·
I'm from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border but believe me, down here in southern Middle Tennessee, I have had my pastures ice up to where the horses couldn't break thru it and I kept them up by the barn for a week until it melted.

I have heated outdoor tubs and heated buckets for the stalls. My grandfather had a box around the main water tub and he stuffed straw between the tub and the box for the winter months in NE Ohio. It was a lot of work -- it was too much work -- it was my cousin and I who generally got stuck cleaning that smelly/wet straw out at the end of winter -- I much prefer plugging something in.

I use bungee cords on the gates during the winter -- latches or snaps of any type can easily gather moisture and freeze solid when I need them the most.

We have frost free water spigots --- they will freeze if they aren't installed correctly -- not something one knows until the first big freeze comes along and the owner of that frost free spigot is left to dig it up and fix it, in the middle of winter.

I have had barn doors ice shut; not where I currently live. It is a panic moment when there's a glaze of ice on a huge barn door or the man door, so a plan has to be put into place to be able to open the doors without ripping them off the hinges.

I have never had my hay in separate storage from the horses, so getting hay to them was never an issue. Where I currently live, in the winter, I used to load up the dump cart, hooked to the 4-wheeler, take the hay out to the front pasture and make two rows of 8 piles for four horses.

Now that I only have two horses and they have to be kept separated, I keep hay in the run-in stall for one horse and the other horse can free-feed from the hay stack if he wants to <-----which he rarely does --- there's ~280 bales of hay stacked on his end of the barn and he doesn't touch it --- he cleans his hay tub when he comes in at night but he leaves the stack alone.

Years ago, I heard stories of folks in much more severe winter areas than what I have experienced, tying a rope from the barn door to the house porch so they could find their way back to the house in a blizzard. Makes sense to me as there were a couple of times in Pennsylvania I couldn't see my garage, 50 feet from the house.
 
#17 ·
Last winter was the first one I felt really prepared, so will be doing the same this year.

I have one paddock/run in shed per horse that is within feet of their stalls and the rest of my barn so I close down the fields and they stay in their paddocks from end of November until beginning of April. I run heavy duty extension cords that are buried in PVC pipe to heated 16 gallon tubs in each bucket. I'm finished with breaking ice all the time lol.

I have buckets that I wrapped in insulation and then duct tape to keep them from freezing so quickly and if it's going to stay below 20*F I use heated buckets in the stalls. I have a GFI outlet on the front of each stall where horses can't reach. As far as hoses, I used the pocket hoses last year and it worked very well. I keep it in the house until needed, and drain it as soon as I'm done. No frozen hoses that way. I also wrap my water pump with heat tape and plug it in about 20 minutes before I need it if the handle is frozen for any reason.

If it's going to be an ice storm or it's too slick for them to be safe they stay in their stalls which are built into the back of the one run in shed with dutch doors so they have a ton of ventilation.
 
#18 ·
walkinthewalk - lots of great tips in there. Never thought of the bungee cords, but have had chains freeze up solid on gates and it's a pain in the rear end. Will keep a few in the barn. There are several ways to get in and out of the barn and the paddock though, so I think we'll be ok there. We have double barn doors at the back, a man door and extra large garage door at the front for hubby's tractor (barn is divided between an equipment bay and stalls with a full wall and double doors between. On the far side of the barn are the dutch doors to the stalls with 10 foot overhang. Remains to be seen how and and where the snow piles up (it will depend on the direction of the wind I imagine).

As for getting from the house to the barn, since my husband plows the driveway using his tractor and a snow blower attachment, he will be making a nice, wide swath from the barn to the house every time there's a storm. He's out before dawn some mornings clearing the snow because he almost never misses work. That path from the barn to the house will be very much appreciated! Two years ago we got a total accumulation of 18 feet of snow. The roads looked like tunnels. That's what I'm picturing this year since they're calling for a lot of snow and cold. The only good thing about getting that much snow is that it actually works well as insulation.

Nickers2002 - I bought one of those pocket hoses so I'm glad to hear they work well.

I don't mind buying water heaters, but according to my neighbor, it will drive your electric bill through the roof. We have bitterly cold winters and electricity is not cheap here. It costs me 500$ a month in the winter to keep our household running - that's with a wood stove heating the house 24/7 during the cold months. I'm not keen on adding to that.
 
#19 ·
Electric: yes, the rates could vary greatly. We don't even have the same rating for the workshop meter as we do the house meter --- the barn runs off the house meter.

Our winter electric isn't as high as our summer electric. I keep the house at 62 in the winter and 68 in the summer, lollol:eek_color:

I sweat just looking out the window at the sun and being on BP meds, I want this house cold, lollol

I am still running two 36" tub fans about 18-1/2 hours every day and a 42" tub fan around seven hours. The electric bill goes up but I have to run the fans or run the risk of getting black mold on my hay due to all the humidity. I lost around 50 bales a few years back to black mold so I would rather pay the electric bill.

We average around 1830 KWH this time of year but this past month we used 2190 KWH and the cost was .102/KWH. Even with the heaters working in the water tubs we don't use that much electric in the winter but, as you say, your winters are more death-defying than ours are.

It's all a matter of how much physical labor you are able to endure - as time goes on, that amount becomes less, one prepares for it and for my part, be very thankful I can pay for the privilege of ease:)
 
#20 ·
Ha! Yes, I suppose if you live in a hot, humid part of the world, your electric bill would run higher in the summer than in winter! I don't need to use any fans, though we do turn on the AC in the house on really hot days. The barn stays nice and cool though, even on the hottest of days. That will not be a good thing come winter.

And yes, I hear you about wanting to work a little less hard as time goes on! I will, of course, have to use water heaters, but would like to minimize the heat loss by insulating the tub. Just haven't figured out the best way to do that yet. Best get on it I suppose!
 
#21 ·
Our barn is on separate meter and running 2 tank heaters and a small bucket heater for the cats can run that electric bill up about $100 - $150 depending on the severity of the weather. For the most part though we'll only have a few days of below freezing weather at a time so it's not always that bad.
 
#27 ·
When it's extra cold here I toss LOTS of hay and they get blanketed and stalled. I can always tell when it's really cold, they never have left over hay and the one mare I have, who is known for throwing "frat parties" in her stall always cleans up every scrap. When I walk in and Patti's stall is pristine, except for where she's gone potty, and there's no hay to be found, it's been a very cold night. Other nights, I put a little hay out and she tosses it everywhere and the place looks vandalized.

I don't know if I'd like a slow feeder net when it's that cold, seems like it would restrict their ability to eat enough to stay warm. Have to have someone from a colder climate sound off on that one.
 
#30 ·
I live in NW IL. We are at or below freezing for about 3 months every year and get blizzards etc. My horses do not have "real" stalls. Each has a 15X15 run in shed with a run in front of it. Here is what we do:

1. Hay Chix freedom feeders. I feed 3 x per day the last feeding of the day they get about 1/2 bale each - the slow feeders have made a huge difference in hay waste and horse condition. I would recommend these to anyone (we also have Tough 1 slow feeders)

2. We have outside Rubbermaid tanks raning from 75 gallons to 150 gallons - I run 3 tank heaters all winter long (we have some cows as well) my electric bill goes up signifigantly each winter. Our tanks all have insulated boxes painted black for heat absorption- all tops of the boxes are closed with a lid with just enough room for horses or cows to get their heads in to drink. We still must water every other day and must drain and scrub tanks 1X per month for algea and lime build up

3. I have a 25 gallon heated water bucket for the horse whose run in is not shared - this is filled every day with a bucket from one of the large tanks. this too had a "box" made for it because the Bucket never turned off in really cold weather even when it is tucked into the corner of a stall.


We have had periods of up to 3 days without electricity - when we know a blizzard or severely cold weather is coming in we fill all of the tanks to the brim so we can break ice if needed. Short of heated automatic waterers (which are on my bucket list) we have tried all of the gimics with little to no success. Burying the water tanks ended up with dirty tanks that got snow piled on top of them, the 2 liter bottle of salt water was frozen in the ice on the tank. Carrying water multiple times each day is cumbersome and limits time away from home.

Our horses and cows drink far more water in the winter than I would ever imagine. The horses drink more than the cows. We can have days with negative wind chills and temps in the negatives without windchills. Tank heaters are the only thing that has workd

You may be able to cut a hole in the stall wall (if the horses share a stall wall) and have the horses share on tank (we do that so we have to run less tank heaters) and put a lid over the middle of the tank.

Running 1 tank heater will raise your bill some but it may not be hundreds each month (my bill will more than double from summer to winter)
 
#32 ·
https://www.nrsworld.com/api/api-universal-drain-plug-tank-de-icer-1500-watt-150400?gclid=CjwKEAjwjqO_BRDribyJpc_mzHgSJABdnsFWV8QklB9FckiBsKOiHiQ2PgBmTmQfOJuHbX_8_gs_QhoCbgPw_wcB

This is what I use in my stock tanks, works like a champ and like I said, I don't notice it on my electric bill at all.

Here's what I use for heated buckets, each horse has 2 in their stall.
api Heated Flat-Back Bucket - 20 Qt. - Mills Fleet Farm

Farm Innovators 250W Utility De-Icer - For Life Out Here

This one's for the chickens and dogs & cats. Their tubs are smaller. My electric bill is pretty level year round, in winter I heat (with electric) and in summer I use AC, when I add these de-icers, my bill doesn't seem to fluctuate.
 
#33 ·
Dreamcatcher I think the difference is that Oklahoma has a more temperate climate than NW IL , WI or Canada. I use the same type of tank heater you show in your thread and my bill will go up signifigantly when the winds are really blowing and temps drop into the negatives for any amount of time. It is not unusual to spend the latter part of Dec and all Jan and Feb at or below freezing in my area - with many night 0 or below. Those tank heaters run 24 hours a day.

States to the south may get above freezing during the day (even if it is in the low 40's) and the tank heater does not have to run as much. So lower electric bill
 
#36 ·
But in colder climates, they will have to run more, therefore using more power. In our climate, it would run 24/7 for several months. I will use tank heaters and/or heated buckets, but I won't use them 24/7. Easier for me to take them out of the tank when they're not needed (eg, when the horses are stalled at night and it's 40 below, I'm not going to heat the outside water tank). Obviously I don't want the whole thing to freeze solid with the heater in it - but all I have to do is dump out the water and re-fill when needed. I also want to avoid the heat dissipating into the cold air surrounding the water trough. To do that, I will have to insulate it, which I haven't done yet. Trying to figure out the best way to do it while maintaining the ability to take out the water trough and dump out the water/ice from it.

I did pick up an old wooden tack box for 30$ that is just the right size to hold a bale of hay. The idea is that I will remove the lid, drill holes in the bottom for drainage, add feet to keep it off the ground and put an entire square bale in there inside a slow feeder net. It will go under the overhang so that will limit how wet it will get. This should keep the horses munching on hay most of the day while avoiding all the waste you get from throwing hay on top of snow. My only worry is that Harley will not let Kodak get any hay. I will set it up this weekend and monitor them. I may have to get a second hay feeder box if he won't let her have any hay. It will be difficult to put two boxes under the overhang without blocking their stall doors so I'd rather not but we'll see...

I also tried out my new slow-feeder haynets last night in their stalls. I give them each a flake around 9 pm, and I had been using nibble nets, but the holes are too big. They empty them out in no time. This time of year, they can still go nibble on grass during the night, but soon that will not be an option. The new slow feeder nets have 1" holes and there was still hay in them this morning! It requires a lot more effort for them to get hay out and they can only get a little at a time, but it keeps them busy and keeps them from having an empty stomach, which is my goal. A bit of a PIA to fill these nets though... will have to think of a method to make it easier. Hubby had some suggestions that might work.
 
#37 ·
I have questions about feeding from the slow feeder nets. Horses eat hay which then ferments and generate heat. When horses lose weight in the cold, we add more hay. So, if you restrict their hay with a slow feeder net, how do they maintain their warmth and not burn off too many calories trying to generate heat?

AA, I have a hunch you're going to rethink your stock tank dumping, unless they are really small and easy to tip over. I have 100+ gallon tanks and can't tip them by myself if they are more than half full when they aren't frozen. When the ice forms on top (when we get good and cold here, it can be 2-3 inches in a night), it also freezes to the sides and can be really tough to break loose. If the whole thing froze solid, I wouldn't get it out til thaw.
 
#38 ·
Regarding the slow feeder nets, they eat the same amount of hay in a 24 hr period as if I were throwing the hay on the ground. The difference is that when I throw it on the ground, it's gone in an hour. With the slow-feeder nets, they eat a little bit all day long so they never have a completely empty stomach. I have three kinds of nets with different sized holes so I can adjust accordingly. I would rather they eat all day then wolf it all down at once. I also keep very close tabs on their weight and they never get real thin. If anything, my Arab has a tendency to be pudgy (he's the main reason for the hay nets!).

As for the water trough, I want it only big enough to contain water for a 24 hour period for two horses. All summer long, I just used a muck bucket. I prefer to keep it small so I can dump out the water every night, rinse it out, and refill with clean water. Dirty water is gross and my Arab (yes, the same one as above) will not drink it. I've seen too many big water tanks get slimy with algae, bird poop, drowned rodents and all kinds of other disgusting things. I understand you have to have one if you have 15 horses, but with two, a small container makes more sense. So you see, tipping it is easy.

During the summer, I just dumped the water on the sand that surrounds the barn. It quickly drained and if anything, kept the dust from getting too bad. It never got muddy in front of their stalls. For winter, I moved the water to a corner of the paddock which is on a side hill. I dump it to one side and the water runs off, away from the paddock. No mud, no ice. Well, that's the idea anyway - I'll let you know in January how it's working! Oh, I also put rocks under the water trough, covered with a wood pallet on which the trough sits. That way, I just tip it to the side and the water runs through the rocks, then down the slope. That's so I don't end up with a lot of erosion from pouring water out in the same spot every time. Also, it's flexible rubber, so even if it froze solid, I could flip it over and tap out the ice, then refill with fresh water.
 
#41 ·
Here in Kansas, our winter temps can get down to -17* F, not including the wind chill. The horses have free access to their stalls which are heavily bedded with straw to keep them warmer if they lay down. We move the stock tanks for both the TWH's and minis into the sun to get the benefit of it helping warm the water, plus have tank heaters in them so the horses always have access to warm water which keeps them drinking better. Grass hay is feed free choice in old leaky stock tanks with a grain concentrate and limited fed alfalfa given to those horses who need the extra twice a day. We try to ride any day that's not blizzard conditions or so icy it's dangerous to keep the horses exercised. Even thought TWH's have 20 acres of pasture, they tend to stand at the hay rather than go out looking for grass. The mini's get turned into the yard twice a day to play since they also tend to stand eating hay instead of running around their 1 acre dry lot when it's cold.


Personally, I'd never unplug or remove the tank heaters to try to save a little money----horses are notorious for not being good drinkers in winter, especially if the water is freezing cold or covered with ice. A vet call for colic would be more than any savings!
 
#44 ·
Ok, I'm curious because I have a similar set up I think, and I have no idea how it's going to work. You say they have free access to their stalls. Do you have dutch doors? If so, how do you keep the stalls from filling up with snow? Right now, their doors are open 24/7, but as things get colder, I figured I'd shut them in at night. That's when I would dump out the water from the trough and unplug the heater. Why heat water they can't get to? I have heated water buckets in the stalls. Which, again, they could get to if I left the doors open 24/7, thus removing the need for an outdoor trough, hypothetically (I could refill them at least 3 times a day because I'm at the barn anyway). But if the doors do remain open, then snow and ice can come in and the barn never warms up. I have to say I used to like going into a cozy barn on a cold winter night when everything was closed up and the horses' body heat brought the temps around or slightly above freezing when it was -20 Celcius outside. However, Harley coughed a lot at that barn last winter and it's finally cleared up with good quality hay and living outside 24/7. The barn will be warmer if I close it up, but the air quality will not be as good.

So, to close them in or not to close them in, that is the question!

As for closing off the pasture, we will have several feet of snow on the ground for several months so they won't be too keen on moving around in there. The paddock will be plenty big for them to beat the snow down in, and maybe if I'm extra nice, I can get DH to clear it with the snowblower once in a while. Last year we had almost no snow, but the previous winter, we had a total accumulated snowfall of 18 feet. At any given time for a little over three months, there was a minimum of 4 feet of snow on the ground everywhere. I couldn't shovel my walkway because the banks were over my head and I couldn't throw the snow over them anymore. Hoping we won't have that kind of winter...
 
#45 ·
Thanks! Good to know. Though I have to say, it's not even so much about money as it is about not being wasteful. I wouldn't heat my house with all the windows open in the winter. Nor will I use a water heater in a location where the horses can't get to the water. And when I do use said water heater, I would prefer to insulate the water tank so I'm not just heating the great outdoors.
 
#43 ·
@ Dreamcatcher - Yes! Tell me how the solar thing works for you! I'm not ambitious enough to do that this year. Also, the location is shaded most of the time (I have it under the 10 foot overhang). But at the very least, I want to box it in somehow. Would love to hear how it works out for you!

I agree that having 2 horses and having a dozen or even half a dozen is very different and requires different strategies. It makes no sense for me to have a 100 gallon water trough. The horses would take a week to drain it and the water would get nasty. I try to have a container just big enough to last a little more than a day. That way they never run out, but I don't have a lot to dump out. If it's been raining hard and they haven't drank much, I sometimes just top it up rather than dump out all the water, but I don't do that often because the water gets so dirty. I have "dunkers".
 
#47 ·
What Prairie is describing that they did for their troughs is real similar to what I want to do. It makes sense that you'd only heat the little trough during the day, now that you've described what your set up is like. I wouldn't heat the troughs either if nobody was drinking. Since MOST of the time we're reasonably mild, I try to keep my guys outside unless it's actively nasty. They do come in to eat and have a warmed drink of water and get blanketed or checked over, but if it's clear and no precip, they go back outside. We don't normally keep any snowfall, it will fall during the night and melt by 10 a.m., 96% of the time. I've found that I don't have coughing issues in my barn because we deliberately designed it to have gaps for air exchange. It's not insulated, so it's really a 4 sided wind and rain break that they can heat up pretty well if both doors are closed. So, too keep snow out, I would close things up as much as you can, but try to still leave something cracked to let the air in and out. If the one gets a little heave-y, then look at maybe a 3 sided shelter for him.
 
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