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Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Nine
At the same time as finding the horses for sale and the three sided shed then you also need to look into where you can buy a stall which will let you keep your horse dry and warm at night. There are some measures to take here. First of all to make sure your horse stays warm and dry in the stall you should put in some hay and straw which is insulating and soft for them to lie down on.
People who are new to horses and have only just found a horse for sale often make another mistake when it comes to their storing of horses. Here they will likely be concerned about their horses being cold and will therefore do everything they can to keep the stalls well insulated and prevent wind and air getting in – as they would for their own home.
Again though this is forgetting the important fact that horses are very different from people and that they have better natural defenses against the cold. By trapping the horse in the stall and sealing off all the air, what you actually do is to reduce the amount of moisture in the air and make it hard for them to breath.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Eight
When your horses are out in the pasture then a three sided shed is a highly useful thing to have as it allows the horses to hide from the rain and to prevent themselves from getting wet. Remember that your horse’s coat does not work as well when it is wet as it flattens the fur and prevents it from being able to trap air to use as an insulator. Meanwhile rain can cause problems for a horse’s temperature in other ways – because it will steel the horse’s body heat in order to evaporate leaving them colder as a result.
This then means that you can let your horses roam free during the day and means that you don’t need to always be around to lead them to their stalls when it starts to rain – they will be able to take shelter themselves when they need it. When you find Andalusion horses for sale, Mustang horses for sale or any other horse for sale, then you need to also look into purchasing a three sided shed if you are keeping them on your land.
You also need to look into the stall which is where you will keep your horses at night.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Seven
Likewise stallions for sale might require more food than other thoroughbred horses for sale as they are much more active and if you intend to race them and to train them then they’ll need the energy.
You should also look after your horse’s health generally. Remember that in the winter your horse will be using more energy to keep warm as we mentioned already. This means that like us, their immune systems are lower and they are more likely to become unwell. What you need to do in this scenario then is to make sure that you give them enough minerals and vitamins in order to keep their immune system healthy and give them more time to rest. What you also need to ensure is that you avoid letting your horse become exposed to germs. For instance if one horse is ill, then find a way to stall it separately to prevent the spread of germs (where possible).
Another important way to keep your horse healthy is to make sure that it has good shelter and places to stay. Here you need to consider your horses stall and shed outside in the pasture.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Six
You also need to allow the coat to grow as long as possible in the winter in order to provide them with more heat. Just as you swap from your jacket to your long coat in the winter, so should you allow your horses to do the same. Here you should consider the type of horse you are going to buy again if you find Shetland ponies for sale for instance then note that they have longer fur in general and so might be better suited to the winter months.
Meanwhile another way to help your horse in winter through its diet is to allow it to gain some weight. Fat is a great natural insulator and by increasing the amount of calories in their diet you can help them to build up a protective layer that will insulate them against the cold. Likewise this is important because during the winter it takes more calories for a horse simply to live. This is because its body and metabolism will be working at a faster rate in order to keep its body warm and it will thus need more energy in order to do this. If you don’t give your horse enough calories it will be cold regardless of the fat.
Of course you need to make sure that you give the horse the right amount of feed for its size – if you get Shetland ponies for sale or miniature horses for sale for instance then they are going to of course require less food than stallions for sale.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Five
So when you find Appaloosa horses for sale or any other horse for sale, you can be sure that their thick fur and skin will keep them warm. This is their number one defense against the cold. What that means though is that you need to make sure that you do everything you can to keep them as healthy as possible.
This means that during the winter it is even more important that you provide them with lots of minerals, vitamins and protein. Give them more feed and generally make sure that it is a well balanced diet they are getting. Ensuring they get natural oils is important too, and this plays an important role in keeping your horse warm in the rain. What will happen here is that the horse you bought when you found horses for sale will use the natural oils in its fur in order to prevent the water from being absorbed by its fur. Instead the oils will ensure that the rain just runs off much like when you try to wash up an oily pan (except it’s desirable in the case of Mustang horses for sale).
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Four
This can become even more of a problem in other cases when your horse gets wet in the rain. When this happens there is a risk that the blanket will become drenched and heavy. It will further flatten the horse’s natural fur but at the same time it will prevent it from drying out in the wind and sun. What will happen then is that your horse will end up getting wetter and being unable to dry off as a result of your attempt to keep it warmer. Remember then, that when you find quarter horses for sale, Arabian horses for sale or any other kind of horse – that you are getting a creature that is naturally designed with one of the ultimate defenses against the cold and you’ll have a hard time improving on that.
The only time you might want to use a blanket is if it is very cold (sub zero temperatures) and you’re sure your horse will remain dry. Normally though even then provided lots of hay and straw is a better bet.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Three
The first thing to remember is that actually, while you need to be extra careful to look after your horses in winter, they are designed to live outside and they have a thick healthy body of hair designed to keep them warm. Just because the weather is too cold for you does not mean that it is necessarily too cold for them as they are. Firstly, horses have much thicker skin and this helps to keep them warm. At the same time though their hair is also designed to sit up slightly from the skin – and what this means is that they can stand outside for hours without getting too cold. You may remember from school science that air is one of the best insulators around, so if your horse can trap air in its fur then it will be warm and protected against harsh winds.
Some people think that they should get blankets once they’ve found miniature horses for sale and cover them up with these. However this will often do more harm than good – the simple reason being that the blanket will flatten their hair against their body and thereby prevent it from being as good at trapping that air and insulating the horse.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part Two
Of course when you buy horses one of the key concerns is always going to be looking after them in winter. Your horse, unlike owning a dog or cat, is of course going to live outside (they are a little large and unruly for any other option) and that means that you can risk them getting wet, getting cold and generally means that they will generally be more susceptible than other animals. The same goes when you find miniature horses for sale or Icelandic horses for sale – if they live outside then they need that care.
This is only if you don’t know how to look after your horses though. And that’s why it’s so important to look into how to look after your pet before your find Fresian horses for sale, Clydesdale horses for sale or any other species of horse.
Here then we will look at how to make sure your horse stays safe and warm in winter with some tips that can really help.
Looking After Your Horses in the Winter Part One
If you find horses for sale then here comes an opportunity to buy yourself a pet that is intelligent, majestic, powerful and friendly. At the same time here is an opportunity to buy a friend who will be able to open you up to a whole world of new opportunities and activities. For instance you will be able to enjoy riding of course and this is a highly exciting activity that is highly addictive and a great pastime. Alternatively you can get joy after you have found horses for sale from just looking after them, from grooming them, and from potentially taking them to shows and displaying them – the latter can even be a way to earn money from your new venture.
At the same time though after you’ve found horses for sale this will give you a responsibility – a life to look after that will be under your care and that will be unable to survive without you. This horse will be your friend as well as your pet and you’re going to want to do everything within your power to ensure it stays safe and warm. At the same time though it will also be very expensive and from that perspective you will want to make sure you look after it.