When Is It Too Cold for Horses?

Should extremely low temperatures preclude your horse from going outside? Absolutely not! In fact, equine experts assert that owners of appropriately acclimated horses should turn out their horses.

“Turnout helps respiratory health, especially in horses and ponies with asthma, and helps keep achy joints mobile,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a Kentucky Equine Research nutritionist. Many horses, like older arthritic horses, benefit from the constant moving that turnout requires.

As long as a horse is properly prepared for frigid temperatures, they should manage fine. “Horses have several ways to keep warm in the winter months. Such mechanisms include vasoconstriction of peripheral blood vessels to divert warm blood to the horse’s core, shivering to produce heat, using less efficient metabolic pathways to produce heat, and growing thick, insulating coats,” Crandell shared.

Consider these factors when sending your stead out in snow and cold:

• Does your horse have a run-in shed or other three-sided building to get out of the rain, sleet, snow, and wind? Horses can trap air between the hairs of their coat and their skin to create a layer of insulation, but this doesn’t work with wet hair.
• Fermentation of forage not only produces energy (calories) but also heat. Ensure horses on pasture have sufficient forage to warm themselves. This often means free-choice forage in cold climates.
• Added protection. Use blankets appropriately when needed. Horses that are clipped will need a blanket. An ill-fitting blanket or one that is too heavy can cause problems, so choose blankets suitable for the weather and for the horse’s conformation.
• Health issues. If your horse has asthma or osteoarthritis, continue offering EO-3, an omega-3 fatty acid supplement with natural anti-inflammatory properties that supports horses with both conditions.

“If your horse has insulin resistance or equine metabolic syndrome, one important but relatively rare concern is winter laminitis,” warned Crandell. “Unlike other causes of laminitis, initiating factors seldom can be identified and traditional means of managing laminitis such as administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cooling the hoof with ice baths, packs, or boots do not tend to work. In these horses, the feet must be warmed up to increase blood flow to the feet.”

Have a veterinarian well versed in lameness examine any horse that has a soundness issue.