It was a brisk, sunshine-filled day with sparkling white snow everywhere in the horse paddock area.
As we watched our herd frolicking in the snow, we observed what appeared to be bloody patches in the snow – yikes! I knew what it was, but thought there might be some readers out there who are unfamiliar with the phenomenon of horse urine in the winter.
Actually, what you are seeing is red spots that are a result of your horse’s urine reacting with the cold snow. Proteins in the urine, called pyrocatechines, oxidize in low temperatures, which produces colours ranging from a light pink to red, orange or brown. The same thing can occur when a sample of urine is refrigerated. If you are still concerned, you can collect a fresh urine sample (using a large can duct taped to a long stick and a great deal of patience) and observe the urine. If no blood is present, you are good to go.
When the temperatures plummet and the winter wind is blowing, it is more difficult for your equine friends to maintain their body temperature. There are things you can do to help them without stuffing them in a barn with a blanket on and have them standing around for hours and hours. You must ensure they can get out of the wind – either a windbreak or a shelter would make them much more comfortable. Additional feed that can contribute to longer-term heat generation is good – this includes forage feeds such as hay or hay cubes. The digestive system of the horse will produce much more heat from additional hay than it could from grain or oats.
There are a lot of discussions about blanketing horses. I see a lot of situations where the horse was wearing a blanket because the owner felt better if the blanket was on (but it is not necessarily the best thing for the horse). If the horse is healthy, has a full thick coat of hair (not clipped), has shelter from the wind and a good supply of proper feed, then the blanket is probably not necessary.
There are, however, conditions that definitely warrant using a blanket – if the horse’s coat becomes wet or muddy, no shelter is available in inclement weather, poor body condition (three or less on the body scale), the horse is very young or very old, or it has recently come from a different climate. In these instances, a properly fitting blanket would make the horse much more comfortable and able to deal with winter.
If you must clip your horse due to working the horse in the winter, then you must take more actions to help your horse cope with cold weather. Clipped hair does not readily grow back in the winter so the horse would need to be blanketed and would need additional forage as a clipped horse burns up more energy than a full coated horse.
Water becomes more critical in the winter. Horses need more water when their main source of feed is hay as the moisture content of hay is significantly less than the juicy grass they graze on in the summer months. Snow is not the ideal source of water, as it takes so much energy to melt the snow with the result being a very small volume of water and a lot of energy expended. Ideally you want a water source that is heated so that the water is easy to drink – not just above freezing. If you ever have consumed a glass of really cold water, you know how much that gives you a chill. If water is too cold or not readily available, you run the risk of problems such as impaction colics.
There are a lot of other factors to monitor during these cold, winter months; I have just mentioned a few of the major ones. Your horses are depending on you to ensure their needs are met during these changing weather conditions.
