You have to love Alberta weather — wait an hour and you have a complete change.
Equine management during this time of year can be quite the challenge. In one day we had -19C in the morning when I was feeding the horses, zero by noon, a muddy nasty mess in the corrals by 4 p.m. and snowing and blowing by 7 p.m. The horses had snowballs under their feet in the morning, were sliding in the mud in the afternoon then were covered with cold, wet snow in the evening. It is a challenge.
There are a couple of considerations for equine management during this time of year. One critical factor is shelter — with conditions changing so fast, the animals need a place to get out of the wind and wet snow. In watching my own horses and their behavior, it is the wind that seems to be a bigger factor for them. The goofy guys will stand next to their shelter and allow the heavy, wet snow to pile up on their backs. During the really nasty snowfall last week, only two of nine horses bothered to go in a shelter — the rest looked like abominable snowmen out there.
Another factor to consider is the condition of their feet — sometimes folks tend to neglect feet a little in the winter due to the cold and the fact that the feet seem to slow down in their growth.
If your horses are like mine, the hooves are now growing at their regular rate and need proper trimming. If you are getting more active and riding or driving your horses now, you may want to explore some of the options out there for improving traction for your horses.
Spring is the time to get your equine health plan up to date — consider your schedule for deworming, vaccinations, dental if required. Now is the time to plan what you are going to need in these areas for the upcoming season so once we do get the good weather and good footing that you can get out there and enjoy it.
Hair management — I could spend a whole day talking about how to manage all that equine hair. The easiest way is to do your normal grooming and just let them shed out on their own and that works fine for my full size horses but it is a different story for the miniature horses. Those minis like to hang on to their hair.
One year I tried an experiment and did no clipping on two of the minis that I wasn’t competing with. Those little guys held on to their long hair until July. They would stand out there on hot days almost panting. I finally had to intervene and help them out with a full body clip although I left enough length to protect them. Some folks who show minis clip them almost to the skin but that opens up another “can of worms” in terms of management in our Alberta weather.
If your plan for your equines in the coming season involves high performance or long distance activities, you should be starting your conditioning program now. While weather and footing will dictate what you can do (unless you have access to indoor facilities), you at least need to design your conditioning plan and get started on it.
On those spring storm days, you can spend the time checking over all your tack and equipment to insure everything is ready to go for this year — get any repairs done now so you are not sidelined by broken or missing pieces necessary for your activity. I was checking my saddle the other day and discovered that somewhere there is a mouse family that is snuggly warm with parts of my mohair cinch! I thought I had protected it well enough for the winter but they are crafty little critters and foiled my plan.
Spring is sprung so get out there and enjoy your equine friends.
