It’s important to take your horse’s rugs off regularly to check for ribs and overall fat coverage. Body condition scoring every few weeks is key.

Keeping your horse healthy in winter

Although the colder months are never much fun, there are ways to keep your horse happy and healthy in winter, as DR CLARISSA BROWN-DOUGLAS explains.

The winter months are rapidly advancing, bringing with them a lack of pasture, thick winter coats, and higher feed bills. While horse owners might dread the cold and extra work, most horses take winter in their stride.

Still, the colder months bring unique feeding challenges, especially for older horses, or those with health concerns. While healthy adult horses with winter coats and full bellies generally manage well in the cold, all horses benefit from careful attention to their nutrition and daily care.

Water: a top winter priority

Water intake is critical in winter – even when horses aren’t sweating from work. Reduced water consumption during cold weather increases the risk of impaction colic due to dry feed and decreased gut motility. Forage fermentation requires a lot of water, which is why the large colon and cecum are referred to as fermentation vats. Insufficient water intake forces the body to borrow water from the hindgut, which subsequently hinders the fermentation process and puts horses at risk of impaction colic.

Here are key tips to encourage hydration:

Always provide clean, fresh water that isn’t too cold. Horses may drink cold water, but they tend to consume more if it’s slightly warmed – ideally between 4°C and 15°C. Keep in mind that horses require approximately 20-55 litres of water per day. In areas that freeze overnight, a trough heater may be needed.
Soak feeds, such as pelleted or extruded feeds or hay cubes in water before feeding, or add soaked beet pulp or soy hulls to provide additional hydration

Provide a high-fibre diet. Water intake is linked to fibre consumption with higher forage intake stimulating greater water intake;
Ensure adequate salt is fed to stimulate thirst – all horses require 5-10g/100kg of body weight per day, and more if they’re sweating. A plain white salt lick in the paddock or shelter, or adding salt to daily feed is wise.

The winter cold often requires the addition of a concentrated feed.

The horse’s natural heater

A horse’s primary source of body heat in winter comes from the fermentation of fibre in the hindgut. That makes a steady supply of roughage – hay, pasture, or chaff – essential.

Even if there’s still some grass in the paddock, most horses rely heavily on supplemental fibre in the winter. The amount and type of forage depends on the horse’s size, metabolism, workload, and condition:

As a baseline, feed a minimum of 1.5% of the horse’s body weight in hay or other fibre source per day – about 8 kg for a 500 kg horse.
Overweight, or good doing horses do well on low sugar, stalky grass hay.
Horses in work may need good-quality grass hay with more leafy content.
Senior horses, under-weight horses, or those recovering from illness often benefit from a grass-legume mix or the addition of lucerne hay on top of premium quality grass hay for added calories and nutrition.
Hay is in short supply in many areas of Australia due to drought and extreme weather conditions, so don’t leave sourcing winter hay until the last minute! Due to a lack of supply, hay is costly this winter, but is still the most cost-effective form of fibre you can offer your horse. Alternative fibre sources include hay cubes, chaff, beet pulp, soy hulls, lupin hulls, bagged fibre blends, and even straw for good doing horses.

If your horse is shivering, or consistently finishing all their hay, it may be time to increase their offering. Ultimately, we recommend ad lib hay so that they are never without. Preventing wastage and slowing intake can be achieved using a hay net or hay feeder.

Also, examine any uneaten hay. Horses may reject hay that’s mouldy or contains weeds, not because they’re overfed. In such cases, upgrading your hay quality is essential. Furthermore, keep hay protected from the weather – either provide hay in the horse’s shelter, or use a covered hay feeder to reduce spoiling and wastage in wet weather. Wet hay is unappetising, and soggy hay can grow mould relatively quickly.

In paddocks, make sure lower-ranking horses aren’t being pushed away from round bales, or hay feeders. Spread out hay widely and offer extra hay nets to ensure everyone gets access. Some timid or older horses may need to be fed separately to avoid competition.

Whether it’s a stable, shed, windbreak, or tree line, all horses need protection from wind and wet weather

Keeping warm burns calories

The winter cold often requires the addition of a concentrated feed to compensate for the loss of pasture nutrients and to supply extra calories to maintain weight. It is important to take rugs off regularly and run your hands over your horse to check for ribs and overall fat coverage. Body condition scoring every few weeks is key, especially since thick coats can mask weight loss.

Choose a fortified muesli or pelleted feed that suits your horse’s age, condition, and activity level. There are myriad feed choices on the market and selecting the best feed can be overwhelming – we highly recommend engaging an equine nutritionist to ensure your feed selection is optimal for your horse. However, some suggested offerings to provide additional calories during the winter months might include:

Feeds containing super fibres such as beet pulp or soy hulls which are easy to digest and provide both digestible fibre and energy.
Added fat sources like vegetable oil, or stabilised rice bran to supply easy to digest calories without adding significant volume to meals.
Cereal grains are high in calories which can help maintain body condition. Look for cooked or processed grains to optimise digestion.
For senior or underweight horses, look for feeds specifically formulated to support digestion and condition in older age.
If your horse is overweight, a low intake vitamin and mineral balancer will provide essential nutrients without excess calories.

Additional considerations

To support your horse’s health through the cold season, consider the following:

Shelter is essential: Whether it’s a stable, shed, windbreak, or tree line, all horses need protection from wind and wet weather. As with hay, ensure low-ranking or older horses aren’t blocked from the shelter by more dominant herd mates. If your horse is clipped, then additional rugging will be required.
Dental care is particularly important for senior horses. Poor dentition can prevent proper chewing and digestion of fibrous feeds.
Maintain regular faecal egg counts and deworm as recommended to ensure nutrient absorption isn’t compromised by parasites.

Keep an eye on horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or those prone to laminitis. During the cold winter months, the potential for winter laminitis can be problematic for horses with endocrine problems. While little research has been done on winter laminitis, some scientists suggest that horses with insulin dysregulation or metabolic syndrome have an increased risk of developing this condition due to the physiology of the foot. During cold weather, the shunts between the arterial and venous blood vessels in the foot contract abnormally, decreasing blood supply and resulting in extreme pain. This would not be expected in healthy horses with normal sensitivity to insulin. In healthy horses, the blood vessels dilate to maintain circulation to the sensitive lamellae in the foot. As with all health concerns, contact your veterinarian for more information.

Perform daily checks: check rug fit, feel for body condition, inspect for injuries, check for skin conditions, and monitor general demeanour.
Watch manure consistency: Very dry droppings may be an early sign of dehydration.

Final thoughts

Winter feeding doesn’t have to be overwhelming or overly complicated, although the change of season doesn’t mean set and forget. With good planning and attention to each horse’s individual needs, including lots and lots of fibre, shelter, regular body checks, and warmth – especially for our dear seniors – you can ensure your horses stay healthy, hydrated, and well-conditioned while we wait for spring to come.

For a tailored diet analysis or advice on optimising nutrition for bone health, contact Kentucky Equine Research at advice@ker.com, and for information on all topics related to equine nutrition visit Equinews™.