Cutting the cost of winter horse care
Winter care for ponies and horses can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing costs, while ensuring your horses stay healthy and comfortable through the colder months. Our top tips are shared below to help you find cost effective and time saving options for the long term health benefits for your pony or horse.
Optimising feed and water
Pasture Management:
- If possible, allow horses to graze on pasture throughout the winter
- Access to turnout daily is not only beneficial to physical and digestive health but for mental stimulation also
Feed the best quality forage you can afford as the bulk and base of the diet:
- Best quality hay supports healthy digestion and respiratory health
- Feeding form the floor is ideal to stretch the back and align the teeth correctly for chewing
- Minimise waste by feeding from a corner feeder or haynet
- The bulk of the diet, and associated calorie intake will come from grazing and forage, ensure this is correct for your horses needs
Choose an all-in-one feeding solution:
- A lot of horses do well eating a high forage, low starch and low sugar diet
- When balancing the forage portion of your horse's diet, choose a functional feed balancer (with supplementation included), this is far more cost-effective than buying supplements individually, making mealtimes much simpler and cheaper
- Peace of mind that your horse is receiving a balanced diet, which aids long term health, potentially avoiding vet bills in the future
- With a Blue Chip subscription you can save 10% off the RRP AND gain FREE delivery too
Limit water waste:
- Use insulated water buckets to discourage the formation of ice which is then thrown away
- Providing continuous access to water reduces the risk of colic
- Automatic water feeders can, in the long run limit the time spent filling water buckets, but it can be harder to track water consumption
Additional calories:
- Stick to additional fibre initially which is higher in calorie content, such as mashes and pelleted fibres
Daily management
- Weigh tape regularly to track weight gain and/or loss
- Adjusting feed sooner rather than later is more cost-effective, whether that relates to weight gain or weight loss
- Provide shelter outdoors (natural or man made) to help them preserve energy, limiting the need to feed additional calories as ponies and horses can keep out of the worst of the weather
- Keep up to date with dental visits, proper dental care ensures your horse can chew efficiently, extracting a higher percentage of the nutritional content from their overall diet
- Manage parasite control with faecal worm egg counts to limit how much you spend on chemical dewormers, this helps reduce worm resistance and is also beneficial for your horse
Equipment, rugging and tack
- Consider repairing rugs and tack, rather than purchasing new
- Avoid storing any equipment in cold damp areas, which will decrease their durability
- Horses are often more resilient to cold than we think
- Those with a good winter coat who need to lose a little weight ahead of spring can often manage well without a rug for longer than you'd think, although all are individuals in this regard
- Avoid over-rugging, ESPECIALLY for those who need to lose weight
- Clean and store rugs correctly at the end of each season, this will keep them in better condition for the following year
Reduce bedding costs
- Rubber matting can be a large investment to start with but can save bedding costs in the long-term
- Look for ultra-absorbent options, even if it's just as a base layer
- This can make skipping and mucking out easier and less time-consuming
- More absorbent bedding places less stress on your horse's respiratory system as it's dust free, and supports continued hoof health, with less exposure to ammonia
- Deep littering maintains warmth and limits draughts, clean the droppings out daily and remove wet areas less frequently which saves time and costs
By planning ahead for feeding, shelter, rugging and bedding plus daily management, you can keep costs manageable while maintaining your ponies and horses’ health and comfort throughout the winter months, you might also make your life a little easier too.