Looking After your Stabled Horses and Ponies in Winter

Bad weather and flood conditions can result in your animals being stuck in their indoor stabling for longer than usual – here’s how to keep them healthy…

Following a very wet autumn, and now winter, having safe and suitable turnout for your animals may be a luxury for many.

Wet weather often affects us here at Remus with both flooding across the lower paddocks and at Buttsbury Ford, but when your horse has to be stabled for longer than you’d planned for, it’s important to ensure you are doing everything you can to keep them healthy and happy.

If your horse is kept in a large yard or livery, you may be lucky enough to have an all-weather turnout area – whether indoor or outdoor, with rubber, sand or woodchip, which allows your animals to exercise when ground conditions in fields are bad.

Track systems are also more popular now and can be useful for older horses and those recuperating as they can continually move.

However, for many horse owners, these aren’t options, so if your horse is stabled for longer than usual. consider these points:

• Routine: Horses thrive on consistency, but if you have to stable your horse you’ll need to offer a different kind of routine to stop them becoming bored and even confused. Visit at the same time to give feed, forage and top up water. And ensure they have some human interaction, such as daily grooming.
• Stable toys: When your animals are in stables for a long period of time, they can get bored and turn to attention-seeking vices. Stable toys can help – whether it’s treat balls or a swede strung up for them to nibble at. If possible, place your animal next to others, so they have some company, but otherwise consider a stable mirror.
• Exercise: If ground conditions make it hard to ride, consider long lining or lunging for a short but effective workout.
• Keep it clean: Cleanliness is even more important than usual. Make sure hoof care and grooming are included in your routine and maybe consider having less bedding during the day to help keep the stable clean – subject to how cold it is of course.
• Food rations: Carefully consider how much food and forage they are receiving if they are not getting as much exercise as usual. Reduce calorie and sugar content and offer good-quality forage.

You can view one of the Donkey gang, Davey, playing with a treat ball on our YouTube channel here: youtu.be/LiAO_95stvQ.

Find more advice and ideas at: everythinghorseuk.co.uk/considering-welfare-for-the-stabled-horse-and-pony-this-winter.

And please remember our winter appeal. If you’ve not yet had chance to donate, we would very much appreciate your help: www.justgiving.com/campaign/remuswinterappeal2024. However large or small, every contribution makes a difference.