Conference noted::equitation

    
    Maine and Washington are about on the same parallel.. those days were
    too long, too dark and too cold.  Since you lived in New Hampshire
    you'll remember the temperature "thing" I'm sure!  It can't be any
    where near as cold where you are now........................
    
    Of course that doesn't answer your question, but you already know what
    I did .....
    
    
    Moved to New Mexico.........!!
    
    		today is 55 degrees (it was @20 this morning) and the sun
    		rises around 7:15 and sets @ 5:30.
    
    					smiles and sympathy - holly

    Actually, most of Washington is north of Maine. For example, central
    Maine(e.g. near Mt Katahdin) is at 46 degrees which is the same as 
    southernmost Washington. Seattle is nearly at 48 degrees and is farther
    north than the northen tip of Maine! ...So it's even worse than you
    thought! ;-) Sympathy is much appreciated though. :-)
    
    >today is 55 degrees (it was @20 this morning) 
    
    20 degrees? Burr!!!!!! it was 46 at my house this morning! Of course, 
    it won't go up much because it's cloudy...
    
    We've turned into real "Weather Wimps" since we came out here. Anything
    below 30 is too cold and snow means hibernation! Those New England heat 
    waves in summer aren't missed either! 
    
    John

    John, I can sympathize with your plight in Washington.  I think that
    Germany's weather patterns in the winter are comparable to Washington,
    we get lots of rain, fog and perpetually overcast skies.  Last winter
    we didn't see the sun for over a month, it was very depressing!  The
    sun rises in December and January around 8:30-9:00 a.m. and sets before
    4:00 p.m. each day.  It was very difficult to adjust to this last
    winter, but I've become accustomed to it.  One nice thing is that it's
    fairly mild here, mostly in the 40s during the winter and hardly any
    snow.  I'll be in for a huge shock when we move back to Massachusetts!
    
    I'm not sure what our latitude is here, but I think we're about the
    same as Newfoundland (I don't have a map handy).
    
    The best thing about all this is that when June and July roll around,
    it'll be light out here until almost 11:00 at night, which is wonderful
    for late evening rides - last summer we would sometimes trail ride
    until 10:00 at night, it was great!  
    
    I'm anxiously awaiting blue skies, the sun and light-filled days,
    
    Janet
    
     

    I find you can usually see the horses ears against the skyline.
    
    What I'm really fed up about is doing dressage in enough gear to mount
    a polar expedition, or having the rain lashing into my face solidly for
    the past month.  I know it doesn't answer your question.. but the
    shortest day has gone.  Spring is nearly here
    
    

    Im in NH, and dont see my horses in daylight until the weekends right
    now.  It is aggravating, I agree! I 'cope' by having my outdoor ring
    lighted with floodlights, and with free access turnout, I dont have to
    'find' my two in the dark, they come running to the barn when I show up
    with supper/breakfast, etc. 
    
    The snow is the worst for me, I can bundle against the cold, but as a
    distance rider, I want OUT on the trails, and can only do so on
    weekends and depending on the condition of the trails (boriums and pads
    are helpful, but if the snow is soft and deep or the road slippery I
    am still grounded). I do try to lunge in the ring as much as possible
    in the evenings.
    
    

    Here are some suggestions depending on where you are:
    
    If in England, take the day off and go fox hunting.
    
    If in New England, go out on a (full) moonlit evening after a snowfall.
    
    It helps to have access to an indoor ring.
    
    There are assumptions and caveats with all of the above. In general
    horses have better night vision than humans, but I have ridden one (at
    night) that did not! There's no need to stop riding in the winter.

    Well, for once, I actually had FUN riding in the snow this past
    weekend! It was soft and fluffy, and my mare just bounced right through
    it....we stuck mainly to skimobile trails since they pack it down some
    and it's not quite so deep, the woods were gorgeous after Saturdays
    storm! Ran into several skimobilers who were a bit surprised to see us
    but polite and friendly, and one family with several little kids on
    skimobiles who were thrilled to pet the 'horsie'!
    
    Im ready for summer now that I've had one fun winter ride, though! :-)
    

    I've been out the past two weekends riding, and it's a blast to canter 
    down the untouched trail.  I have encountered ice underneath, so we're
    sticking to the streets for the time being.  
    
    We had a blast this weekend harnessing up my fjord mare to a kids
    sled and pulling the neighborhood kids all over the place.  Sigrid
    gets a big star for her patience.
    
    I find it real depressing that I chose to move my kids home last month.
    Doing chores in the dark both am and pm is a major drag.  I can't wait
    for when it's get light out before 6:00.  But, the weekends have been
    making up for it, and the driveway is large enough to do lunge and long
    line work......so I guess the yearling will get some training time now.
    I'm also planning to move my other mare back to the indoor facility
    till spring......oh well, I really miss my evening riding sessions...

    This may seem like a stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway.  I
    have owned my first horse since July and am experiencing my first
    winter with a horse.  Due to the short days, I only get to ride her on
    weekends.  As a result, she is fat and sweats like a pig if we canter
    at all.  Riding at night sounds great but since she's blind in one eye,
    I'm afraid she may not be able to see, or will be too spooky.  Moonlit
    nights when the ground is blanketed with snow are brighter and would be
    suitable for riding, however, what if she slips in the snow?  She has
    shoes on all four-will they make her slide easier?  What if her hooves
    get packed up?  Is deep, powdery snow safe to run in?  I hate to see
    her so out of shape!  We haven't gotten a real dose of winter yet, but
    it's coming.  What do I need to know?

    I would be very cautious about running in the snow because you could
    easily be stepping into a hole.  Also snow drifts and it might suddenly
    be deeper or less deep in a place causing her to fall.  I think walking
    in the snow would be enough exercise since the snow is such a weight to
    drag through.  
    
    Your blacksmith could shoe her with pads that have a convex surface
    that supposed to keep popping the snow out of her hooves and you should
    also have borium tips put on the shoes.  None of this is foolproof -
    i.e., get the pad, and tips and then go galloping through snow or ice =
    disaster, but going slowly and using the pads and tips will help a lot.

Apologies if this is obvious, but is your horse clipped? That
would keep her more comfortable and prevent her from sweating
so much. 

Ellen

    Be very careful if you have regular shoes on your horse.  The ice and 
    snow will ball up in thier hoof and cause your horse to slip, never
    mind creating the potential for leg injuries.
    
    I prefer to leave them barefoot (primarily economical reasons) and they 
    get along just fine.  I've used winter shoes and pads, but the snow
    still builds up, and we don't use them enough to justify the expense
    of the shoes.   In fact, when riding w/ a friend who uses the winter
    shoes, my horse was more stable and slipped less than her other horse.
    
    Michele
    

    re: sweating and clipping...
    
    Since you mentioned you've only been at this a short time, a friendly 
    reminder: if you clip, you must blanket!  If you don't clip, you must
    cool out carefully.  I'd keep the pace down and build my horse back up
    slowly so the sweating is minimal.
    
    How am I coping this winter?  I'm not.  I decided to board at a local
    barn with an indoor to do more riding and less shoveling.  Dexter is
    doing well - and Molly is also there - getting some work (I hope)
    in the lesson program.  I have not clipped Dexter and even with his
    full coat and 2 month vacation - he is still fairly fit so he doesn't
    take long to cool out after I ride.  I think once it starts to
    warm up I may try a trace clip and will blanket him (warm = over 0).
    
    - Janice
    
                         

    Thank you for your advice.  I appreciate your sharing "the obvious"
    with me because I'm not always clear on such details.  My mare has
    always had a thin coat and thin skin.  She's out on a farm where she
    gets no attention aside from my weekend visits.  Blanketing in cold
    weather is not possible.  I wish it were, I hate to see my little mare
    stand there and shiver.  I think when these shoes come off, I'll wait
    until spring to get more put on.  I originally had them put on to avoid
    stone bruises and cracks (she has white hooves-not as tough as darker
    ones).  About cooling her, I just walk her around until she dries out, then
    brush the sweat off. I guess you can tell I'm sort of flying by the
    seat of my pants on this horse-ownership venture.  So far, so good,
    thanks to many, many hours reading the notesfile!  Again, thanks for
    your help.

    don't worry about no being able to blanket your mare...I'm sure mother
    nature is taking care of her.  My mare has a thin coat too, and she
    does well w/out blanketing.
    
    If you can afford to do so, purchase a wool (not acrylic) cooler to
    assist w/ cooling out.  The wool will wick the moisture away from the
    horse.  You'll even see little beads of moisture on the outside of the 
    cooler and underneath your horse will be warm and dry.
     

    If you are only riding on weekends and your mare is turned out most of
    the time, you are far better off to leave her natural coat alone and 
    not blanket her at all, IMO.  Nature will take care of her (providing
    she has not been blanketed at all since summer, and her natural coat
    not prevented from growing in). A soaking wet blanket on her if she's
    left out in the rain and snow can cause problems.  Get a wool cooler,
    or if you can't afford one make one yourself by picking up any woolen
    blanket a Kmart and attaching a few stips of velcro in convienent
    places to help keep her warm while you cool her out after riding.
    My two are both unblanketed, my mare has a coat that would make a yak
    look cold, while my gelding has much less but has still been fine
    even in -0 temps.  
    
    I ride on trails as much as possible in winter, and we use borium on
    all four and pads on front. Havent' had any problem with snow balling.
    You should be VERY careful if she is still wearing summer shoes, they
    can be treacherous on ice, she'd be far better off barefoot.  We dont
    go barefoot on either horse because my gelding is a thoroughbred
    and has the 'stereotypical' lousy, thin-walled feet that break up
    at the drop of a hat, and while my mare's feet are as tough as his
    are bad, I feel she has better grip on the roads than she did
    barefoot.
    
    Only rarely do we exceed a walk on the trails in the winter, you just
    dont know what is buried under the snow, or like someone said a few
    notes back, how deep the drifts can suddenly get. And even walking in
    deep snow is quite a workout, keep that in mind when you plan on going
    out and perhaps try to cut the distance you go to compensate if you
    are worried about her conditioning level.  With my mare, I also
    frequent skimobile trails, they are well-packed and easier going, but
    be sure your mare isn't going to be scared of them before heading
    out alone on them.
    
    
    

    
    
    	I know that at a training barn I use to work at we used a hair
    	dryer.
    
    	But, we also had them partially clipped.. 
    
    	I don't blanket, the people in my barn think that I am crazy, 
    	but, they take the blankets off when they go outside for the day.
    
    	Talking about looking for trouble.. 
    
    	I don't ride in the winter, but the girls have no shoes on
    	I am currenlty tring to break my mare to drive - great 
    	excersise without a lot of sweat - at least on my mare;s
    	part.. :)
    
    	Donna

    re: -.1
    
    �  My two are both unblanketed, my mare has a coat that would make a yak
    �  look cold,
    
    
    	Thanks for the morning laugh!  (I needed it after the fun commute in)
    	Sigrid, my Fjord mare, has quite a coat on her.....some of the hairs
    	are in excess of 3 inches long!  Sounds like they'd make quite a
    	pair!  

    RE: SEVERAL NOTES AGO
    
    Just as I was hitting the "next" key I caught sight of your comment
    that you hate to see your little mare stand out and shiver.
    
    If that wasn't a sympathetic comment, and she really is physically
    shivering, she's not getting enough calories to keep her warm!  Her
    feed has to be increased, preferably with some high caloric grains
    (corn is probably simplest).
    
    I won't try to detail the how much/what kind, as I don't know the
    particulars of your horse, but ask a knowledgeable person or your
    vet for help.
    
    This is an easy mistake to make.  I have a close friend with a 1200
    pound thoroughbred and a 1400 lb holsteiner.  She fed the same amounts,
    because the t'bred was working and the other was basically loafing.
    The holsteiner had a bad time before she realized she was COOOLD!
    Just because she wasn't getting enough daily calories to keep the
    cold at bay.
    
    Diana-who-moved-to-Georgia-to-escape
    

    While I agree that horses need more calories to keep warm in winter,
    I've read in several places that grain is *NOT* the way to do it.
    Apparently, hay(or other forms of roughage) are better because they
    cause more heat to be released during digestion...If I remember
    correctly, the theory goes that it takes more muscular activity in the
    stomach and gut to move the hay etc through the gut. That extra
    activity keeps them warmer. Besides, feeding an extra 5 pounds of hay
    gives them more to do than feeding an extra pound of grain.
    
    Either way, a shivering horse probably needs more calories and perhaps
    a blanket/turnout rug.
    
    John

    My vet told me that hay is much better than grain for getting more
    calories and keeping them warm.  When it was tremendously cold I would
    give my horse half a bale at least AM and PM and it would always be
    gone.  

    
    Also, a shivering horse is liable to colic on you, because
    the natural defense of shivering pulls in blood flow from the
    extremities (including the gut), to direct it to the major organs...

    Unless of course your horse is so old she does not have anymore teeth!
    
    Our mare has only front (top 4 & bottom 4) teeth and altho she tries her
    best to eat the hay we know from the little "wads" everywhere that
    she isn't getting much into her.  We also kept her alone for several
    feedings and saw that no matter how long she was left she never got
    more than about 1/3 of the total hay actually into her.  The remainder
    was "ABC"...
    
    I soak several quarts of grain mixed with Omilene (vites etc) and
    sometimes add applesauce, apples, shaved carrots etc - and when it
    got really cold (ie: last week it was 16 BELOW zero here in NH) I
    feed her this 'mush' every 4-6 hours.  And boy is she glad to see me!
    
    All this was approved with our vet first.  He has been treating her
    (and our Morgan) for 4 years now.  He says she is the healthist 35+
    year old horse he has ever seen.  :-))
    
    Extra hay is a wonderful thing... *if* they can get it into them.
    
    :-)
    

    Curiously enough, I open the Jan 14 issue of The Chronicle last night
    and there was an article about winter feeding! It said much the same
    thing I did earlier but I misremembered the gut action part.
    
    Anyway, the article said that:
    	1. Hay is better than grain
    	2. Grass hay is better than alfalfa.
    	3. The digestive process of hay releases more heat than the
    	   digestion of grain does because of the activity of the 
    	   micro-organisms involved not the muscular activity of moving
    	   the hay through the gut as I had thought.
    
    re 35+ years old and cold no more.
    
    Wow, that's *GREAT*! I hope mine do as well when they're that age. 
    
    You mentioned that you're using Omolene. Did you know that Purina now
    makes a new feed especially for aged horses? I think it's called
    "Senior." I'm not sure whether it's a grain mix or a complete feed. It
    might be available both ways. 
    
    Which reminds me, if you want to get some form of hay into her, you might 
    try making the mush out of Purina's pelleted complete feeds(Horse Chow, I
    think) instead of their (Omolene) sweet feeds.
    
    

    Thanks for the feedback!  I was unaware that hay was considered
    superior to extra grain for producing heat.  The situation I was
    thinking of was related to the owner not thinking that the larger
    horse would need more food (hay AND grain) because she had more
    body to support.
    
    One way we used to handle the winter cold (in Vermont at that time)
    was to feed hay with a higher concentration of alfalfa - again,
    more calories than the timothy.  We used to introduce it gradually
    so the horses (57 of them one year) would adjust and colic wouldn't
    strike.
    
    Diana

Another thought for roughage other than grain for the those (equines) in need of 
dentures might be soaked alfalfa cubes and/or the Dengie Hi-Fi or Alfa-A 
products.  The Hi-Fi and Alfa-A come in plastic shavings-bag size bags and 
are basically chopped hay (either timothy mix or alfalfa) combined with some
other goodies.  I entered a brief description about it in topic 434.11.


kathy

    Thanks John and Kathy for the suggestions.
    
    Probably forgot to include the fact that I use Trotter pellets
    mixed with the Omilene.  Altho I can't find any verification the vet
    said 2 qts of pellets is *about* 2 (small) flakes of hay or one
    feeding.  She gets 2 qts pellets with 1 qt omilene every 4-6 hours
    depending on the weather...  under normal conditions she gets the above
    twice a day.  If she is 'looking' for more food I give it to her!
    But usually she just won't eat more than that at one time.
    
    I tried that food you mentioned John.  She didn't like it.  As for the
    alphalfa cubes - no go.  she would rather gum the real hay.  go figure!
    
    NH is having a heat wave - it was 10 above zero at 5am so she will be
    ok for the day.  She really is one tough lady.  And *sweet*, we have
    never ridden her - she is a companion for the morgan.  My husband likes
    to say she is his horse because he dosen't want to ride.  :-)
    
    thanks for the suggestions tho - always good to review things.
    
    Cheryl
    

    Hey, the worst may be over! At 6:45 A.M. today, I could find the
    pasture gate without a flashlight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Miracle of
    Miracles! The sun is returning...well make that daylight. We don't get 
    much sun during Seattle winters.

Cheryl,

Did you try soaking the cubes or just feeding them dry.  Dry they're an 
exercise for the jaw muscles (which is pretty tough if you have no teeth),
but wet they really break down.

kathy

    Hey John,
    
    It's getting a lot lighter here in Germany too!  It's amazing what a
    month can do a northern latitudes.  I can actually see my car when I
    leave the house in the morning, the sun is rising at about 8:00 here
    now and it's still light out at 5:00 when I leave.  
    
    I was thinking of your plight the other day and was thinking that a
    great solution, now that you've finished building your barn would be to
    start building an indoor arena! (I'm only kidding!)
    
    Think Spring!
    
    Janet

    Thanks Janet,
    
    We have an outdoor arena next to the new barn. We installed the arena
    first(when we did the basic grading for the barn) and put lights on the
    arena when we got the electric service out to the barn.
    
    The main problem is that we didn't get a fence up for pasture at the new 
    barn yet. So, we have to walk a couple hundred yards to the pasture at
    the old barn. It's real dark along our lane because of the trees. We
    tried turning on the lights in both places(including the arena lights)
    but there was still a stretch of pitch black darkness so we went to
    "headlights"...
    
    But, yeah, it's amazing how every February it starts getting light
    again! I wonder if anybody ever figured out why? Maybe, it was all that
    "sacrificing" we did back around the end of December... ;-)
    
    

    Yes, we did soak them, figureing that if she can't chew hay then
    she wouldn' be able to chew them either.  Plus they were pretty tough
    to the touch.  Now the Morgan, AKA piggy pony :-)  ate them like a
    snack!

    It begins again...Last week sunrise didn't occur until 7:45 AM and sunset
    was 4:15 PM. And the shortest days are yet to come! If it weren't for
    all the holidays that we get in the US during the last 6 weeks of the
    year, it would be a looooong nasty time. It's amazing how time off and
    social occassions can improve one's attitude....