ADVICEFROMTHE VET
PhotobyChris Gallon
WINTERING YOUR HORSE W
by Line Kjær DVMMRCVS of Avonvale Equine Practice
inter is fast approaching and everyyearalot of the same questions arebeing asked by horse owners.
Should Iclipmyhorse?Whatrug should Iput on?Isitokayfor my horse to live out all the time in the winter?What should Ifeed my horse during winter?
This article will try and coverall these questions.
SHOULD ICLIPMYHORSE DURING WINTER?
Alot of people regularly clip their horse all through winter.But it canbedifficult if youhavenever clipped your horse beforetodecide if it needs it. The purpose of ahorse’swinter coat is to
keep them warm during the cold and shelter them from the rain, snow, and wind. These days mosthorsesare kept differently,mainly stabled the majorityofthe time and ridden everyday.
SO,SHOULD YOU CLIP YOUR HORSE?
If your horse is being ridden daily to apoint whereitgetssweaty, then clipping it might be agood idea. This will not only prevent your horse from getting as sweaty, but it will also help it dry
quicker.There arealot of different clipping patterns, which one suitsyour horse depends on howthick acoat your horse has, howmuch and whereitmainly sweats. If youhavea horse that mostly lives outside
and is rarely ridden, or only ridden in light work, not causing it to sweat, clipping might be adisadvantage to your
horse.Asitgetscolder your horse will naturally develop athicker and longer coat. This is both to keep it warm but also to shield it from wind and rain. Obviously, we take those protection measures away from the horse when we areclipping them, so if youchose to do it, it should be because itsbeneficial to the horse is other ways.
NATURALLY, THE NEXT QUESTION WILL BE, NOW THATICLIPPED MY HORSE, SHOULD IRUG IT?
The answerdepends again on your
horse.In general horseswith afull body clip should wear at leastazero fill when turned out to guardagainst wind and rain. Howheavy arug depends on the outside temperature? In general, it is better for the horse to be slightly on the colder side than toohot. The horse being toohot in itsrug can lead to sweating and with aheavy rug on, the horse is not able to let the sweat evaporate which normally would help to cool it down. This canin milder casescause bacterial dermatitis leading to itching and hair loss, and in severe cases lead to the horse developing heat stress and putsitatrisk of colic. It is thereforeparticularly important to checkunderyour horsesrug every dayand feel if it is toohot. Also,it is likely that
14
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2020
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