Help your horse stay warm in the winter.

Horses begin to struggle to keep warm below certain critical temperatures. For a clipped horse, the critical temperature is 41°F (5°C). For a horse with a thick winter coat, the critical temperature is 18°F (-8°C).

When horses are housed outside, exposure to wind can dramatically lower the ambient temperature so be sure to take wind chill into consideration when looking at daily temps.

The easiest and most effective way to keep your horse warm when the temperatures drop is to feed additional forage. An easy guideline to follow is that a sedentary mature horse will need 2% more high-quality forage for every degree the temperature falls below the lower critical temperature. Small or older horses will be less tolerant of cold temperatures. Horses that are properly blanketed will stay warmer at lower temperatures.

Begin feeding additional hay 24 hours before cold temperatures are expected.