Winter Horse Supplies & Tips
“Winter is not a season; it’s an occupation.” ~ Sinclair Lewis
Most horse people would agree with Mr. Lewis that winter IS an occupation! Especially with all the extra effort it takes to ensure your horses stay healthy and flourishing during the arctic tundra season! Winter horse care is indeed a job, albeit one that is most appreciated by our noble steeds.
As you probably already know, horses need added support to thrive when the temperature plunges. Especially if you live where below-freezing temps are winter’s norm.
Lack of good quality horse hay and forage, inadequate exercise due to not being ridden or driven, minimal turnout time, snowy, cold, and wet weather, and/or decreased water consumption are all challenges that can impact your horse’s health and well-being during the winter months.
At Manna Pro, “nurturing life” at all your horse’s life stages has always been our mission. In this article, we’ll share a herd of products plus winter horse care tips to add to your cold weather survival kit to keep your horse family thriving even on the coldest of days.
How to Help Horses Thrive Throughout the Winter:
1. Provide Optimal Nutrition to Help Horses Maintain Weight
Horses frequently lose muscle and weight during the winter due to a decrease in activity level. For example, not being ridden, driven, turned out, or otherwise exercised routinely. Inadequate nutrients from a lack of quality forage can also be a culprit of loss of condition and pounds.
Max-E-Glo Stabilized Rice Bran is a great horse food supplement solution to help maintain weight and provide optimal nutrition. The product’s high fat and protein provide needed calories. The controlled starch formula means it’s unlikely to cause hyperactive behavior or digestive upset that can be associated with excess horse grain.
Your horse’s immune and neuromuscular systems are also supported by the Vitamin E and Gamma Oryzanol from rice bran in the Max-E-Glo formulation.
If you have an adult horse that needs an extra boost to optimize digestion, Manna Pro Max-E-Glo Senior has all Max-E-Glo Stabilized Rice Bran benefits, PLUS it’s formulated with probiotics, yeast, calcium, and magnesium to encourage a healthy gut.
* Pro Tip. While this supplement was formulated with seniors in mind, they aren’t the only ones who can benefit from this amazing formula
2. Offer Electrolytes to Encourage Adequate Water Intake
Electrolytes are just as important in winter as they are in summer to encourage adequate water intake when the grass/forage is dried out.
AccuBites Replenish supplement for horses is easy to feed and formulated with electrolytes to encourage more trips to your horse’s water trough throughout the winter months.
3. Keep Horses' Hooves Strong & Healthy with Care & Supplements
“No hoof - no horse,” is a common and accurate equestrian anthem that holds true no matter what the weather. Routine hoof maintenance is critical, especially in a cold climate that can be problematic for hooves. No matter if you live in a dry climate with hard, frozen ground or a wet climate with muddy snowy ground, you’ll want to be vigilant and proactive with your horse’s hoof care.
Always pick your horse’s hooves regularly to remove ice, snow, rocks, etc. that could cause discomfort, lameness, or a bacteria haven that can potentially lead to a hard-to-treat thrush infection.
Additionally, you may want to consider adding an equine supplement like SHO-Hoof to boost healthy growth for horse hooves. Our SHO-Hoof Supplement helps support strong hooves that will help your horse navigate any terrain the cold temperatures may dish out.
Adding a lanolin-based hoof moisturizer like Corona Hoof Dressing can help prevent your horse’s hooves from drying and cracking.
4. Use Moisturizing Wound Care Products to Prevent Dryness & Infections
Cold climates can be harsh on horses’ skin causing extreme dryness that can potentially lead to easily infected scrapes or wounds. Having a reliable moisturizing wound salve on hand is essential for treating any skin challenges that may arise.
When choosing a product, look for moisturizing ingredients that promote healing and create a barrier against insects, moisture and dirt, like Manna Pro Corona Ointment. Inspect your horse daily for injuries, and apply the ointment as needed to keep your horse in top health during the winter season.
5. Provide Horses with Adequate Exercise and Enrichment
Even when the weather turns cold, horses require adequate mental and physical enrichment to keep them happy and healthy. A few out-of-the-saddle ideas for you and your best bud to try this winter:
- Hand walking
- Lunging
- Cavaletti
- Grooming
- In hand work: turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, leg yielding, backing, trail obstacles, etc.
- Ground driving
- Stretching
- Therapy: massage blanket, Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) treatment, laser, etc.
- Bodywork appointment
- Chiropractic appointment
- Trick training
6. Trick-Train Your Horse When It's Too Cold to Ride
Teaching your horse tricks is a great way to continue to bond with your horse and beat the cold winter blues! Trick training can easily be done in your horse’s stall or barn aisle way, and it’s a great way to spend time with your horse if it’s too cold to go outside or ride in the indoor arena.
Using treats as positive reinforcement when teaching tricks is a great approach to reward and motivate your horse during training sessions.
Manna Pro offers 12 delicious horse treat options sure to please even the pickiest equine palate! The treats are great to use when teaching your horse new tricks! Treat choices include:
- Mini Horses & Donkeys: Farmhouse Favorites™ Mini Horse & Donkey Treats
- Adult Horses: Nutrigood™ FruitSnax Horse Treats
- All Horses: Apple Bite-Size Nuggets
- Senior Horses: We even have a specially formulated treat, Senior Snax, for your golden oldies!
Winning Winter with Manna Pro Nutritional and Horse Care Products
Armed with the right nutritional and horse care product solutions alongside an exercise and enrichment plan, you’re sure to win winter equine style in keeping your horses healthy and happy even on the frostiest of days!
We look forward to you riding with us this winter on the Manna Pro social media trail: @cityyolks, @YolkTubeByCityYolks, @mannaprohomestead, @mannaprohorse, @MannaProHomestead, and @MannaProHorse.
