Vet outlines how horse owners can prepare for the challenging winter ahead

As the strongest El Niño climate event in a generation develops over the Pacific Ocean, the Government has warned UK households to prepare for severe storms, flooding, power outages and potential food shortages this autumn and winter.

The Met Office anticipates that the chances of a warm and wet autumn are 1.5 to two times the historical average. Later in the winter, it predicts more stormy conditions than in previous years.

These climate events have potential to impact the horse-owning community heavily. Wet weather and flooding of land will restrict grazing availability and access to field shelters. Blocked roads may prevent exercising, inhibit access to fields and potentially delay forage and feed deliveries, both to shops, stables and to out-wintered horses. Storms may cause power outages and damage fencing (especially electric fencing) due to fallen branches and trees.

Heavy rain will saturate horses’ coats and increase heat loss. There will be an increased demand for forage due to prolonged stabling. Exercise may have to be restricted, with consequent effects on our horses’ health and welfare.

Here’s how you can prepare for the coming winter as a horse owner and build resilience into the way you manage your horses in a time of rapid climate change.

Ensuring you have enough food

There may be a temptation to stock up with hard feed and forage in early autumn to forestall shortages or difficulty in supply later. Square bales of haylage – large or small – can be stored outdoors and, as long as the bale is consumed within three or four days after opening, can be fed “off the stack” by opening one end and folding it over when the day’s requirement is removed.

Forward buying of hard feed is trickier, as paper sacks inevitably allow some moisture penetration when kept in conventional feed stores, eventually causing mould formation. Most feeds sold in paper sacks have a six-month expiry date, and this must be checked before purchase.

I once unwisely bought some stud nuts on special offer in November – without checking the expiry date – only to find when opened in March, at the start of the stud season, they were completely mouldy and unusable.

Hard feeds sold in plastic sacks are preferred for longer-term storage, although do bear sustainability in mind.

Working with reduced turnout

For a stabled horse, turnout offers opportunities for grazing, unrestricted non-foraging exercise and social interaction – all of which are key elements in the health and welfare of a domesticated animal. Restricted or no turnout due to flooding, inaccessible fields, or concerns that land may be damaged, increases the risk of colic and stress behaviours. Impaction colic is a particular risk in stabled horses when exercise is restricted, especially in horses kept on edible bedding.

Although access to an all-weather arena for extended turnout is ideal, a recent US study found that as little as one hour daily of solitary pasture turnout reduced the physiological (determined by blood tests and heart rate monitoring) and behavioural signs of stress commonly observed in stabled horses. Three groups were compared, with zero, 15 and 60 minutes of turnout. No benefit was seen after 15 minutes, but a clear difference was demonstrated after 60 minutes.

Although protecting wet ground from damage may be a concern, the benefits of even a short period of turnout should not be underestimated. If your horse does have to be stabled, I’ve put together some advice on how to keep stabled horses happy and healthy.

Dealing with mud

Inevitably, in a wet autumn and winter, muddy conditions underfoot are likely to be a serious problem, especially in gateways, around water troughs, on frequently used routes and in places where horses congregate. Removal of the topsoil in gateways and replacement with coarse gravel may provide an instant fix. Alternatively, interlocking mud-control rubber mats can be applied to the likely affected areas and work very well.

These mats are designed to be applied directly to mud or grass, as long as it is an even, level surface and not rutted or rocky. The mats should be evenly supported across their full length and width.

Grass seed can first be spread underneath them, and it may grow through the perforations, but in high-usage areas, a topping layer of sand is advised. It is best if mats are laid in anticipation of muddy conditions when the area is firm and can be flattened, rather than once runny mud has already developed.

Equally, where possible, efforts should be made to improve field drainage before winter takes hold.

Preventing rain scald

Frequent wetting of the coat in out-wintered horses can predispose them to rain scald, a superficial skin infection caused by the damp-loving organism Dermatophilus congolensis. The infection is most common in fine-coated breeds. Its occurrence in horses wearing turnout rugs is often attributed to condensation under the rug, although as the undersurface of the rug is usually warm, this is unlikely. It is more likely caused by a leaking rug.

The infection should be promptly treated by application of a topical antiseptic, and the horse’s coat should be kept dry until fully resolved. Consideration should be given to providing a turnout rug for horses that have suffered from this condition in previous years. Check out our guide to the best lightweight turnout rugs if you’re in need of a new one, or find out how to repair rugs and how to re-proof rugs at home.

Managing mud fever

Common in horses’ legs exposed to cold and wet conditions, mud fever is often attributed to Dermatophilus infection, although several studies have refuted this. The infection is caused by opportunistic skin bacteria breaching the normal defences of the skin, which have been impaired by constant wetting and chilling.

Although it is counter-intuitive to leave the mud in place, experience shows that mud fever is more common in yards where the legs are regularly washed with running water. It is preferable to allow the mud to dry overnight (aided by the application of stable leg wraps), brush it off in the morning and then apply a barrier cream to the back of the pasterns before turnout.

Alternatively, waterproof outdoor leg wraps or turnout boots can be applied.

Coping with wet fields

Constant immersion in mud or walking on wet grass can cause hoof horn to be over-hydrated, increasing the risk of thrush, hoof abscesses, white line disease and shoe loss when worked. Soft ground may cause the feet to sink in deeper when ridden on grass, exposing them to potential trauma from objects underneath the grass layer, such as stones, farm debris and previously lost shoes.

It is unclear how effective the various hoof “waterproofing” products that are available are but, having first carefully picked out the feet, standing the horse overnight on a
bed of dry wood shavings or sawdust will have a significant drying effect.

Horses that habitually wear sole pads under their shoes may benefit from omitting the pads for one or two shoeing cycles. The soles can become persistently wet and soft if pads are worn during the wetter months, even when some cushioning or “filler” has been applied under the pads.

Losing shoes from overreaching in heavy going can be a significant issue, so applying overreach boots – which must extend to ground level at the rear – during turnout will
help prevent this.

Tackling wormer resistance

As we face an Armageddon of resistance to current worming drugs, with no prospect of new compounds appearing on the market in the foreseeable future, we must avoid routine, random or unplanned treatment with wormers in autumn and winter.

It is advised to do a faecal worm egg count on all horses in the autumn to detect those that are shedding large numbers of worm eggs and hence need to be treated. A follow-up egg count two weeks after treatment is now strongly advised, to determine whether wormer resistance is present on the premises. If you don’t test, you will never know.

It has been common practice in recent years to worm every horse automatically in early winter, using a larvicidal treatment designed to kill encysted small redworms. Recent advice rejects this practice, as most horses in the low-risk category are likely to have minimal burdens of these worms and do not need treatment.

A low-risk horse is one who:

• is aged between five and 20 years old
• has had repeatedly low or negative faecal worm egg counts in the current year
• grazes paddocks where faeces are removed at least twice weekly
• is kept at a low stocking density (more than two acres per horse) 
• has no history of worm-related disease

If reassurance is required, a blood test is available. Contact your vet for more information.

Underdosing due to an incorrectly assumed horse’s weight may be a significant factor in the development of resistance. Studies have shown that visual estimates of weight by owners and keepers are frequently inaccurate.

A recent study of three commercially available weigh tapes by Dengie Horse Feeds found that the weight was frequently underestimated, especially in horses in lean body condition or in bigger horses weighing over 500kg. For example, one 17.2hh mare weighed with all three tapes had her weight estimated by the tapes to be between 104 and 138kg less than her actual weight measured on a weighbridge.

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