This winter has been atrocious. We’ve certainly been lucky and spoiled the last couple winters. Normally we get a couple weeks of ultra cold weather but this year it’s been more often….and it seems the coldest days fall on my days off.
I haven’t been able to ride a lot. I haven’t been able to build a lot. It’s just too cold. I won’t ride below 20 degrees.
Over the winter we typically pull shoes to give our horses some time throughout the winter to relax through their feet and feel the Earth. We give their hooves time to grow out the nail holes. This year both riding horses are wearing shoes on all 4, so we decided to stagger them. We pulled hinds on our December visit, and fronts in January after giving them a cycle in snow pads.
In January the ground has been frozen for a while. Pulling the front shoes and putting Stanley out on the hard ground was too much for him. He was sore for quite a bit. I first saw it in his eyes. For about 5 days he was reluctant to leave the comfort of his bedded stall. I began my meager attempt to give him comfort by beginning him on a product called Keratex. The product is designed to cross link the keratin and proteins within the hoof.
The day following our farrier appointment he was scheduled for chiropractic care…it was another day in the low 20s. He came in and enjoyed his adjustment as well as acupuncture. While Tiger got his treatment he enjoyed an electrolyte mash. The mash is warm water with Purina Replenish and Purina SuperSport. This is something he gets after most workouts, so it’s not new for him.
Just over two hours later Suzanne and I began to bring horses in for dinner. Stanley stood in a dark corner of his stall. Completely uninterested in food.
Stanley’s temperature appeared normal.
The rest of him appeared normal.
I didn’t hear a ton of gut sounds.
We gave him Banamine orally…and thirty minutes later we gave him a tube of Equi Spaz.
I don’t have great service at the barn but I walked him over to the indoor arena and made a call to the vet. It wasn’t a Friday night but it was 4:45pm; I asked to have the vet on call reach out so she could be aware of the situation. After talking we agreed to give him until 6pm to see if there was improvement….if there was a decline in his condition I could reach out anytime.
Six o’clock came around and Stanley remained stable. He hadn’t pooped or peed but he wasn’t flailing….No remarkable changes. I decided to have her start driving to come out for a visit just in case.
He had rolled in his stall earlier but he loved fresh shavings so it wasn’t totally concerning. He was looking to roll in the arena but again…I often bring him over to roll and stretch through his body. It wasn’t completely odd behavior but it wasn’t normal for him to want to roll if we stopped to talk to someone for 5 minutes.
Not long after my check-in with the vet Stanley peed. I began to hear for more gut sounds little by little. One oddity about Stanley is his proclivity to poop after he’s smelled the manure pile. I brought him over to smell the wheelbarrow. In less than 60 seconds he pooped.
I called the vet back up and we discussed. He had gut sounds, he peed, he pooped, and he seemed just a little bit more chipper. We decided she could turn around and I would call back if anything changed. I wanted to bring him back to the barn.
When he got back into his stall again he peed again. He wasn’t very interested in his meal but ate his hay quietly and enjoyed some Purina Outlast. I sat with Stanley for a while. After discussing it with Suzanne I mock left…I turned off the lights and closed the door but stood on the other side and waited. I was waiting to see if he was remaining stable and quiet because of my hovering and if he’d roll once I left. He didn’t. I returned to his stall to check and he pooped again. This one was full sized and mostly normal. The first was a tad dry.
Good boy!
I normally am very proud that my horses don’t often colic…but it CAN happen. In this case I believe the cold weather and painful feet led to Stanley not moving around a whole lot. Movement is necessary for the body to move and pass the food along and he’s normally a VERY active horse outside.
Stanley’s feet have since adjusted fairly well. We haven’t ridden more than once a week with this weather, but we managed to do an obstacle day, one dressage lesson, and a short training hack with a very brief canter. He was slightly tender for our lesson but not alarmingly so and we agreed he was on the right track and to keep working him but being mindful.
Horses can throw all sorts of loops into your plans. I certainly plan to address our winter hoof care routine differently next year…I’m switching up our hoof care maintenance routine…and I’m making more of an effort to get Stanley some movement in his life. When I have time, I like to bring him to the indoor for a roll and a playtime. He really appreciates that and I find it makes him a more willing partner when we ride.
How is winter going for you all?
The Green Horseman 
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