Some winter advice for horse owners

Photograph by Moyan Brenn on Flickr

It’s getting to the time of year where fields start to get poached and boggy, pipes begin to freeze and additional forage is needed for your horses and ponies. Here are some have some tips for making life easier during the winter months...

• To avoid poaching of land, keep horses in if it is very wet and try not to overstock the land – stick to one horse per acre of land.
• If you have enough land available, consider rotating your turnout paddocks. This will give each one a period when it is not in use so it can dry out and recover from poaching.
• Put down shavings, woodchip or hardstanding in gateways as these tend to get poached the most and the addition of some dry material will help to soak up the moisture and make them less muddy.
• If your horses live out on grass all year, they will probably need additional forage such as hay or haylage during the winter as grass doesn’t have the nutritional value it does in summer and can’t sustain them as well.
• If you’re going to be feeding hay in the field, change the area where you feed it regularly to prevent poaching and hay being wasted as it is walked into muddy ground.
• Now is the time to start lagging water pipes before we have any hard frosts to prevent them from bursting and to ensure that your horses still have a supply of water. If you know it’s going to be very cold, you could also fill some containers with water and keep them indoors to prevent freezing so you still have water to give to your horses if all of the pipes freeze.
• If horses are living out, make sure they have some sort of shelter to protect them from the harsh winter weather – this could be anything from a thick, overhanging hedge around their paddock to a portable field shelter

The rural department at Andrew Granger & Co can offer further advice on land management issues for farmers and land owners across Leicestershire. Our team of experienced Chartered Surveyors and Land Agents act for farmers, landowners, institutional owners and charities. We are here to help maximise your property value and income.