Winter is nearing its end here in Eastern Pennsylvania, but we still have a few of the coldest days of the season ahead of us this week.
While it may not be possible to bring your horses inside to hang out in front of the fireplace, there are several things to do to ensure that your equine friends stay warm and safe when the temperatures dip far below zero over the next few days.
Hay Is Key
The most important thing to provide your horses with when the weather turns arctic is hay. As horses eat and digest hay, their digestive systems produce heat, helping to keep their body temperatures up. In extreme temperatures, keeping hay in front of your horses 24/7 will go a long way in making sure they stay warm.
Blanket When Needed
If your horse is clipped, has a thin coat, or tends to shiver or lose weight in cold weather, they should be blanketed in addition to having adequate hay available. Even horses that are completely body clipped can stay toasty warm when blanketed head to hoof.
Seek Shelter
Shelter from wind, rain, and snow is also essential when it comes to keeping equines warm. Even horses that live outside require a roof and windbreak in order to stay dry and toasty when the weather gets nasty. Especially if your horse is not blanketed, their coat needs to remain dry to stay fluffy and trap heat next to the body.
Warm Their Water
One other thing you can do to help your horse stay warm and healthy is to provide clean, warm drinking water. If you don’t have hot running water in the barn, you can warm up your horses’ buckets by plugging in an electric kettle and adding boiling water to cold drinking buckets, or using a bucket heater. Horses are also less likely to drink during cold spells, and dehydration can cause colic. Warming up your horses’ water encourages them to drink and stay hydrated during extreme cold.
With just a few simple precautions, your equines will weather the winter just fine.
Eastern PA Horse Property Specialists – Call Us Today! ( 610) 849-1790
Our extensive knowledge of the eastern PA horse properties for sale market allows us to guide our clients intelligently. Whether you are looking to buy, sell or invest, we have one mission – to provide you with exceptional customer service throughout the entire transaction. We assist buyers and sellers within the following eastern Pennsylvania counties:
- Berks County PA equestrian properties
- Bucks County PA equestrian properties
- Carbon County PA equestrian properties
- Chester County PA equestrian properties
- Lehigh County PA equestrian properties
- Northampton PA equestrian properties
- Poconos PA equestrian properties
- Schulykill PA equestrian properties
For sellers, we also offer property evaluations and have acquired the knowledge over the years of how to effectively perform an accurate market analysis of PA horse farms for sale, general farms and PA back yard horse properties. Please give us a call today or fill out our online contact form and let us know how we can best assist you with your eastern PA horse property real estate needs!
Cindy Stys, Broker/owner
The Premier Equine Realty Firm Serving Eastern PA
Tel.: 610-849-1790
720 Smith Hill Rd
Stroudsburg, PA 18360
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