Mary Allen
Horses that are allowed to graze in winter can act out their natural urge to move, which has a positive effect on their health and well-being. However, pasture maintenance is a major challenge in the wet and cold seasons.
Horses, which naturally wear warm fur, feel at home in cold outside temperatures. They would always prefer the clear, cold winter air, free movement, and contact with fellow dogs on the pasture to a thickly littered, only from our point of view “cozy” individual box. Horses should therefore be allowed to graze at least hourly in winter.
This applies to all horses when the weather is good: dry cold is well tolerated even by sensitive, older animals and animals with high bloodlines. A good winter turnout replaces the protective coat of shorn horses. If the horses don’t stand outside for hours in the wet and wind without a shelter, there’s nothing wrong with daily grazing, even in bad weather or snowfall – at least not from the horse’s point of view.
Problematic Use of Pasture in Winter
For barn owners, however, the use of pasture in winter often poses problems. With its species-typical behavior, the horse affects the pasture: it leaves bare patches and avoids areas heavily covered in excrement, which allows unwanted plants to settle. If there is also an unfavorable location, unfavorable soil conditions, and heavy precipitation in the form of rain or snow, the pasture is transformed within a few days into a brown mud landscape in which the horses’ hooves leave deep holes. Damage to the substrate is particularly severe when the superficial layers thaw after a period of frost or during the day.
The destroyed grassland scar is only one side of the problem: if the mud craters freeze again at low temperatures, they can become dangerous tripping hazards for horses. Or the animals injure themselves on the sharp-edged ice when they step in frozen puddles with their sensitive legs.
If you want to give horses a safe run-out in winter too, you have to give some thought to pasture management. Dry, well-drained soils are particularly suitable for winter grazing; an incline makes it easier for the water to run off. Areas for winter grazing should be particularly well cared for during the growing season. A pasture with good turf quality is more resilient to the stresses of horses’ hooves. The larger the grazing area, the lower the average stress on individual areas, which also reduces the risk of scar injuries.
Pay Attention to Electric Fences
The problem is particularly big in the metropolitan areas because there is little grazing land. There are various ways to protect them: If the pasture is divided into several paddocks, individual paddocks can be closed as required, if necessary, until they can regenerate in spring. The green area should be divided into rectangles that are as long as possible. This shape allows the horses the greatest freedom of movement and reduces scar damage, which occurs primarily when braking and turning.
If the stress is still too high or if the horses are always in the same paddock areas, for example at the exit, grazing can be limited to a few hours a day. Special winter paddocks have also proven their worth, for example with a sand or wood chip surface, which the horses use alternately and by the hour.
Summer’s sparse grass leftovers no longer contain enough nutrients to feed grazing horses. If animals stand outside for several hours or the whole day in winter, hay must be fed. Since horses usually spend hours at the feeding places, they should be placed in a dry, solid place. Covered feed racks prevent the hay from getting wet or trampled into the surrounding ground. Freezing of the drinking trough can be prevented with frost-proof systems.
In winter, special attention must also be paid to electronic electric fences. The snow sticks to the wide electrical strips and lets them sag due to its weight. The straps must therefore be checked and tightened after every snowfall. Round electric ropes, from which the snow slides off, are better for the winter. The insulators also have to be cleared of snow regularly so that the electricity can flow unhindered.