Top 6 Winter Care Tips for Horses in Metal Barns

With the winter season kicking in, so have the snow-capped landscapes, freezing rainfalls, and icy conditions for your horses to navigate. Now that you have invested in a horse metal barn, you know these structures are highly resistant to adverse weather conditions and can protect your equines properly.

However, it might not be all, as proper preparation is often required to fight heavy snow loads while maintaining the health of your equestrian creatures. As a horse owner, you do want to ensure that your animals stay safe, healthy, and warm in cold and challenging winters. Along with the sturdiness offered by metal barns, you can do a few things to make your horses feel comfortable. From tending to their feeding needs to winterizing the barn, let’s explore the top tips to follow!

What Helps Horses in Metal Barns Stay Warm During the Winter Season?

One of the most important things to know about horses is that they are wonderful creatures that are naturally equipped to withstand harsh weather conditions and can easily acclimate to cold temperatures. As the temperatures dive and the season changes, horses also get their natural defenses up, like:

• Adding extra fat to their body to stay warm.
• Growing a thicker winter coat, which they fluff up to bear the chill.
• Managing blood flow while pooling the majority in important organs.
• Allowing lower legs and hooves, which can help them withstand freezing cold.

Keeping Your Horses Warm and Healthy: Top Winter Care Tips

Even though horses adapt well to winters, they are likely to get cold. This is one of the major reasons why it is not possible to ignore them when temperatures plummet. A few practices that can go a long way are:

1.   Tend to the Feeding Requirements

In cold temperatures, equines tend to burn more calories than usual, which is why they need to eat more. It is said that horses need to eat 25% more in winter months. Otherwise, they might end up spending a significant amount of energy in staying warm and without additional feed, you get a horse that is thinner, less happy, and unhealthy.

Increase your horse’s daily food ration and make sure that they have adequate food. You should set up automatic or manual feeders within your Horses in Metal Barns to make sure there is a proper food supply.

2.   Ensure Proper Hydration

Another important thing to take care of during the winter season is ensuring that your horses don’t suffer from dehydration. With colder weather seeping in, horses are less inclined to drink water, which can become a significant concern.

It is important to ensure that your animals have constant access to water.

Install heated water buckets or tank heaters in your horse barn to prevent freezing and keep the water warm. Your equines are more likely to drink water if it is not cold in winter.

3.   Optimize Barn Insulation and Ventilation

Insulation is one of the most essential customizations to incorporate in your barn, especially if you reside in regions prone to heavy snowfall. While metal barns are sturdy, they can easily become cold without proper insulation. A well-insulated and ventilated barn helps you in making sure that your horses are warm without having to compromise on air quality. In order to maintain a comfortable environment for your horses, consider:

• Opting for a good quality high R-value insulation to prevent heat loss and condensation, which can often lead to corrosion or mold growth.

• Ventilation offers proper air circulation, which is essential to avoid any respiratory problems usually caused by trapped ammonia. In addition to natural vents like windows, skylights, cupolas, or ridge vents, you can also install adjustable vents within the horse steel barn to maintain a seamless airflow without creating any drafts.

• Inspect your barn for cracks or openings from where cold air or moisture can often seep in. Sealing these gaps is extremely essential to keep your horse barn warm and energy-efficient.

4.   Groom Your Horses for the Season

While winter coats can help your equines, it is critical that you regularly groom them for their long-term health.

• Brush their coat and make sure that you remove dirt, sweat, dust, and debris to maintain the insulating properties of your horse’s coat.

• It is also crucial to look for signs of frostbite, weight loss, illnesses, or ticks. Inspecting for health issues can help you catch problems early and stop serious complications from taking place.

• Pick out and inspect your horse’s hooves daily. Make sure that they have a dry place to stand and dry their hooves. Wet hooves can cause infections or rot if left for a long time.

• Trim their hooves in every 6 weeks to reduce any chances of ice balls in your horses’ feet. This will also lower slipping risks.

• You can also make your horses go barefoot during winter and allow their hooves to take some rest from the metal shoes.

5.   Provide Adequate Protection

While horse barns are strong enough to protect your equines against harsh climate conditions. Engineer-certified structures can even bear snow loads of up to 80 lbs per square foot. Even then, you have to take precautions to protect your animals from the worst conditions.

• You should add extra bedding materials, such as straw or shavings, as they tend to provide insulation and keep your horses warm on cold nights.

• For horses that might need extra warmth, including older or thinner horses, you should opt for waterproof insulated blankets.

• You should also consider limiting the time your horses spend outdoors during extreme weather. However, some outdoor activities should be good to keep your horses active and engaged.

6.   Winter-Proof The Barn

Taking care of your Horses in Metal Barns is one thing, but you also have to make sure that your steel horse barns are winter-ready. There are a few things that you can do to ensure the longevity of the structure as well as the good health of your equestrian creatures.

• Winter often brings frozen water pipes, troughs, and hoses. Always have a plan in place. You can detach and drain the hoses after each use. Keeping a dry backup for emergencies is also a good idea. You can also insulate the water pipes to avoid freezing during colder nights.

• Stock up on all essential supplies like feed, hay, veterinary supplements, bedding, and maintenance tools to be prepared ahead of unforeseen storms.

• Clear snow properly from the roofs, doors, and pathways to maintain safe access and stop leakages from taking place.

• Inspect windows and doors to see whether there are any gaps, allowing the cold air to seep in. In such a case, either seal the gaps or consider replacing the doors and windows.

• If you live in regions prone to blizzard conditions and heavy snow, you should anchor the doors and lean-tos properly. You can also reinforce the structure using additional beams and braces.

Prioritize Your Horses’ Comfort

Winter is known to be challenging, but with proper preparation and care, you can make sure that your horses thrive even in the coldest months. Focusing on insulation, bedding, proper nutrition, barn upgrades, and weather protection, you can create a safe environment for your equines. Help them comfortably endure the cold weather, and before you know it, you’ll be ramping up the work for spring’s arrival!