From the article: Prepare Your Horse's Stable for Winter
What do you do to get your barns and stables ready for winter? Share your tips and suggestions. Share Your Tips
Renew Anti Cribbing Efforts
- Every two years or so, put on a new coating of anti-cribbing paint. Also replace any necessary metal chew edging on boards. Those barn beavers have to be discouraged, especially in winter when they spend more time in the barn.
- —KBQuilt
Hydration: put HOT water in the buckets
- When the weather gets really cold, horses will reduce their water intake, which can cause colic. At evening feeding, I soak their feed in warm water and pour HOT water into their water buckets; it chills while they're eating and they are more likely to drink water when it's a bit warm.
- —Guest GoonrGrrl
prepare stalls
- Since we have outdoor stalls that are open, we pull the manure out of them part way so it is at an angle so water won't puddle as bad right at the entance of the stall. It normally works great and our horses are happy!! Young rider member.
- —Guest young rider member
Protect from the Weather
- Our Texas winters aren't too severe, so I just set up stalls under the barn's overhang so the horses are sheltered from the cold and rain. I used to blanket them for turnout but found that their coats grew thick and long when I just left them alone. Probably the biggest thing I do to get ready for winter is stock up on the hay, alfalfa and feed.
- —CNellis
Bring in Winter Stuff
- Get out things you'll use in winter like blankets for the horses and turn up the heat in the barn.
- —Guest Horses4Life
Sweep and Dust for Winter/Clean Buckets
- Sweep out all the walls, beams, stalls, and aisles in preparation for being closed up for most of the winter. All the dust and debris is bad for your horses to breathe and it's so much better to do that kind of stuff when the weather is warm and you can have the doors open; it's not good for you to breathe either! I also wash out all my food/water buckets and disinfect them with a Tablespoon of bleach in the full bucket.
- —Guest StarsCowgirl
Bring in All the Summer Blankets
- Put away all the summer stuff like blankets and fly sheets. YOu won't be using them and they just get in the way.
- —Guest HobbyHorse
