Horses and Cold

[darkchild16]

How well would a horse from FL react to the snow? I plan on going to school up north somewhere and want to try and arrange to take Ranger because if i dont i will have to sell him to the sires owner. But what would i need to do beside blanketing and how feasible is it? because right now he has a fractured cannon and would still be healing when i move.

[BostonBanker]

As far as the fracture, you'd have to ask your vet.

As far as the cold, I wouldn't worry. Vermont can get pretty darn cold, and we have horses at our barn who have come from all over the world, including one who lived in Florida until last year. If you are coming for school, I'm guessing the horse would be moving late summer/early fall, which would be ideal. He could settle into his new home without the drastic temperature changes.

My horse is well adapted to the cold, as he was born in Canada, but there are a few things I do to make myself feel better. I keep him bodyclipped, which, as backwards as it sounds, really helps. He works year-round, and nothing chills a horse like being wet and sweaty. Before he was clipped, it would take him 3 - 4 hours after a ride to dry off. Now, I can toss a cooler on him while I get changed and then put him back in his nice warm blankets.

I do blanket pretty heavily. I'm an over-protective mom . I buy good quality, breathable blankets so he doesn't get sweaty and damp.

I give him as much forage as he will eat when it is cold. Horses generate heat by digesting. Tristan isn't a great hay-eater for such a big horse, so I supplement it with hay stretcher and alfalfa pellets. I also own a small water heater, and will heat up his water when it is really cold. Some horses won't drink as much in cold weather and can have problems with impaction. Watching Tristan guzzle a half-bucket of warm water before I leave the barn helps me sleep at night.

I'm sure Ranger will adjust just fine to the cold - probably more easily than you

[darkchild16]

IM jsut worried because i wont have much time for one and money for the other but i cant imagine life without his moody cranky self lol. Also ive never boarded him how hard is it to board a stallion since i wont castrate him?

Plus im thinking north as in Canada

[SeniorPetLover]

You may have a tough time finding a barn that will board a stallion without charging a premium, but I would do an Internet search of the boarding facilities near your school and start asking around now.

[BostonBanker]

Also ive never boarded him how hard is it to board a stallion since i wont castrate him?

You may have a lot of trouble with that. Very few barns in our area will board stallions. We allowed one at our barn after a trial; it worked out fine, because he had been trained within an inch of his life and was faultlessly obedient. We also had no mares at the farm then, and both myself and the other employee had worked with stallions before. I used to work at a breeding farm, and from the experience I had with the stallions there, most of them could not be managed in a typical boarding setting. You may have more luck finding a breeding farm to keep him at, where they are accustomed to managing stallions. Why won't you geld him? Is he a breeding prospect?

Plus im thinking north as in Canada

You may want to look into the quarentine requirements before you decide to take him into Canada. I don't know if there are any for Canada, but I have a good friend who competes internationally with her breeding stallion, and that has to be taken into account. He just got back from Germany, and only had to spend 2 days in quarentine because he was there for less than 59 days. More than that, and the quarentine is 2-4 weeks! It can get very expensive as well as hard on the horse.

[Saje]

Most of the stables I've worked/boarded at have allowed stallions as long as they have the facilities/room. If the horse doesn't have an easy temperment or people can't handle him they might ask you to move but depending on the barn they might be quite tolerant. A trainer I used to work with once boarded a young stallion that grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her when she walked by. That did not go over well! She still kept him though. He just wasn't allowed to have his gate down.

[darkchild16]

I wont geld him because i plan on using him for when i start my barn. HEs a barrel horse. And i figured i would but the school i am prolly going to will be a horse school so i will prolly keep him there if not ACK!!!! I dont know how he would handle boarding. Hes never been boarded and hes a major mommas boy with an attitude lol.

[Saje]

If you go to a school like this one http://www.oldscollege.ab.ca/ the students housing is about a two-minute walk to the barn. And it's a lovely barn! Lots of paddocks too and a huge indoor arena.

[darkchild16]

lol trying to get me to go there huh that place is 3000+ or is it the 2000 ??? for a new student lol

nm breeze cant read the chart LMAO its 3000 for fall semester for the first semester lmao

[casablanca1]

If you do come north with him, you'll be entering a whole new world of horse ownership - ie, the great blanket debate. On horse forums all winter, every winter, the 'when should I blanket?' topic is a perennial. So you'll be have plenty of company.

It'd probably be easier in Canada during the winter than further south, in some ways. I nearly lost a leg to mud the other day. There are times when a rock-hard New England winter looks damned appealing, compared to the 'thaw and welter' weather we get.