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After the storm, horses in the snow

Gail P
December 12th, 2009, 10:53 PM
Okay how's this for deep snow?

hazelrunpack
December 12th, 2009, 10:58 PM
Holy catz, Gail!! :eek: Good thing the snow is fluffy! :o

How do they eat when the snow is that deep? :eek:

Frenchy
December 12th, 2009, 11:05 PM
I've been watching the news from Ontario for the past few days just to see your storm ..... holy crap ! :eek:

Do the horses like it ? Are they staying outside a while ?

Gail P
December 12th, 2009, 11:49 PM
Holy catz, Gail!! :eek: Good thing the snow is fluffy! :o

How do they eat when the snow is that deep? :eek:
At chin level :laughing: I put out the hay in places I want them to pack down the snow and as they work their way around they clear an area.

I've been watching the news from Ontario for the past few days just to see your storm ..... holy crap ! :eek:

Do the horses like it ? Are they staying outside a while ?

They stay outside always. I call them my wild bush horses :D They have access to 2 run-in sheds but they prefer the bush and spend the nights up under the fir trees where it's quite sheltered. I used to feed them right outside the hay shed, but since my dogsled trail passes right by there and I don't like them messing it up (once it's properly groomed), I use a sled to take the hay over to the edge of the trees and feed them there. They have a trough for drinking up by the house that's got a floating de-icer in it so they always have water available without me having to bash ice out of it.

erykah1310
December 13th, 2009, 12:53 AM
That is crazy snow!
Great pics

chico2
December 13th, 2009, 09:07 AM
Gail,not knowing a lot about horses,I had to ask,don't they get cold?
Don't they need a blanket or a warm stable??

Love4himies
December 13th, 2009, 09:18 AM
Gail, I just saw your pic on the weather network!!!

What an unbievable amount of snow!

erykah1310
December 13th, 2009, 10:54 AM
Chico amazingly horses build up an intense winter coat and it keeps them very warm.
Its also easier on them to be outside in the winter than in and out of stalls where the temperature changes. It will stunt their coat growth and then when it is freezing and they are outside they are not equiped for it.
Although mine are boarded and 'could" go in stalls at night, i choose to leave them out, there is shelters for them in the paddocks. My new guy being from the south and slightly a "sissy" is blanketed as he is not growing a good winter coat of his own, but he is starting.

chico2
December 13th, 2009, 11:05 AM
Thank's Erykah that makes sense...

Gail P
December 13th, 2009, 08:27 PM
They handle the winter quite well and I only blanket them in extreme cold snaps. I find that the spring and fall can actually be worse than winter when you get those really blustery rainstorms when the temperatures are low. Cold driving rains are much worse than snow for the horses and that's when I'd be more likely to put on a waterproof, insulated blanket.

My old mare used to do so much better living out than being stalled. Being out and able to move around is much better for the circulation and when she was stalled at night her legs would stock up (swell). She also used to get a lot of unexplained nosebleeds when she was in but they stopped once she was living out 24/7. Not all horses can take these living arrangements, some thoroughbreds for example seem to be "thin-skinned" and don't grow a good coat, as well as some other breeds and individual horses. Some can also be harder keepers, (harder to keep the weight on) so they may need to be stalled for a more specific feeding program. These guys do really well living this way though, and if they were suddenly put in every night I don't think they'd be very happy and they'd probably develop vices from being bored.

luckypenny
December 13th, 2009, 09:05 PM
Despite the crazy amount of snow, those are beautiful pictures, Gail!

Dee-O-Gee
December 13th, 2009, 09:12 PM
I'm with LP on that! :thumbs up Amazing photo's Gail! :)

angeldogs
December 13th, 2009, 09:25 PM
I say that's crazy amount of snow. the horses are beautiful.it's nice to see horses free room.keeps their spirit.

Chaser
December 13th, 2009, 10:13 PM
Wow - amazing pictures!!!!

Magicwildwolf69
December 13th, 2009, 10:34 PM
Wow those are some great pics. was wondering could i share them with my mom through email. she just LOVES horses.

Gail P
December 13th, 2009, 11:09 PM
Wow those are some great pics. was wondering could i share them with my mom through email. she just LOVES horses.
Sure. Here are some more. This is Tanner (EV Tanner). He's my almost 20 year old (March 29, 1990) 7/8 Arabian gelding. I got him as a yearling and he and I have "been everywhere, done everything" together. Best horse that ever lived IMO :D He is a grandson of Huckleberry Bey, an Arabian stallion that Breyer model made of.

angeldogs
December 13th, 2009, 11:11 PM
great pics with gorgeous horses

Magicwildwolf69
December 13th, 2009, 11:11 PM
cool thanks!!!!!! My mom will love them :)

Gail P
December 13th, 2009, 11:18 PM
And this is Ben. He is a 16 year old Quarter Horse/Haflinger cross gelding. He used to be dh's horse but he never rode and we ended up selling him to a family that was taking lessons with me and they now board him here. He was never a model lesson horse but they liked him and when I said I was thinking of selling him they wanted to buy him.

angeldogs
December 13th, 2009, 11:22 PM
Is Tanner your oldest horse.?
It's nice that they can live to a good old age.

Gail P
December 13th, 2009, 11:38 PM
Is Tanner your oldest horse.?
It's nice that they can live to a good old age.

Yes, Tanner's 19, Ben's 16. I only have the two horses here now that I've stopped teaching lessons and downsized. Back in the spring and summer I sold our two ponies that we had but they were younger, age 11 and 12. The family that owns Ben also had their other horse boarded here for a few years (he was also younger, about 10 now I think?) but the girl who owns him moved to a new location after finishing university so she moved her horse closer to where she now is. Now it's just the two older boys living in semi-retirement. Neither one gets ridden too often anymore (though Tanner's still ready for anything!) but the last couple of days I put them to work plowing around where my dogsled trail is supposed to go. Figured if they were getting through all this snow that easily they could help me break trail so I can get it groomed for sledding. My feet were dragging in the snow while riding, it's so deep.

I didn't know the exact age of my first horse, but by the vet's estimation she was probably in her 30's when she passed away. Tanner's grand dam was 29 when she had to be put down, but healthy and rideable pretty much right up until the end. Her family's daughter rode her in a 25 mile charity ride when she was 28.

angeldogs
December 13th, 2009, 11:44 PM
Wow...do they get free roam or is the area their in fenced off.?

I would love to have a horse.the closest i come is a friends horse.she is 25 years old free roaming.she doesn't leave the property at all.she coraled at night and now that the winter is her she goes into the barn.she was raised around kids and dogs.

Gail P
December 14th, 2009, 12:10 AM
Wow...do they get free roam or is the area their in fenced off.?

I would love to have a horse.the closest i come is a friends horse.she is 25 years old free roaming.she doesn't leave the property at all.she coraled at night and now that the winter is her she goes into the barn.she was raised around kids and dogs.

The perimeter of our 8 acres is fenced and they get full access to everywhere except right at the house (driveway, front lawn, back yard and garden). There is also a gateway through to the field next door and they have about 2 1/2 - 3 more acres there. Ben's owner bought that property and fenced it so we could let the horses over there too.

Here's another winter picture of Tanner from, I don't know, maybe 2-3 years ago. It's not very good quality, it was taken on my old camera and it was such a dull day but I like his action.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/silhouettestable/Our%20Horses/Tanner_snow.jpg

Here's a summertime one when we were out at the local fair. Some horse photographer I am, I cut of his nice white feet! :rolleyes:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/silhouettestable/Our%20Horses/29c7.jpg

Here's one of his head, with me caught in Western gear after a parade years ago. I'm usually an english rider, have done lots of english riding and jumping but occasionally do Western for parades. I even barrel race in my english tack :laughing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/silhouettestable/Our%20Horses/b290.jpg

angeldogs
December 14th, 2009, 12:23 AM
He is a very stunning horse.in the second pic where you cut off the feet.he looks shiny and smooth to the touch.

rainbow
December 14th, 2009, 12:50 AM
Beautiful horses. :lovestruck:

Love the pics but you can keep the snow. :D

Chris21711
December 14th, 2009, 11:08 AM
Holy Gail!...that is a scary amount of snow....are you happy now :D. I hope it sticks around UP there so that you get a good mushing season in this year unlike last year.

Dog Dancer
December 14th, 2009, 03:57 PM
Oh my goodness, now that is a lot of snow! Yes, now it's coming back to me why I moved West... I love the pics. How amazing that they can even move in that stuff.

Smiley14
December 14th, 2009, 05:28 PM
Oh WOW! Besides the insane amount of snow, these are breathtakingly beautiful! I can't stop looking at them!!! :cloud9:

Gail P
December 14th, 2009, 10:37 PM
He is a very stunning horse.in the second pic where you cut off the feet.he looks shiny and smooth to the touch.
Their summer coats are always much sleeker and shinier that the fuzzy winter coats, but he had also been bathed and sprayed with ShowSheen (a hair polish that makes them very shiny and slick) for the fair.

Beautiful horses. :lovestruck:

Love the pics but you can keep the snow. :D
gladly ;)

Holy Gail!...that is a scary amount of snow....are you happy now :D. I hope it sticks around UP there so that you get a good mushing season in this year unlike last year.
I'm happy that we now have lots of snow for sledding. I'm also happy that after several days of shoveling, a neighbour finally had time to come over with a tractor and help so my truck is no longer snowed in. I'm very happy that today I was able to take my skidoo around through the fields to set a trail without burying the skidoo (after an insane amount of snowshoeing to begin to pack it down a bit first). I will be happier when I finish snowshoeing through the forest trail tomorrow and then run the skidoo around that part too. I am also happy that there are colder temperatures in the forecast, which will really firm up the snow nicely once it's packed and it will be that squeaky kind of snow (you know where every step you take it squeaks?)

Oh my goodness, now that is a lot of snow! Yes, now it's coming back to me why I moved West... I love the pics. How amazing that they can even move in that stuff.
Not only can they move through it, they were able to move through it with riders on their backs as well. My daughter and I used them to begin to break trail before snowshoeing to pack it down more.

Gail P
December 14th, 2009, 11:10 PM
Gail, I just saw your pic on the weather network!!!

What an unbievable amount of snow!

I just saw my picture again on the weather network. Somebody else has re-posted it with no indication that they are not the photographer :frustrated:

Tundra_Queen
December 17th, 2009, 08:38 AM
Gail, he is a very beautiful horse!! And u really had your pic up on the weather station? kewl!

Gail P
December 17th, 2009, 11:25 AM
Gail, he is a very beautiful horse!! And u really had your pic up on the weather station? kewl!

Thanks. And yes, the Weather Network (www.theweathernetwork.com), anyone can upload photos on there. I just put up one last night of my dog team sledding through a very snow-covered forest. I'm going to post some of those ones on here soon, just now I'm about to go outside...to go do some sledding of course :D

Ryan48
December 17th, 2009, 10:41 PM
Now, that's beyond beautiful.

RM