HHO Winter Survival Guide.

I am using four, ten litre containers filled with hot water each day. Relatively easy to carry to the field and just enough to keep my two hydrated with hot/warm water for a few hours a day.Alternate days hubby brings 4 20 litre containers to keep it topped up. That and a very big bucket of very sloppy, hot speedy beet with Dengie Hi fi, a scoop of happy hoof and loads of carrots, swede, and apples, and a bale of hay between them. I can only visit once a day so have to get as much fluid into them when I am there. I think it was somewhere like - 10/-12 or more last night.
 
Water buckets in the stable, only fill 3/4 full then top up each with a kettle full of boiling water, has stopped them freezing in the night. Also using loads of Horse Quencher, anyone needing any in the South message me
 
new top tip: use a wooden fence post or similar, dropped vertically, rather than a hammer, to smash the ice on troughs, it's a lot easier and there's a lot less risk of an ice shard going in your eye.
then use a metal sieve to take all the ice pieces out so it takes longer to freeze again...
 
bought these in June summer sale!! only paid £10 and they have been a total godsend all winter, never got cold once (and i get very cold feet all the time!). Fur fleece lined all the way down to the tips of your tootsies :) ,totally waterproof and fab thick tread for grip.
http://www.cottontraders.co.uk/wilderness-boot/invt/aq10355/&bklist=icat,2,

just wondering on a back-flip to the start of this thread what is the weirdest thing anyone has done through the winter so far!
(i wee'd on the padlock as i forgot warm water to defrost it! never had to do this before in over 20 yrs of owning horses)
 
Before I had an automatic water feeder I used to use a garden trug with wheels, it's like a biiiiig trug high up one side with a handle and wheels so kinda works like a water wheel barrow, plus you can leave it in the stable :) (I used to put a flexible trug inside it coz it's plastic and I didn't want it to crack)

Also Primark for all in one fleece pyjamas that go nicely under (or over) clothes and are only £8!

Can't value snoods enough, great for ears, head, holding hair back.

Completely agree with the duvet idea, toasty pony!

Underarmour/Baselayers are a godsend coz they wick and you don't get the sweaty followed by cold dampness.

Putting hot water in buckets doesn't always work because depending on size etc hot water actually freezes quicker than cold water (try it in your freezer if you don't believe me)
 
Wear a thin, skinny fitting fleece next to your skin under your t-shirt and jumper. It seems to make more of a difference if it's the first layer rather than the top layer.
 
Enfys said:
Hey! Who you calling a berk? :mad:;) Thousands of us who have snowy winters every year can't be wrong!

I have loads of these, but my favourites are my rabbit fur (yes REAL fur) lined ones. That and neck warmers.
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Barber jackets are sooooooo warm x
 
bensonthewonderhorse said:
I have a pair of wellies one size too big so I can get extra layers of socks on, usually one thin pair and a pair of walking socks. This keeps my feet warm without my boots being too tight, i believe restricting blood flow to the feet can cause chilblains as much as the cold weather! Haven't had chill blains for years now.........
Shouldn't have written that I will probably get the worst ones ever now!
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also if your feet or ringers are cramped it makes your feet feel like they are freezing x
 
Try putting this in stable yard or new lounge as a new post. This is an old post (stickied) about winter. People are probably more concerned about dry ground etc at the moment!

ets survey completed.
 
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after seeing this thread titled everyday on the forum i thought i'd finally read through it! some fluffing good tips everyone :)

mine is: get a welsh. when the bugger turns and pulls her way out of the stable she so loathes to get to the field you can just hang on the lead rope and wollah, a ski trip to the paddock! :rolleyes:
 
Love the fact nobody thought last winter could be worse than the previous one! It was definitely the hardest in my area for as long as I can remember!

My hay for the whole year is in, we'll do a feed run before the bad weather starts being forcast and I invested in some yaktrax last winter so I'm prepared for all ice walking!

I'm seriously considering popping down to our local TK Maxx (althought I hate it in there, ours is like Next in the boxing day sale!!) to get some cheapy base layer and ski stuff, failing that it'll be down to the outdoor megastore to see if I can pick up some bargains! The back of the Defender will be loaded with a few essentials, included some choc and crisps incase I should happen to get stuck anywhere!
 
My horses always get a warm feed 3 times daily in the winter, but theire spoilt! Do not put warm water in your outsaide bucket/trough as warm water freezes quicker than cold! Dont ask why its just fact lol! Keep your horses very well rugged! Mines are clipped over the winter and i put duvet and two stable rugs on! Might sound alot but remember horses dont move about in the stable to generate heat! I use straw throughout the year but love it especially in the winter as it provides a big cosy warm bed for the horses in the winter! BUY WATER CONTAINERS and prepare for yard taps and hoses to be frozen! Always put a thick layer of vaseline on your horses sole to prevent the snow clogging up the soles of their hooves! Always provide extra hay/haylage and plenty or small but regular hard feeds as winter time is when your horse will need the energy of the feed to produce heat and they will lose condition unless fed accurately!
:)
 
some of my updates ready for this winter ahead:
My 4 live out 24/7, 365. Arabs, TB, and TB x CB.

best £800 investment in an old Cherokee Jeep, only getting used to get to field when its icy/frosty/snowing.
After 2 separate weeks of not being able to get to the field the winter before last, (quite a few miles off the beaten track) it was awful. thankfully the local farmer took the hay!
so last winter- every single day with water and bucket feed was possible-and not to mention the peace of mind which is priceless. entering this winter with positive relief i can get back and fore again. yes - last winter was worse but i have a very bad feeling this one is going to be even worse than the last two!!!

cotton traders have mucker type short boots, with super grip sole and fleece lined. wore them last year and they were brilliant and warm, practically lived in them lol - cant wait to get them on again :-)
wear normal cotton socks, then put bed socks on top if wearing wellies!!

i have bought a second hand sheep ring, just need another - we have two large round hay bales delivered at a time and the horses have this ad-lib. will see how we manage with wastage on the ring compared to the bale without.

i have bought the TB (new boy, very thin skinned ex-racer) a fleece hoodie so this is the first time im using one, going to get some for the others too.
also have spare old duvets ready to trial although, they have 3 rugs on at the coldest time and 1 or 2 are full necks anyway. its all in the layers to sandwich warm air in :D

i have layered carpets at the field entrances so you dont sink in the mud - sa far - working BRILLIANT! you must put something on top of them fairly quickly as the horses will play with them, paw them up or when wet, sink and make dips in the mud. Currently putting patio slabs over, then rough shavings in areas we have run out of slabs. (anyone getting rid of any in South Wales - please shout me lol)

i have bought myself waterproof fleece riding gloves for £7 from Derby house- not tried them yet but they sound good at a good price.

gooutdoors have a sale on base layers £15 for top and bottom set. i do have a set from visiting prague a few years ago and they really do work-but never worn them down fields. i have bought waterproof fleece chaps this year to ride in, but not tried them yet either.

going to try turn-out leg wraps for the first time too, extra protection against the mud but they live out so not practical when raining?? but great when dry for extra warmth.
 
For the non vegetarians - forget wolly hats, fleece hats etc get yourself a genuine rabbit fur Ushanka hat (Russian hat). Very, very warm and quite stylish too!
 
RutlandH2O said:
Despite having water troughs and taps in all stables and in the 3 sections in our pole barn, everything was frozen for 3 weeks. All the water pipes are
lagged, but this past winter took no notice. So, we were hauling dozens of
buckets of water several times a day and night. We have a tap just outside
the house that never froze, and it became our lifeline. OH destroyed his
back, and mine is not much better. Several months ago, I found a product
called H2GO. It is a thick, soft plastic container with a sealable spout at one
end, that has a capacity of 80 litres. This receptacle is placed in a wheel
barrow, spout at the front end, and filled with a hosepipe. It can then be
wheeled to any trough, bucket, tub for fast, efficient filling by simply tipping
the barrow forward. I bought 2 and have a niggling feeling they will be used rather frequently this winter. I bought them from 2 different vendors on eBay as Buy it Now. They cost between £5 and £8. I'm pretty confident
they will be a vast improvement over the sloshy, small capacity buckets.
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only use the excellent H2Go water carrier thingy mentioned by RutlandH20 with sturdy wheelbarrows - the weight of the water broke my folding wheelbarrow this Summer at a show :(
 
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Ariat Insulated Tek Grip gloves...amazing. And Ariat Grasmeres - not just for the yard, I wore mine in the office at work all last winter!
 
Just remember that occasionally - pretty frequently - in winter, we get those lovely bright crisp mornings where there's no cloud, just bright sunshine. Things thaw out pretty quickly, the muddy bits of the fields are solid again (yay!) and those days are the best to ride on. Just remember - cami top, t-shirt, long-sleeved top, jumper, scarf and thick coat... :p
 
Not sure it this has been said, but kid's plastic sledges are great for moving things when there's snow or ice. Just put the item on top and tow it along. Saves fighting with wheelbarrows!
 
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