Inspired tips for freezing weather...

[Auslander]

Lets share them!

I am feeling particularly smug tonight, as it suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have to keep filling water containers in my bath, then driving them up to the yard. My outside taps and automatic drinkers have been frozen every morning, but the drinkers thaw out pretty well during the day - so this evening, I filled a big trug for each stable, and all my water containers - from the plug hole in the auto drinkers..

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Only buy native ponies. put native ponies in a field with natural spring and plenty of grazing. never worry about freezing temps and horses ever again

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Fill empty squash bottles with hot tap water.
Ideal for damping feeds and then rinsing buckets after.
Can also shove them down your front - inside coat.

A bigger 2 litre bottle full of hot tap water will keep warm wrapped in a towel, also keeps small dog warm whilst waiting for me to finish chores.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Get on a plane and go somewhere hot

 

[Sleipnir]

Put horses out with a good shelter and netted round bales. Get the husband of the YO be handy and make the horses some DIY warm watering troughs. Never worry about the weather again.

 

[SEL]

Full livery - in my dreams......

 

[Auslander]

I've got 5 sports horse types, all living out and being no trouble at all. It's the stabled ones that are causing water related headaches.

Alf had a few nights in recently, and I noticed that I was having to break the ice on the trough for the two german things. As soon as he went back out, I've not had to do it - he knows what his great big feet are good for!

 

[Auslander]

Fill empty squash bottles with hot tap water.
Ideal for damping feeds and then rinsing buckets after.
Can also shove them down your front - inside coat.

A bigger 2 litre bottle full of hot tap water will keep warm wrapped in a towel, also keeps small dog warm whilst waiting for me to finish chores.

I've got an empty water container in my conservatory - ready to fill with hot water for the above purposes tomorrow morning!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I've got 5 sports horse types, all living out and being no trouble at all. It's the stabled ones that are causing water related headaches.

Alf had a few nights in recently, and I noticed that I was having to break the ice on the trough for the two german things. As soon as he went back out, I've not had to do it - he knows what his great big feet are good for!

my old luso (Portuguese bred) would use his feet-in 2010 the ponies kept a hole in the trough with their noses-they would just go regularly to keep it open but its great having burn-for lots of reasons!

 

[ycbm]

I got the OH to fit a tap to a drain pipe on the waterers that I need to keep going, and I open the tap a bit to keep the water flowing when it would freeze if it stopped. Bit late for this time, but it will help next year!

 

[Rowreach]

Battery pond heater for the field trough. Thanks to Enfys who suggested this back in the freeze of 2010 when I was having to use an axe to hack chunks of ice out of the troughs and thaw them out in buckets in front of the wood burner. Eleven days without any water, with 12 horses in, ewes lambing indoors and 20 cattle in pens. I never want to do that again.

 

[Honey08]

Once your buckets have frozen, a metal colander is great for both breaking the ice and also scooping out the ice while the water drains back into the bucket.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Our automatic waterers have stayed frozen all day. We managed to unthaw a couple of taps and I’ve filled 3 water containers and 2 buckets and put them near the radiators in the heated rug room.

For the Shetland I’ve put a water bucket inside a trug lined with feed sacks to try and stop in freezing. Big trug for my my boy with carrots and apples in it.

The troughs and buckets in the fields froze over again about 10 minutes after I broke the massively thick ice on them which took some doing. I fed an extra very wet feed this morning and a very wet feed with salt in this evening both warmed with kettle water to try to get some water in them and to encourage to drink as worried they’re not drinking much. Added some veg oil to keep things moving too.

Very glad we’ve a heated rug and tack room. Yard cat is snuggled up in the tack room on his sheepskin numnah.

Moley

 

[ycbm]

Once your buckets have frozen, a metal colander is great for both breaking the ice and also scooping out the ice while the water drains back into the bucket.

At minus eight here, my colander would look very sorry for itself if I tried that

Great tip for thinner ice though !

 

[Chinchilla]

Sell the horse(s) and adopt a hamster !!!

 

[YorksG]

To stop snow blowing in through "windows" which are there to allow air and are usually on the side away from the prevailing winds (but sadly not the snow winds), I made snow blinds out of old shower curtains, roll them down and pin in place Other air vents are now stuffed with plasric bags! The gaps in the cobs door are remaining as gaps, as when I shoved an empty feed sack in the gap she immediately dragged it into the box, faster than a bank machine eating your card

 

[Honey08]

At minus eight here, my colander would look very sorry for itself if I tried that

Great tip for thinner ice though !

It's minus eight here too. Mine coped with minus 15 last time we had a big freeze. You have to do it every hour or two anyway or the buckets freeze too much for them to drink.

Overnight our top doors are shut in these temps/blizzards and the buckets moved away from the door and surrounded by straw. I will check them at midnight.

I'm lucky to have them at home and have a couple of weeks leave though, I know!

 

[DabDab]

Full livery - in my dreams......

Yep! With a nice indoor school and a stable barn with heating

I have no clever tips unfortunately - my automatic drinkers have stayed frozen all day the last couple of days and the one I defrosted in the morning yesterday had refrozen itself by 5pm

Pebbles thinks that warm water is the best thing ever though - she was trying to drink it right out of the watering can spout as I was filling her water bucket a while ago

 

[Farcical1]

Sell the horse(s) and adopt a hamster !!!

This is a regular topic of conversation in my house; a hamster would definitely be easier! Either that or any animal that hibernates .....

 

[coss]

Pack snow around water buckets to insulate the sides. use hot water to fill up buckets (it soon mixes with the cold icy water and isn't hot any more).

Mix feeds with hot water (or warm depending how long til you will feed) and have it wetter so they end up drinking more to eat the feed.

 

[texas]

Battery pond heater for the field trough. Thanks to Enfys who suggested this back in the freeze of 2010 when I was having to use an axe to hack chunks of ice out of the troughs and thaw them out in buckets in front of the wood burner. Eleven days without any water, with 12 horses in, ewes lambing indoors and 20 cattle in pens. I never want to do that again.

Do you have a link please? The heater sounds amazing.

My tip is to use one of the wooden upright sledges to pull the water carriers to the fields. Works brilliantly, no getting the car stuck, no carrying for miles.

 

[Chinchilla]

Also, eat lots of food. Makes for stamping on ice to break it much easier.
I was literally jumping up and down on the water buckets and they would not break.
Plainly, I need to eat more pizza.

Also, I need to stop making stupid suggestions on this thread. But laughing keeps you warm I suppose, so do that, a lot.

 

[Auslander]

I've just dug out my ancient neoprene chaps - legs are now lovely and warm! Unfortunately, they don't cover my bottom, which is still rather chilly - I think my fat has frozen!

 

[Mystified]

Fill up lots of water buckets/tub trugs/water containers and cover with plastic/rugs to keep warm and stop ice forming so thick.

Remove layer of ice from buckets each day to avoid it getting thicker and thicker (Wear thick rubber gloves and use a sieve if small pieces of ice)

Take up warm water in Milk Containers to mix up warm feeds or add to water buckets so they have a warm drink.

I'm lucky as I have stable doors and back doors so can close up whichever one the wind and snow is blowing in and they still get to stick their heads outside and get ventilation.

Make-up lots of haynets in advance.

Clear snow away as soon as you are able so that it doesn't compact and then put down salt/rocksalt to keep it from freezing over. Clear enough space to access stables/tack room and fields safely.

Keep spare hay/feed/tack tools etc where you can access them easily if the snow drifts.

 

[3OldPonies]

Pack snow around water buckets to insulate the sides. use hot water to fill up buckets (it soon mixes with the cold icy water and isn't hot any more).

Mix feeds with hot water (or warm depending how long til you will feed) and have it wetter so they end up drinking more to eat the feed.

I like this snow idea, I spent ages this morning filling old hi fi bags with hot muck from the heap and putting them round the trough. Looks a mess but the water didn't seem to be freezing up so quickly.

 

[Tiddlypom]

My kitchen is cluttered with various water buckets in various stages of defosting, plus overnight the hay steamer and chest came inside to keep them company.

The stable buckets didn't freeze last night, they were warm when I put them in at tea time which seemed to tide them over. I had to shut the top doors overnight as the snow was blowing in.

I'm using a half size water bin in the field and topping it up regularly with hot water. The usual black water bins are frozen solid.

 

[Denbob]

I've put my water bucket inside another larger water bucket that's stuffed with straw to insulate it. Tried it with hay earlier in the week and the git upended his water to get to the hay (despite having not one but TWO FULL HAYNETS) which turned his stable into a sodding ice rink. Fingers crossed for better results (and behaviour) this time.

 

[Honey08]

Those caravan roller water barrels are useful for easily carrying water.

I've put my buckets inside car tyres with straw packed around them last time it was cold. I've found standing them under my in stable rug rail with a rug on it (so the rug hands down to just above the buckets) seems to help.

Today we've piled a little row of dirty straw in front of the gap under the door to stop the snow coming over. My feed room had 2" of snow in it today.

 

[DD]

feed bran a nice warm sloppy mash should stop impaction colic from eating a lot of dry hay and not drinking enough.

 

[lelly]

Once your buckets have frozen, a metal colander is great for both breaking the ice and also scooping out the ice while the water drains back into the bucket.

I do this, although I break the ice with a wooden post first. That's in my trough and it works well.