Tia ... how do you cope ......

Eaglestone

Eaglestone

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I hope this has not been asked already .... sorry if it has
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But how do you cope with these freezing conditions, we are having to endure over here at the moment in England
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I have no running water at the stables and am scatching around for water for the horses ... the large container I filled up last night for the field, was frozen SOLID this morning ... it must be impossible for you, or are you just very well prepared, unlike us here in Britain
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i think its because cold snaps happen so rarely, that this country as a whole, is totally unprepared and therefore incapable of coping.
 
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i think its because cold snaps happen so rarely, that this country as a whole, is totally unprepared and therefore incapable of coping.

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I tried to cope, but the weather beat me
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My horse's drank all their water last night and when I offered Motor a bucket of water this mornng, he knocked it over in disgust, as it had a lump of ice in it ... I felt like he had spilt the last of what was available, just like Robinson Crusoe
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Eaglestone, bury your water container in a nice steamy muckheap overnight!
It works.

I think Tia (Jade, and others in cold climates too) copes because she KNOWS that there WILL be months on end with sub zero temps and snow on the ground and prepares for that. Then, life goes on.

Seems to me that those in the UK suffering from the inconveniences of the cold spell are doing so simply because it isn't generally normal, wasn't expected and therefore preparations (insulating pipes etc) weren't made because they don't usually have to be.
 
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Eaglestone, bury your water container in a nice steamy muckheap overnight!
It works.

I think Tia (Jade, and others in cold climates too) copes because she KNOWS that there WILL be months on end with sub zero temps and snow on the ground and prepares for that. Then, life goes on.

Seems to me that those in the UK suffering from the inconveniences of the cold spell are doing so simply because it isn't generally normal, wasn't expected and therefore preparations (insulating pipes etc) weren't made because they don't usually have to be.

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Oh no, I haven't got a stream of a muckheap
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... but thanks for the 'tip'
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Where abouts are you, as your siggie is all snowy and frozen
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Stick an old tennis ball in - it helps against iche. Unless it is really, really cold. If possible put it on a pallett or bales of straw and put straw or something around to keep the wind off.and pray for better weather ;-)
 
No it isn't difficult once your property is prepared. Costs are significant getting it there though, particularly over a large area like my farm spreads, but this has been an ongoing expense since I moved out here back in 2004. Every year has become easier as every year I know exactly what needs to be in place before the arrival of winter. I would absolutely hate to go back to that first winter here
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, now THAT was a hard winter as I had nothing in place, and had absolutely no idea of what was in store for me.

As everyone else says, it's so different here. Our setups are put in place to see us through literally months and months of silly sub zero temperatures. We have heated waterers in all fields and most things are mechanised here on my farm, so it's quite easy really. The only thing which is a struggle, is that because I have so many fields spread out all around the house, I have to carry the hardfeed around them all. My huge feed bucket is heavy, and put that into 2ft of snow and wearing Michelin man suits
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, and trying to trudge through it can be hard work if I haven't plowed.

Over here, the local town services are set up for winter. Once the snow/freezing rain ends the plows are out in no time and clearing the roads, so it never takes very long to have everything back up and running again.
 
I have often wondered how you orchestrated feeding so many horses, you heave a huge bucket around?
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Not drive the fenceline with a truck!

I understand the Michelin Man syndrome well!
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During our first winter the pipes from the well froze (it didn't occur to us to check) and we spent three weeks hauling 200 litres of water daily from our creek (we had to cut a hole in the ice and use a pump to get to the water) half a mile away for the horses and the loos. A lesson very well learned.
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Yes feeding here can be quite a chore once the snow arrives, but if no snow then it's not a big deal. I have a big bucket and yes I haul it around whilst I walk the fencelines. I have to fill the bucket up twice to be able to do all the fields. I no longer use feedbuckets at fencelines though, and this has made feeding oh! so much better! They all get 2lbs of feed placed in piles along the fencelines. I always put in 2 extra piles for the amount of horses in each field, just incase someone gets pushed out of their place.

There are a few horses who are fed individually and I either keep them all together in fields so I can just dole out feed buckets and stand there with them till they have finished their feeds, or in the other 2 horses cases, I take them out of their fields to feed them. I just put them in a corral and leave them to it whilst I go round and feed the rest of the fields.

No driving wouldn't help me to be honest, as most fields adjoin the next field so I am constantly dumping piles of feed - bit like a production in a factory!
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Oh gosh, our first winter was a nightmare too. Water was okay as thankfully there were a couple of auto-heated waterers here, however I only had one 25 acre field so couldn't keep any horses separate. I didn't have any corrals so new horses just had to be dumped in with the herd; they were all fine but was a bit worrying as am so used to keeping new horses separate to begin with.

Hay was the big problem I had here. I quickly ended up with a lot of horses and was having to feed them small squares as I didn't have a tractor back then; not sure why I didn't just buy one then, but for some reason I waited till the summer to buy it, Lol! Taking out 20 bales of hay every single day for months on end and in iced conditions was a blooming nightmare!
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Heated waterers sound interesting. Not that I would need them for just the two horses but I was wondering how they worked? Solar power? Mains?
I'd be grateful if you could enlighten me Tia (if only to dash my idea to take to Dragon's den with me!!!).
 
Thanks for that Tia - bang goes my invention of heated water-troughs and buckets though!!
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Back to the drawing board!
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You sound very well prepared Tia, though it must get exhausting lugging those feedbuckets around.
I wish we had auto heated waterers, that's one thing that would really help in bad weather.
Moving from the Pennines to the soft South West was a revelation for us, Up North the taps froze, the snowdrifts were sometimes 14 feet deep filling our lane and blocking all access, sometimes we went out in the 4 wheel drive tractor by going over the top of the lot. We could always get out on a horse however, and I have pics of my husband collecting the Sunday papers on a cob from our riding school.
When we moved here we planned feeding in snow carefully, we have the big bales stacked at both ends of the farm, so in an emergency we could hand roll a bale or two to them. our tractor though would probably get there anyway.
We keep around 25 in one herd through the winter with two shelters, and feed inside in triangle shaped haylage feeders , the tractor just about loads into them with only a back spike. We have frustrating days when the tractor can't get into the buildings for mud outside on the slope, or the haylage feeders are on old stuff and the tractor won't reach them, or even worse when the bale gets stuck and you can't get the damn thing off!
Then others are in fields with good rugs on and plenty of banked holly hedged shelter, they too must have ad lib haylage not to lose weight.
The first year here I was ashamed when so many of ours looked lean, we soon learned the secret to keeping them ok was ad lib forage, even the miniature shetland rations himself when he knows it's always available.
I think the sort of conditions Tia experiences are much easier for horses to cope with than deep mud and constant rain, I know I would far rather have snow or ice than wet weather.
Keeping lots of horses together is a skill you have to learn, as anything getting bullied needs moving or a bale putting well away from the rest, even then the bullies can move in and guard that too.
The only one of ours out without daytime haylage is the stallion, and that's because he marches about all day long and doesn't bother eating it, he's in a 8 acre field so nibbles at grass.
I second the muck heap trick, we used to dig deep holes to warm our feet when I worked in a dealing yard, and it does work.
My lot have their own undershelter heating of old haylage and muck, you can see them all keeping cosy on cold nights not caring about it being a bit pongy!.
We don't scrape out the surface until the weather improves and they don't come to any harm from it.
Just thought of another tip to help anyone, spreading the used bedding makes a useful circle in a field to ride on, or a safe footpath to turn out. yes you have to clear it up when the ice goes but it does mean you can get here and there...
If you have really cold conditions to work in, take a hot water bottle there with you wrapped up in cooking foil, it's wonderful to warm your hands on when you get frozen...
 
As everyone has said, it's all in the preparation. I worked two places with heated arenas. Now THAT'S a good time.
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Proper clothes, heated water and gravity taps, insulation, snow ploughs, non-freezing footing, heated viewing/tack rooms, etc etc etc. Much easier to cope with some capital invested in the infrastructure. Oddly, I'm more frustrated by this week, with schools freezing etc than I generally was in the winter at home.

Of course, lots of people I know go to Florida to show for the winter. Now that's the best plan!
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Tia, to your feeding bucket issue, what about a sled arrangement? A friend of mine has a similar problem - horse living out quite far from the barn but not far enough to warrant using a vehicle - and she has a pull wagon for summer and a sled for winter, fixed up to hold a couple of different buckets for individual feeds etc. Another friend has a rubber tub fixed to the front grate on her ATV to hold buckets - a littler pricier option.
 
I wish I had heated buckets, instead I end up boiling kettle after kettle just to take the chill off their waters.
 
A sled would be an absolute boon TS - excellent idea, will get out there and find one which will be suitable. Actually I bet clever hubby could rig something up for me.
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Thank you.
 
ROFLMAO here about the sled!
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Why? Because when I can't be bothered to start up the quad and load hay I pinch one of Evie's plastic sled thingys and just haul a bale or two from barn to fields on that. Working on training the dogs to pull it for me!
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I've got my water butts lined up in the muck heap tonight!!

But came home from a work course Mon - Tues to find the water trough empty apart from ice, and the chap who's been looking after them for me had been coming back and forth from his house several times a day filling up 2 little buckets - aw bless!

I think he was a bit shocked with the amount they actually drink in a day!

We managed to de-ice the stand pipe this morning with kettles, and then I filled up all the water canisters I've got, all the buckets and have got a kettle filled ready for tomorrow morning!

Things had thawed out quite a lot when I got home from work tonight though, so I'm hoping we won't have to do too much more of this!
 
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A sled would be an absolute boon.

Thank you.

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Glad I could be of help.
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I think hers is one of the wooden ones for little kids with sides on it but I've also seen people use the regular flat ones. I have to say I was a bit shocked last time I went toboggan shopping - they're much smaller and flimsier than the ones of my youth!

I'm sure some clever soul could rig something up with a box and a set of old skis, even.

The little wagon is a boon, too. One person I rode for used to take theirs to The Royal and laugh as we did, they got the last laugh when the rest of us were waiting for the floats to come and take our stuff out and they trundled by with their trunk balanced on it.
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I drove in snow on the M3 this evening. Nothing by Ontario standards but then again, if I was in Ontario I'd have proper snow tires and wouldn't be surrounded by people panicking.
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