Your Winter Survival Tips Please.

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parkside

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Just putting togething an article on the above topic - after last winter we need all the help we can get to survive keeping horses in the worst of the weather. Our newsletters are mailing to over 35,000 readers and i would love to add some advice from forum members....PLEASE post your top tips here.
 
Sealskinz gloves. Sense of humour. Yaktrax for your boots. Keep a kettle full of water so if the taps are frozen you can boil the kettle to try to defrost it. Refill the kettle again as soon as the water is running. If you have field kept horses use a kiddies sledge to pull the bales of hay out to the field if you don't use the big round bales. Plenty of flasks of hot chocolate, tea or coffee. Stock up on plenty of grit or salt for the yard.
 
Good quality silk thermals, a steaming muck heap to tread down and plenty of tea and cake.Large ball to float in water trough to avoid iceing up and a supply of grit from local council bins to put on the yard.(I'm not sure local council realise this!)
 
Fill all your haynets for the week at the weekend when it's light. Fill big water butts up at weekend so you've got water if the pipes freeze. Get a headlamp that attaches to your head so you can see where you're walking and get your other half to muck out:D
 
Plenty of layers and a decent waterproof coat.
Whisky...for medicinal purposes of course.
Log fire for when you get home...needs to be on and ready!
Chains or spikes for wellies in the ice.
Bubble wrap your water bucket in the field at night...helps keep the worst of the freezing at bay.
Heated gloves.
Plenty of hay in so you do not stress about running low in the worst of the weather.
If you poo pick in rubber gloves like me...get some sealskinz liners - helps stop your fingers getting cold when handling frozen poo!
A good scarf...I always feel warmer if my head and neck are warm.
Get everything purchased now and ready...rather than having to panic buy when you are already struggling.
 
spookypony said:
And how exactly does emigrating to Ontario help with the winter situation, other than that you're now living somewhere where people know how to cope? :D
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PMSL,:) I think it is just that, and as you know only too well Canadian snow isn't like British snow. Blue sky and sunshine 8 days out of 10 helps a lot too. I think because it is a fact of life, winter comes and we will have snow nd life just goes on regardless makes it so much easier to cope with, as do heated water troughs, having horses at home and efficient road clearance;)

Granted, emigrating to ON has been a bit like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, I hated British winters they made me achey and depressed, I am afraid to say that when the first snow comes here I am like a kid and I love winter now.:) I no longer get SAD and my arthriticky joints don't ache so much either.
 
put a ball or apple in the water bucket then either straw/bubble wrap or old towels around water buckets then bin liners over straw etc. Keeps them dry and stops them freezing

Don't forget your hat and scarf we lose so much heat for here!!

Sealskin gloves look for the winter ones, they are even warmer!!

Lots of hand cream too

Keep some cuppa soups etc at the yard in case of having to stay longer to look after sick horses

SMILE !!!! things always seem better if you do :D:D:D
 
got a great tip on here last year - use a collander to scoop the ice out of buckets.
take a flask of boiling water every day and hav a kettle.
store a bin full of water with a juice botle floating in the top.
buy 4wd
 
Have a slow cooker than you start in the morning then you can come home to a hot and normally cheaply made meal. Take the dogs up the yard and walk them from there two birds and one stone and all that.
 
Neoprene Boots
Wear leggings under your jods, just as good as the expensive thermal riding underwear you can buy
Plenty of E45 for your face and Chapstick for your lips - riding in bracing wind is not good for wrinkles and your complexion!
Wrap bubble wrap or towel around tap heads at night to prevent freezing
Plenty of salt (big bags you can buy at DIY stores) for icy yards - nothing like turning out ice skating horses on a frosty day
Bird seed feeder in the yard - don't forget the birds in the winter
Invest in a fleecy & waterproof, high viz exercise sheet when hacking out - good for keeping your legs warm and your horses back end!

If I think of anymore - I'll let you know!
 
If you are driving in the snow, DON'T STOP THE CAR. No matter what happens :p :p

I drove all through that vile snow last year, in a fiat punto, and I didn't get stuck once, because I didn't stop the car until I reached my destination haha.

I had to overtake countless people stopping on hills WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?

Can you tell that people who can't drive in the snow, but still decide to drive in the snow, very much annoy me...

Hmm, on a serious note, If you have connected water taps, i.e. one pipe with various hoses/taps coming off at multiple points, turn off the main tap, and leave the others on, so the water drains out of the pipe and doesn't freeze in it!
 
SophieLouBee said:
If you are driving in the snow, DON'T STOP THE CAR. No matter what happens :p :p

I drove all through that vile snow last year, in a fiat punto, and I didn't get stuck once, because I didn't stop the car until I reached my destination haha.

I had to overtake countless people stopping on hills WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?

Can you tell that people who can't drive in the snow, but still decide to drive in the snow, very much annoy me...
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I absolutley agree with this!! we went out one night last year to a fundraising do got caught out by a huge snow fall (5mins and about 4 inchs deep) and going up a country road hill some cars were stopped in the middle of the road i just over took and carried on up the bank!! stupid people they should stay inside
 
im copying and pasting this and saving to my laptop!!! first winter with the loan horse coming up, iv been told tales of frozen taps etc from other yard members, so im planning to stock up on thermals, excersize sheets, big hoodies, thermal flask thingies to bring my own water to the yard and an extra big broom to sweep up any little speck of water that is on the floor, i dont want the yard to turn into an ice rink!! (yet again, i could tie my ice skates to my horses feet and........ joking :p )

oh god, itll be some first time experience for me!!
 
blowing the water out of your hose and disconnecting it from the tap so nothing can freeze in there, plus turning off the water and draining down your taps. Lots of insulation on the taps.pipes too, life is so much easier if you have running water, even better with a fully functioning hose too.

My best investment ever has been a pair of quilted overtrousers. Quite literally something of a sanity saver. Nothing worse than being so cold you can't get warm again, or chilblains on your thighs...

Rubber Gloves (Marigolds) on top of "smart" leather gloves, I could tie up haynets wearing this attractive combo, and no frozen hands.
 
[QUOTE=PennyJ;9957634
My best investment ever has been a pair of quilted overtrousers. Quite literally something of a sanity saver. Nothing worse than being so cold you can't get warm again, or chilblains on your thighs...

Agree! i bought some fleece lined thermal and waterproof chaps last year and they were fantastic!

But why are we talking about harsh winters? With some good vibes I hope it can be balmy and lovely this winter!!!
 
I know it might be messy & unattractive, but in the worst of the weather don't sweep the yard! All the little bits and bobs of hay/straw/shavings/grit that gets blown around makes for a little extra grip, and sweeping ice/snow only makes it worse!

We could never get down the lane in our old car (rear wheel drive) as the lane had a little hill on it, and rear wheel drive cars are crapola in snow/ice, if you have the same kinda problem, make sure there is always a full water container in your car with a lead-rope to drag it across the ground to the stables if you get stuck/if your pipes are frozen
 
Some great tips so far!

a few more...

ski wear - perfect for keeping warm!
5l water bottles.... i only drink bottled water anyway so have loads of these but last winter when our mains supply burst and we had to bring water from home, a load of the other liveries copied me! go and buy the cheapest 5l water you can, then reuse the bottles!!! they are very easy to fill in your kitchen at home, light to carry through the house into the car etc!
Having horses live out 24/7 if possible does also help if you have any that can, as long as they have extra haylage, shelter that can and do cope very well. (water can be a pain though)
Water buckets freezing in stables? use the largest bucket or bin that you can, and put some fresh manure around it! it stopped mine freezing last winter, change the muck around it daily though as you dont want to start to have a muck heap in the corner of your stable.
know what all of the other horses on the yard eat - so if needs must, whoever can get down can throw hay/haylage over doors etc depending on what they have.
Get an IBC container and keep it full of water whenever possible.
 
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