Key Hacks to Colorado

Hi all! For my second post, I wanted to talk about things I have learned while taking care of horses in Colorado. Previously from moving to Colorado, I had horses on the East Coast and before that Minnesota. Both Minnesota and the East Coast had luscious green grass in excess, plenty of good quality hay for five to six dollars per small bale, and very predictable temperate weather. Colic was less prominent, as well injury. When I moved to Colorado, I was shortly shocked by the difference in climate and necessary husbandry needs. Also, I figured out that the way I was used to taking care of my horses was not going to work in this state. These are some things I learned in the last couple of years that have seemed to help me out and keep my horses healthy and happy as much as possible. 

First and foremost, horses here need near constant access to good quality forage. This comes with its own challenges as a small bale of Timothy hay here can easily be 15-17 dollars per bale. We started feeding small bales of Timothy hay in large Haychix nets that we secure to the walls at the barn. The horses go through about one bale every two to two and a half days, which is our method of choice. I have fed off of 3x3s as well, this can just be a pain to portion out and I found I was losing more hay on the ground than what was going into the nets. Yes, hay is expensive. My board prices reflect what hay costs out here but even then it is one of my biggest expenses each year. What I spend on hay I feel that I save on vet bills because my instance of colic is low (not 0 of course we do live in Colorado) which saves me heartache, time and in the end money. Lots of barns feed small portions of hay 3-4 times a day which also works, but I have found that this practice can lead to more health issues due to large meals and one specific time which can create and impaction colic, as horses here seem to not want to drink as much water or as consistently as other climates. 

Another key issue I have found is the drastic weather changes can really mess with your horses. The barometric pressure, temperature drops, wind, and other factors can make them not want to drink water or straight up just feel crummy. I soak all of my grain with water for each meal to get that little extra fluid into them as well as add salt or electrolytes in their grain to make sure they are drinking. We also feed Probios, or some kind of probiotic when the temperature fluctuates to keep the horses’ stomachs feeling good.  Also, even though we have automatic waterers in every paddock and stall, I still offer buckets and tubs as much as possible so the horses have access to large quantities of water. Automatic waterers are amazing, but if they fill too slow or get dirty, the horses seem to not drink as much. In the same line of thinking, all of my auto waterers in the barn are cleaned daily and the outside waterers are cleaned biweekly to keep them fresh and enticing for the horses. 

When we do have the weather change, like this week when we went from a balmy 65 degrees to today, when it was a low of 1 degree, we do not ride our horses . In Minnesota, we had heated indoors connected to our stable, so this was not such an issue as here, as the horses didn’t get shocked by the change of temperature from their stall to the arena. I do not have a heated indoor for many personal reasons, so I like to cap my horses for riding at a real feel of 25 degrees. Riding in such cold weather can really mess with their lungs and feet from what I have seen. Also, cold weather riding is just fine, the fluctuation of temperature is what causes issues. If the horses can adjust to the climate over a couple of days, it is totally fine to ride! The problem is the up and down in temperature and barometric pressure that can lead to health issues. This winter has been particularly frustrating, as we have had yo-yo weather since October. Yes, we are all itching to ride, but we stay patient and wait for better, or at least more consistent weather. DISCLAIMER, I am NOT a vet, I am only speaking from personal experience and my personal feelings on this issue. 

The list goes on and on, I am sure this is one of many entries I will write on the subject of Colorado weather and horse husbandry. If you read this far, thank you. If you didn’t, I understand; this was lengthy!