Has the season change we never know weather to put on our wellies or our sunhats, one minute the sun is shining the next we are surrounded by rain clouds.
We feel depressed in this weather so our horses must too.
There are a few things we can do to help them out and some herbs we can use.
Don't be tempted to over rug, if you've got a rain coat on your horse needs a rain sheet, if you're in your T-shirt they don't need a rug unless you are going to ride them it's not going to hurt them to get wet. Unless the rug is wet underneath I personally don't change rugs on a daily basis as I think they've got that rug nice and warm and then we take it off and put a cold one on.
Diet wise this is where I find using the lower calorie feeds and adding linseed helps. When we have had some sunshine and the grass springs through I can cut the linseed down, on wet or colder days I can up the linseed and offer extra hay to help keep the horse's internal furnace going.
Celery seeds can be used as a pick me up if the horse has got extremely cold and wet or after hard work.
Look after your horse's gut - add probiotics such as healthy gut to encourage good digestion, especially with the ever-changing grasses.
Offering treat balls or hiding some carrots around the field to keep them entertained and moving, for the stabled horse carrots could be hidden in the hay nets.
Try to vary your work where possible, do some in-hand work, go for a hack, or ride over some poles. Maybe even trailer out to a different venue.
Massages can help keep the horse's circulation going and offer a different way to develop the bond between you and them, there are several courses available online, I am in Jenny Adamson membership and she has a whole section on messaging, you can visit her website here.
Need further help on choosing the right supplement for your horse drop me and email.
If your horse is stabled have a look at my blog helping the stabled horse during winter.
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