Chilly horses doing just fine
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2021 (2050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Looking out at pastures from the warmth of your vehicle, it’s easy to feel bad for horses out braving the frigidly cold elements.
Fear not, said Taylor McEachern, a partner at the Phoenix Ranch Boarding Stables & Equestrian Centre. As long as they’re being cared for properly, they’re doing just fine.
Although icicles had formed on her eyelashes, Joy, a well-mannered horse covered by a blanket, appeared comfortable when McEachern visited her Sunday.
After patting the mare’s neck, McEachern walked over to Joy’s pen to make sure an electric heater was keeping the ice off her water.
A horse’s stomach can hold between eight and 15 litres and serves as a furnace for the animal, she explained.
“They require food to stay warm, so a horse in the winter really requires food 24 hours a day so they can keep that furnace going.”
Joy is one of 20 horses boarded at Phoenix Ranch, approximately one mile south of Brandon’s Maple Leaf Foods plant.
Although horses who have been shorn, are sick and/or old might require heated indoor boarding or horse blankets to stay comfortable, most do fairly well outside in winter, McEachern said.
“You can put your hand into their fur and pretty much lose your hand with the amount they grow in the winter.”
Even so, the owners behind seven horses boarded in heated pens inside deemed last weekend’s extreme cold too much for their animals and kept them inside on Sunday.
Usually, these horses will spend at least eight hours per day outside, and Sunday’s exception was the first of the year. As temperatures increased slightly on Monday, they returned outside.
Inside the heated stables on Sunday, Ava Forman, 17, brushed Ryker, a gelding.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when just about every public event has been cancelled and social interaction has been severely limited, Forman said spending time with Ryker has been even more important than ever.
“It’s really good for your mental health, just being able to get out and be with the horses and stuff.”
Even so, she added it would be nice to see at least some equestrian sports restart this year.
» tclarke@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB