Important facts about your horse during coat changing time.
- The horse’s brain has a sensor for the length of daylight. When the days become longer or shorter, hormones are emitted that stimulate the production of the new coat.
- It can be much more demanding of the horse than we think and takes a huge amount of energy.
- It can be much more demanding of the horse than we think and takes a huge amount of energy. Horses may be itchy, tetchy, lacking in energy and have reduced immunity - all signs that they may require help.
Important tips for during the change of coat:
- Regularly check the condition of your horse’s skin: during the shedding period, horses are more susceptible to fungal or parasitic infestations.
- Pay increased attention to your horse’s health: the immune system can be severely weakened and the horse becomes more susceptible to illness and infection in general.
- Avoid wet washes: due to the enormous amount of (dead) coat, the drying time after a horse wash is prolonged. Moisture and shampoos change the skin flora, which plays a major role in the defence against skin infections, especially during the change of coat.
- Provide a balanced diet: During coat change, horses need more nutrients. Feeding oils rich in fatty acids and vitamins, like hemp oil or linseed oil can help.
3 Reasons to embrace the winter and train in the rain!
Reason #1 - Riding in the rain helps condition you and your horse for poor conditions at shows.
Reason #2 - Practicing in the rain develops an immunity to dodging puddles.
Reason #3 – Working horses in bad weather is an exercise in patience.
Work on a new skill
- During the show period is not always the best time to try something new
- Wintertime can often give you opportunities to be experimental
- Practice lots and feel comfortable before trying out your new skill at a show
Warm Up and Cool Down Properly to Reduce Injury
Warming up and cooling down are vital in low temperatures. Horses take longer to warm up in cold weather because their muscles and joints take longer to loosen up. After warming up, the muscles contract more strongly and quickly, and become more pliable, protecting them from injury. The nerves controlling the muscles are more sensitive and work faster at higher temperatures, making reactions quicker. The warm-up of tendons and ligaments can result in change of their structure and strength, and improve their flexibility.
- Doubling your warm-up time during winter by a gradually increasing pace will be good to prepare the cold muscles for work. You can try increasing the time you spend walking before moving on to trot or canter.
- Keep them warm - use exercise sheets in cold weather especially on clipped horses.
- As for the cool down, gradually decrease the pace and keep walking your horse until he/she stops breathing heavily.
- Unclipped horses should be cooled down for longer as they are more likely to be sweaty, so keep walking until they have stopped sweating.
- Don't let clipped horses get cold during cooling down, throw an exercise sheet on to prevent muscle tightness.
Indoor Jumping can bring its own challenges!
Jumping indoors — whether you’re training or competing — can be a whole different ballgame, so it’s important that both you and your horse are prepared.
Tips for indoor jumping
Shorten your distances in training:
When competing indoors over fences you’ll be faced with shorter related distances — three- or four-stride combinations rather than seven or eight. Build these distances at home to help your horse deal with them.
Practise in tight spaces:
Space will be tighter when competing indoors and you’ll be jumping ‘into’ the wall. You can practise this at home — just position the jumps near the edge of the arena or fence line and closer together than usual. This will help you both hone your skills at jumping on and off tight turns, as well as short lines to the approach of a fence.
Make the most of every corner:
Use all the corners when you’re competing indoors, because there will be less room to take a turn and so you must utilise the space that’s available well. Cutting corners wastes precious space that could mean the difference between a good stride and a poor one, and a clear round or jumping penalties.
Beware of shadows:
Shadows occur outside on sunny days too, of course, but when you’re jumping indoors the way the lights shine on some fillers may be spooky and dark corners could cause a spook too. Indoor arenas can be noisy too, with the sound of voices, footsteps, etc.
Embrace the winter! Summer will come sooner than you think!
