Cold weather is generally harder on people and animals as the vital body heat is at the risk of loss and the general health condition is under stress. Things are tougher for horses whose hair coats are important for natural warming of their bodies but a number of health conditions relating skin also find a place in the equine population. Let us go through the following brief guide to good equine health in winter.

In general, there are a few good indicators of equine health/diseases: the skin of a healthy horse should be smooth, glossy, and elastic enough to move freely over the body underneath it; the skin of a grass-kept horse may be more greasy (which is normal and helps keep them warm); tight and dry skin (sensed by feeling and not just by looking at it) usually indicates dehydration and deficiency of essential fat beneath the skin; the membrane covering a healthy horse’s eyes, tongue, and gums should look salmon pink and not yellow, pale, or red (which indicate equine anemia and/or fever); excess sweating or signs of dried sweat also point to pain or fever.

Members of equestrian communities can prevent health problems in horses during winter by regular grooming, bathing (when necessary), and using healing agents for treating infections, wounds, and scratches. Here are some tips on better winter care for the horses in your equestrian community:

General Body Grooming: With a currycomb, remove the dirt and any other deposits on/in the hair coat. It is helpful to spray a silicon-free equestrian hair care product on the body of the horse, finally followed by grooming with a slippery finish brush in order to facilitate future cleaning.

Bathing: While giving the horse a winter bath, you must remember that the barn should be heated to make sure that cold does not take your horse to illness. A warm-water bath, once a week, will do to keep the horse clean and free from infectious microbes. Vetrolin or any other safe body wash may be added to the water for better cleaning. The horse should be dried well with a towel and, if one likes, a hair dryer can be used but avoid burning the horse’s skin/coat by holding the dryer on a single part; keep it moving over the body.

Skin Care: Daily examination of the horse’s skin is needed to catch any signs of skin infections, scratches, inflammation, redness, or abscesses etc. Cleaning the affected area well with and applying a good antibacterial/antifungal agent on it, after drying, is required to heal the skin of infectious attacks. The pasterns are particularly vulnerable to scratches. Trimming the fetlock hair periodically and treating with an antibacterial/antifungal ointment is therefore a necessary part of good equestrian care.

More than other common pets, horses need good and regular care throughout the winter to stay healthy and happy. It matters to both horses and their breeders to share their experience of equestrian healthcare with other equestrian communities in order to remove any confusion about equestrian health problems that are not common in general observation.

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