-       End you ride with a nice long walk on a road or packed snow if possible.  Just walking through deep snow is quite a workout. Your horse can get pretty warm even with a simple walking ride.

-       A sweaty horse after a ride is a cold horse.  Do your best to dry your horse off and use a fleece cooler to help draw the moisture away from their body while keeping them warm.  Do not turn your horse out until they are dry!  Because of the cold it will take longer than normal for a horse to dry off.  Be prepared to have your horse cooling off in a stall for 1-2 hours after your ride before they are dry enough for turn out.

-       Clipping your horse.  Depending on how much winter riding you do you might find it beneficial to clip your horse.  This will help them regulate their temperatures better during winter work so they aren’t prone to sweating.  Just be sure to follow proper blanket management for the type of clip chose for your horse.

-       Offer warm water.  Hot horse drinking cold water could cause colic.  Wait until your horse cools down and offer them heated water.  Either boil some in a teapot and add to a bucket or better yet use heated buckets! 

-       Dehydrated horse? Believe it or not most horses like Gatorade (mine like orange flavor).  The sweetness of a few scoops of Gatorade in their water bucket entices them to drink up and the added electrolytes help their system rebalance.

Winter riding is a blast and there is nothing more beautiful than enjoying a fresh snow on a crisp winter morning.  Ride Safe.

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Cooking or Silicone Spray – This offers a temporary solution and is really easy to apply. Just pick up the foot, brush it clean and spay. Usually this method will prevent the snow from packing up in the hoof for 5-10 minutes.

Full Hoof Snow Pad – Made of hard plastic
Pros – You will never have to worry about snow building up in the hoof, period!
Cons – You can’t see the hoof! What’s going on under there

Silicone Snow Pad – A ring of silicone that fits between the hoof and the shoe.

Pros – you can see the bottom of the hoof and clean under the pad
Cons – This pad still can allow snow to build up if it packs up under the pad and is horrendous to clean during mud season

Horse Hoof Boots – My personal favorite  Choose your style and manufacturer there’s tons of them out there. Your horse can still be turned out barefoot and strap the boots on when you need them. I personally like the Old Mac’s because of the hiking boot type tread that is on the bottom which gives better grip.

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