Winter Warriors: Supporting Your Horse’s Physical and Mental Wellbeing Through Winter

Winter places unique demands on horses. Shorter daylight hours, cold and wet weather, restricted turnout, and changes in diet and routine all interact to influence comfort, health, and behaviour. While horses are naturally resilient, modern management means their ability to cope through winter depends largely on informed, thoughtful care.

Winter does not have to be something horses simply endure. When physical and psychological needs are addressed together, it can be a season in which horses remain comfortable, mobile, and mentally settled—emerging into spring in stronger overall health.

Below, we explore the key winter challenges horses face and how each can be managed in a way that supports both wellbeing and long-term resilience.

1. Beating the Cold Without Over-Rugging

Horses are physiologically well adapted to cold conditions, particularly when dry, well fed, and able to move freely. However, clipping, ageing, illness, and increased workloads alter thermoregulation and energy requirements. Cold stress is often subtle, presenting as gradual weight loss, stiffness, lethargy, or reduced immune resilience rather than obvious shivering.

Supporting thermal comfort involves:

• Selecting rugs based on weather conditions, wind exposure, and individual body condition—not fixed dates

• Checking daily under rugs to avoid overheating or moisture accumulation

• Providing natural or artificial shelter from wind and rain

• Prioritising forage intake, as fibre fermentation is a primary source of internal heat

💡 Physiologically, forage intake contributes more to warmth than additional rug layers when nutrition is insufficient.

2. Winter Nutrition: More Than “Just Extra Hay”

As pasture availability declines, horses rely entirely on conserved forage and supplementary feeding. At the same time, energy demands increase due to thermoregulation. This combination makes winter a high-risk period for unintended weight loss and nutrient insufficiency.

Effective winter nutrition focuses on both calories and micronutrient balance:

• Consistent access to good-quality hay or haylage

• Regular body condition scoring (hands remain more reliable than visual assessment under rugs)

• Additional fibre or oil where energy demands exceed forage intake

• Vitamin and mineral provision to compensate for reduced pasture-derived nutrients

🧠 Nutrition influences not only body condition, but also immune competence, mood, and stress tolerance.

3. Movement Matters (Even When It’s Cold)

Reduced turnout and frozen or muddy ground often limit movement during winter months. Prolonged inactivity affects joint lubrication, circulation, gastrointestinal motility, and overall comfort, particularly in older horses or those with existing musculoskeletal strain.

Supporting healthy movement includes:

• Turning out whenever conditions are safe, even for limited periods

• Encouraging locomotion through multiple forage locations

• Incorporating in-hand exercise, groundwork, or low-intensity schooling

• Allowing longer, progressive warm-ups to protect muscles and joints

🐾 From a physiological perspective, regular low-intensity movement is more protective than intermittent strenuous exercise.

4. Protecting Mental Wellbeing During Long Stable Hours

Horses are highly motivated to move, forage, and interact socially. Winter stabling restricts these behaviours and may lead to frustration, anxiety, or the development of stereotypical behaviours. Behavioural stress is not purely psychological—it has measurable effects on digestion, immunity, and musculoskeletal recovery.

Supporting mental wellbeing involves:

• Maintaining predictable daily routines

• Providing visual or physical contact with other horses

• Using slow feeders and varied forage placement to encourage natural foraging behaviour

• Allowing regular, calm human interaction such as grooming or in-hand work

❤️ A settled mental state supports physiological balance across multiple body systems.

5. Hooves, Mud, and Winter Ground Conditions

Persistent wet conditions compromise hoof horn integrity and create an environment conducive to thrush, abscesses, and skin irritation. Poor footing also increases the risk of slips, strains, and compensatory movement patterns.

Preventative winter hoof care includes:

• Daily hoof inspection and cleaning

• Dry, hygienic stable bedding

• Ongoing farrier input throughout winter

• Early intervention at the first signs of infection or tenderness

🪵 Hoof health underpins soundness, comfort, and willingness to move during winter.

6. Breathing Easy: Winter Stable Air Quality

With increased time spent indoors, horses are exposed to higher levels of dust, mould spores, and ammonia. Research shows that even clinically healthy horses can develop airway inflammation under these conditions, often without obvious outward signs.

Protecting respiratory health requires:

• Effective ventilation without creating draughts

• Low-dust bedding and forage

• Steaming or soaking hay where appropriate

• Thorough, regular stable hygiene

🌬️ Good air quality is a cornerstone of winter respiratory health—not an optional extra.

Winter Is a Season of Care, Not Compromise

Winter challenges invite closer observation and more intentional management. Physical systems—respiratory, digestive, musculoskeletal, immune—are deeply interconnected, and mental wellbeing influences them all. When these needs are addressed together, winter becomes a period of consolidation rather than decline.

A horse that is comfortable, nourished, mobile, and mentally settled through winter does not simply endure the season—it emerges into spring healthier, more resilient, and better prepared for the demands ahead.