Healthy and Happy
This Winter!
With winter well and truly on its way, Everything Horse magazine team up with Safe-Care
Equine to offer some great advice on how to keep your horse happy and healthy winter. There’s
also some great goodies up for grabs!
R
ebecca D’Arcy from British
brand Safe-Care Equine,
the natural grooming
products company explains
how with winter just around the
corner, we all need to note the
importance of caring for our horses
and thinking about what changes
we need to make to our routines to
accommodate, cold and often wet
weather.
“When it comes to ensuring you
and your horse survive the winter
months of course, the basics such as
warmth, shelter, food, and checking
your water isn’t frozen over are key,
but there’s more to consider where
your horse’s health is concerned.
Happy Hooves
No one likes having wet feet
including horses! Most of us
will recognise seeing our horse’s
standing by the gate wanting
to come in and it’s here that
you usually find the ground
especially boggy. If hooves are
left standing in wet conditions for
prolonged periods (Both in the
stable and field) there is a danger
of developing some nasty hoof
conditions so you could try the
following:
• Putting wood chippings or
mulch around the gate area to
soak up the moisture, you’ll
need to top it up regularly.
• Ensure that you skip out your
stable regularly, removing
the wet more often if they are
being stabled for longer and
provide a good base layer for
extra comfort.
• Pick feet out and thoroughly
check every day, also watch
out for signs of discomfort.
• Keep the farrier visits in the
diary – Hooves need all yearround care.
• Use a germicide to help keep
hooves healthy, our Bio-Hoof
is quick and easy to use and
helps support healthy hooves.
Mud Management
The dreaded mud-fever is all too
common during the wet winter month’s
and even harder to manage once it takes
hold and the skin is broken and scabby.
Remember an infection can also lay
dormant and hidden by winter hairy legs
and it doesn’t take much to bring it on,
so keep a careful eye on your horse.
Take preventative action by using a
barrier cream – it takes seconds to apply
and can avoid distress later on. Our own
Barrier Cream is soothing and protective
so really helps.
If you are treating mud fever, try to
keep the legs, and heels as dry as possible
and keep them clean with an antibacterial wash.
Applying an emollient cream and
bandaging the legs making sure you
cover heel area is another option chosen
by some horse owners, but only bandage
if the area is clean and dry and if in
doubt always consult veterinary advice.
Image: Take preventative
action by using a barrier
cream – it takes seconds
to apply and can avoid
distress later on.
Image: Safe-Care Equine Happy Feet Pack
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Everything Horse Magazine • Issue 25• October 2015