Karenchaton.com - Full Article
by Karen Chaton
If you live in an area with real winters or just have a horse that grows in a super heavy winter coat you know that riding and conditioning this time of year can be a challenge. It’s hard to get in good rides not just because of the shorter daylight but because you don’t want to bring back a sweaty horse that is going to stay wet for hours, often past dark if you aren’t able to ride early in the day.
Those of you that have indoor barns are sure lucky but since I know many don’t here are a couple of tips from an endurance rider on how to manage keeping or getting your horse conditioned through the winter months.
Horses with heavy winter coats can easily heat up so be sure to keep an eye out for that. They sweat, but the sweat doesn’t dry quickly so that can add to the problem with the horse overheating, losing electrolytes and then possibly becoming chilled. It can be quite tricky to find the right balance to keep your horse comfortable.
I try to plan to not bring a wet horse back to the barn after around 3 p.m., otherwise I know they’ll still be wet for several hours...
Read more here:
http://www.karenchaton.com/2016/12/winter-riding-horse-care-tips/
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