# How do you prepare for winter?



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I live in OK which you would not think of as all that cold. HOWEVER, when we get an ice storm it can hang around for a while and knock power out to a large area for a long time. Last bad storm we had a friend of mine lost power for over 1 month. So, I've dealt with some pretty cold ugly spells. What I find is that individual buckets freeze really quickly (unless heated of course) so most of mine have tubs that hold 20-25 gallons in them and I use a quick heater to defrost them quickly. I also have a heavy net with metal frame to break ice and haul it out of the tubs. Heated buckets are great unless you lose power. 

I've had my hay in since July/Aug, blankets are all clean and sorted by size. I buy fresh feed every 2 weeks, just takes up too much room to store it otherwise. Oh and I have lots of bedding for the messiness of winter. Since we freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw, it gets really muddy and yuck. 

For power, do you have some kind of back up?


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

I used a plastic flat bottom sled, like kids use, to pull my muck bucket out into the field to dump it. I lived where it was -30F for a good part of the winter, and wind. My underground water lines never froze, but my water hydrant (the kind with the long handle that drains the water back down into the line) would get frozen so I couldn't pull it up to turn on water. I kept a regular heating pad in the barn that I could tie around the faucet and handle to heat it up in a very short time. A hair dryer would also work. I had a 150 gallon galvanized trough for water with a floating heater to keep off ice. Since they were out during the day, they got lots of water and didn't drink that much out of a bucket while stalled. If I think of more I'll be back. It's been a long time since I cared for my own horses.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

My tank has a bottom plug so I attach a hose and let it run away outside the pasture. I have waterproof winter gloves from Cabela's.

I use a sled that fits one bale to feed from so I can scatter the hay better. Meds get brought in. I feed on the ground in most pastures. At one place I feed in tire tubs with wood bottoms.

My horses have a run in shed and wind breaks. No stalls.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Dreamcatcher - yes, we have a generator for extended power outages. Though we could probably make do without one for a while as far as the horses go. Our paddock has a solid top board and I keep them in there if the power goes out. If we have an extended power outage, we plug in the generator a couple of hours a day just to keep things going. We have the ability to heat our house without electricity so the generator is just to power up essentials like the water pump. 

Whinnie - I love the sled idea. Currently, I have a wagon rather than a wheelbarrow for mucking out. Works fine this time of year, but eventually, that might get messy. A muck bucket in a sled is a great idea. I'm looking at various options to keep the water from freezing too quickly, including insulating it along with using a water heater. 

boots - I like the idea of the plug and actually looked for one, but wasn't able to find one. But my water trough is not too big for me to dump out, however, it's going to be too messy to do that in the winter. Maybe I should put the water trough on a sled! You're also reminding me that I need to bring my first aid kit and anything else containing liquids into my basement. I think that's probably where I'll keep their hay cubes as well, since I soak them. The garage would be convenient too, since it's attached to the house and stays cool all winter, but rarely freezes.


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## Abzeez (Aug 22, 2016)

I use 16 gallon heated buckets. One is in a stall that opens to a paddock, the other is in a paddock further down that I bucket water to. I've decided I hate freezing hoses enough that it is worth just bucketing water to the back paddock. Plus I like being able to clean them regularly, as they are easy to handle.

I have two pastures and both gates to them are shut by the end of October. My pastures are small, and I've read that giving the smaller pastures a break from horse traffic in the winter benefits them. 

A couple sleds for trucking hay are life savers! Hay bags also help with hay waste. I have an all wooden paddock that shares a fence line with a partially wire paddock. I hang bags all along the wood on both sides. I try to hang enough to only have to do it every two days, but if it's super cold and they are eating more, they may only last a day. I love hay bags! So little hay waste!! No more throwing a bale on the ground in the middle of s snow storm, only to watch it blow right out the fence into the corn field. 

I was actually just prepping for winter today! It's too soon! Much too soon! Rumor has it we'll be seeing a lot of snow this year. 😢 I just can't think about that!!!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Abzeez said:


> I use 16 gallon heated buckets. One is in a stall that opens to a paddock, the other is in a paddock further down that I bucket water to. I've decided I hate freezing hoses enough that it is worth just bucketing water to the back paddock. Plus I like being able to clean them regularly, as they are easy to handle.
> 
> I have two pastures and both gates to them are shut by the end of October. My pastures are small, and I've read that giving the smaller pastures a break from horse traffic in the winter benefits them.
> 
> ...


My pasture is small too... and if we want to drag it and lime it before the ground freezes hard, it would probably be wise to close it off sooner. Not much point in letting them in there when the grass has stopped growing either. 

What are hay bags? Can you post a picture or a link to something similar? I was going to use hay nets with small holes and build a wooden box that would fit a bale for the paddock, but in their stalls, I'd like something that would slow down their eating. They have slow-feeder hay nets that are a cheap version of a nibble net, but honestly, I don't think it makes much difference - they just plow through that hay! Maybe the holes are too big.


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## Abzeez (Aug 22, 2016)

Why am I calling them bags??? Forgive me, I'm tired! They're nets, but I guess they could be bags, as one brand I have had are called "Nag Bags." I buy mine here Hay Chix I Simple Feeding Solutions I Made in USA I (651) 465-3333 I Cinch Chix 

Nag Bags are out of Canada. I love their netting material, but I have found that they are not as easy to use as the Hay Chix brand. The Hay Chix brand comes with a toggle that prevents the rope from slipping through. The Nag Bags don't have this so the rope can pull right through the net - pain to deal with when your hands are already close to frostbite!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Abzeez said:


> Why am I calling them bags??? Forgive me, I'm tired! They're nets, but I guess they could be bags, as one brand I have had are called "Nag Bags." I buy mine here Hay Chix I Simple Feeding Solutions I Made in USA I (651) 465-3333 I Cinch Chix
> 
> Nag Bags are out of Canada. I love their netting material, but I have found that they are not as easy to use as the Hay Chix brand. The Hay Chix brand comes with a toggle that prevents the rope from slipping through. The Nag Bags don't have this so the rope can pull right through the net - pain to deal with when your hands are already close to frostbite!


Yep, these look a lot like mine. I haven't used them yet so don't know if there is something to prevent the rope from slipping through, but I know EXACTLY what you mean! I have one that is meant for hanging and it does that. Very annoying. 

And I agree, I have zero interest in throwing a hay bale on the snow just to see half of it blown away or wasted. I have just enough hay for the winter with just a little to spare - mostly because I don't have a lot of storage. Don't worry, we have a plan B in case we run out (we have friends who run a large boarding facility and just bought 9000 bales of hay!), but I'm not keen on wasting it. For the first time in a year, my Arab is not coughing because of this hay. I aim to treat it like lobster!


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I bought my first tank heater probably 30 years ago and have never looked back. I prefer the drain plug de-icers but use a floating one for the minis tank since it's a galvanized metal tank. Have the Rubbermaid 100 gallon tanks and the heaters specifically for them for the other horses. Wouldn't be without them. I drain the hose after each use when it starts getting cold so I don't have issues with frozen hoses unless hubby uses them. Then I just stuff them down into the tank that still has the most water in it and it doesn't take long for the ice inside the hose to melt enough to let water flow through which will flush out the rest of the ice. If the electricity goes out we might have to bust the ice on top for a few days but I think the longest our power has ever been out has been about 72 hours and that was because tornadoes knocked down trees over the wires and sheared off a bunch of poles so both poles and wires had to be replaced. 

All liquids will get moved to the garage.

Round and square bales are ready for when we need them. Usually we don't need to start feeding hay (well except the minis who get hay year round instead of pasture) until sometime in Dec.

That's pretty much all we have to do to get ready for winter. I think hubby puts some kind of additive in his tractor & truck which both use diesel. I haven't had to blanket a horse since an old mare, who would get the shivers if she was cold and wet, has been gone.

Oh, and it's sad to say our trailer is still winterized from last year since we haven't used it at all this year.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

If you lose power where will you get water from?

I always shut the horses in during bad weather. If the stalls are shut the horses are in them.

Ice will be your biggest problem and you may need to shut them in for periods that are super icey.

Our water pump is insulated and we only had a problem once. You can get a heated wrap for it but ours doesn't need it (and it's outside too).

I try to hay inside.

There are definitely times when you will be wanting 2 buckets 

I'll get back to this if I think of anything else.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Speaking for myself we have city water so no electricity needed. Kinda weird for living about as rural as you can get in the state of Indiana. When we lived in Indianapolis we were on a well. LOL


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yogiwick said:


> If you lose power where will you get water from?
> 
> I always shut the horses in during bad weather. If the stalls are shut the horses are in them.
> 
> ...


I've thought about the water issue. There's no easy solution, especially if the power outage goes on for several days. It will require some work to keep the horses watered, but it can be done in several ways. We can run the water pump with the generator (probably the easiest because it only has to run for a few minutes, but there have been instances where is was nearly impossible to get gas for generators because gas stations had no power - we keep our generator full and have extra gas cans, but at some point, we could run out I suppose). We can get water from the streams on our property. That would be a lot more work because we'd have to break the ice with an ax, but we have actually done this before so we could flush the toilets in the house. Hubby has an ATV with tracks and we have large containers that we can use to haul water. A lot of work, but not impossible. Inside the house, we have a wood stove so we could also melt snow on it, but that would take a pretty long time.

I should add that anytime a big storm comes in, we have gotten in the habit of filling the tub with water. We keep jugs of drinking water in storage, but having a full tub means we can scoop it out to wash dishes, flush toilets, etc. I suppose I could fill some buckets in the garage for the horses too.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Acadianartist said:


> Dreamcatcher - yes, we have a generator for extended power outages. Though we could probably make do without one for a while as far as the horses go. Our paddock has a solid top board and I keep them in there if the power goes out. If we have an extended power outage, we plug in the generator a couple of hours a day just to keep things going. We have the ability to heat our house without electricity so the generator is just to power up essentials like the water pump.


I was thinking in terms of heated water buckets and/or the quickie defroster that I use. Without power they aren't very useful. 

Here's my quick heater: Rapid Water Heater in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery

This is the best $20 I ever spent: Dura-Tech® Strainer & Ice Breaker in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery

I'm going to try a couple of these this winter and see how they hold up: 
High Country Insulated Bucket Holder in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I was thinking in terms of heated water buckets and/or the quickie defroster that I use. Without power they aren't very useful.
> 
> Here's my quick heater: Rapid Water Heater in Water Buckets / Waterers at Schneider Saddlery
> 
> ...


I'm intrigued by the bucket holder idea. I'd like to build a box around my water trough so it doesn't freeze quite so quickly. Also because I hate the idea of heating water in an open trough where a good chunk of the heat gets dissipated on all sides. Have looked at plans to build one, but I'm not that handy, sadly, so not sure I'll get around to it this year.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I'm from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border but believe me, down here in southern Middle Tennessee, I have had my pastures ice up to where the horses couldn't break thru it and I kept them up by the barn for a week until it melted.

I have heated outdoor tubs and heated buckets for the stalls. My grandfather had a box around the main water tub and he stuffed straw between the tub and the box for the winter months in NE Ohio. It was a lot of work -- it was too much work -- it was my cousin and I who generally got stuck cleaning that smelly/wet straw out at the end of winter -- I much prefer plugging something in.

I use bungee cords on the gates during the winter -- latches or snaps of any type can easily gather moisture and freeze solid when I need them the most.

We have frost free water spigots --- they will freeze if they aren't installed correctly -- not something one knows until the first big freeze comes along and the owner of that frost free spigot is left to dig it up and fix it, in the middle of winter.

I have had barn doors ice shut; not where I currently live. It is a panic moment when there's a glaze of ice on a huge barn door or the man door, so a plan has to be put into place to be able to open the doors without ripping them off the hinges.

I have never had my hay in separate storage from the horses, so getting hay to them was never an issue. Where I currently live, in the winter, I used to load up the dump cart, hooked to the 4-wheeler, take the hay out to the front pasture and make two rows of 8 piles for four horses.

Now that I only have two horses and they have to be kept separated, I keep hay in the run-in stall for one horse and the other horse can free-feed from the hay stack if he wants to <-----which he rarely does --- there's ~280 bales of hay stacked on his end of the barn and he doesn't touch it --- he cleans his hay tub when he comes in at night but he leaves the stack alone.

Years ago, I heard stories of folks in much more severe winter areas than what I have experienced, tying a rope from the barn door to the house porch so they could find their way back to the house in a blizzard. Makes sense to me as there were a couple of times in Pennsylvania I couldn't see my garage, 50 feet from the house.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

Last winter was the first one I felt really prepared, so will be doing the same this year.

I have one paddock/run in shed per horse that is within feet of their stalls and the rest of my barn so I close down the fields and they stay in their paddocks from end of November until beginning of April. I run heavy duty extension cords that are buried in PVC pipe to heated 16 gallon tubs in each bucket. I'm finished with breaking ice all the time lol.

I have buckets that I wrapped in insulation and then duct tape to keep them from freezing so quickly and if it's going to stay below 20*F I use heated buckets in the stalls. I have a GFI outlet on the front of each stall where horses can't reach. As far as hoses, I used the pocket hoses last year and it worked very well. I keep it in the house until needed, and drain it as soon as I'm done. No frozen hoses that way. I also wrap my water pump with heat tape and plug it in about 20 minutes before I need it if the handle is frozen for any reason.

If it's going to be an ice storm or it's too slick for them to be safe they stay in their stalls which are built into the back of the one run in shed with dutch doors so they have a ton of ventilation.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk - lots of great tips in there. Never thought of the bungee cords, but have had chains freeze up solid on gates and it's a pain in the rear end. Will keep a few in the barn. There are several ways to get in and out of the barn and the paddock though, so I think we'll be ok there. We have double barn doors at the back, a man door and extra large garage door at the front for hubby's tractor (barn is divided between an equipment bay and stalls with a full wall and double doors between. On the far side of the barn are the dutch doors to the stalls with 10 foot overhang. Remains to be seen how and and where the snow piles up (it will depend on the direction of the wind I imagine). 

As for getting from the house to the barn, since my husband plows the driveway using his tractor and a snow blower attachment, he will be making a nice, wide swath from the barn to the house every time there's a storm. He's out before dawn some mornings clearing the snow because he almost never misses work. That path from the barn to the house will be very much appreciated! Two years ago we got a total accumulation of 18 feet of snow. The roads looked like tunnels. That's what I'm picturing this year since they're calling for a lot of snow and cold. The only good thing about getting that much snow is that it actually works well as insulation. 

Nickers2002 - I bought one of those pocket hoses so I'm glad to hear they work well. 

I don't mind buying water heaters, but according to my neighbor, it will drive your electric bill through the roof. We have bitterly cold winters and electricity is not cheap here. It costs me 500$ a month in the winter to keep our household running - that's with a wood stove heating the house 24/7 during the cold months. I'm not keen on adding to that.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Electric: yes, the rates could vary greatly. We don't even have the same rating for the workshop meter as we do the house meter --- the barn runs off the house meter.

Our winter electric isn't as high as our summer electric. I keep the house at 62 in the winter and 68 in the summer, lollol:eek_color:

I sweat just looking out the window at the sun and being on BP meds, I want this house cold, lollol

I am still running two 36" tub fans about 18-1/2 hours every day and a 42" tub fan around seven hours. The electric bill goes up but I have to run the fans or run the risk of getting black mold on my hay due to all the humidity. I lost around 50 bales a few years back to black mold so I would rather pay the electric bill.

We average around 1830 KWH this time of year but this past month we used 2190 KWH and the cost was .102/KWH. Even with the heaters working in the water tubs we don't use that much electric in the winter but, as you say, your winters are more death-defying than ours are.

It's all a matter of how much physical labor you are able to endure - as time goes on, that amount becomes less, one prepares for it and for my part, be very thankful I can pay for the privilege of ease


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> Electric: yes, the rates could vary greatly. We don't even have the same rating for the workshop meter as we do the house meter --- the barn runs off the house meter.
> 
> Our winter electric isn't as high as our summer electric. I keep the house at 62 in the winter and 68 in the summer, lollol:eek_color:
> 
> ...


Ha! Yes, I suppose if you live in a hot, humid part of the world, your electric bill would run higher in the summer than in winter! I don't need to use any fans, though we do turn on the AC in the house on really hot days. The barn stays nice and cool though, even on the hottest of days. That will not be a good thing come winter. 

And yes, I hear you about wanting to work a little less hard as time goes on! I will, of course, have to use water heaters, but would like to minimize the heat loss by insulating the tub. Just haven't figured out the best way to do that yet. Best get on it I suppose!


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Our barn is on separate meter and running 2 tank heaters and a small bucket heater for the cats can run that electric bill up about $100 - $150 depending on the severity of the weather. For the most part though we'll only have a few days of below freezing weather at a time so it's not always that bad.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

JCnGrace said:


> Our barn is on separate meter and running 2 tank heaters and a small bucket heater for the cats can run that electric bill up about $100 - $150 depending on the severity of the weather. For the most part though we'll only have a few days of below freezing weather at a time so it's not always that bad.


WhooooooEEEEE! I run 5 tank deicers & 10 heated buckets and I don't even notice my electric going up. If it went up 100-150/mo (almost double what it normally runs) I'd be out in the pasture with an axe breakin' ice and I'd have sold KOLD ponies! :blueunicorn::blueunicorn::blueunicorn:


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> Our barn is on separate meter and running 2 tank heaters and a small bucket heater for the cats can run that electric bill up about $100 - $150 depending on the severity of the weather. For the most part though we'll only have a few days of below freezing weather at a time so it's not always that bad.


See, this is what I'm talking about - and why I'm trying to minimize the use of a water heater! From November to April, it will rarely go above freezing. For days on end (sometimes it feels like weeks), we will have -30 Celcius weather. Colder at night. I don't want to find out how much it would cost to run a heater 24/7 in that kind of temperature. 

The owner of my local tack store suggested filling a bottle with salt and water and letting it float (cover on of course) on the surface of the water trough. Knowing Harley though, he'll think it's a new toy and chew on it until it breaks. So maybe a rubber ball would be better.


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

Acadianartist said:


> I'd like to build a box around my water trough so it doesn't freeze quite so quickly. Also because I hate the idea of heating water in an open trough where a good chunk of the heat gets dissipated on all sides.


My sister (in NH) uses the round bucket (maybe they're the 16-gallon ones mentioned?) with the integrated heater at the bottom. I got a 1/2 whiskey barrel planter with an inner diameter a few inches larger than the bucket (or a facsimile, since you don't seem to see the real whiskey barrels in the garden centers any more - and you'll have to find this in the summer when they're still in stock!) and several cans of spray foam. I cut a circle of foam insulation board to go in the bottom of the whiskey barrel (with a hole at the center of the foam, matched to a hole drilled through the barrel). I put the bucket in a large garbage bag, put it on top of the foam in the barrel, and foamed the gap all around (between barrel wall & garbage bag). Then I folded the top of the bag down (outward) over the top of the foam & barrel.

I think it helped with the heat. I did this two falls ago, before the _cold_ winter of 2014/5. Good timing. I meant to cut a circle of something floaty to cover part of the surface area of the water but never did (yet). And one of her horses decided it was fun to nibble on the bag & foam of the exposed top edge (not a surprise) so I was going to cut an annulus of plywood to cover that, but didn't get it done before . . . As spring came, the bucket's heater started popping the GFCI outlet. And then a replacement did the same. We haven't figured out the problem, though since the bucket didn't sit straight it might have something to do with the water that built up in the downhill corner of the surround, or could just be a string of bad buckets since they then had the problem out of the insulation also. There was def. an issue with the extension cord at one time, too. So last winter she didn't use the insulated surround - and it was an amazingly mild winter so that wasn't a big deal.

I put this forward for whatever it's worth - I just thought it was a lot easier way of making a surround than making one from scratch, esp. for a round bucket We just have to work the bugs out - first we have to figure out just where the bugs are!

Anne


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> WhooooooEEEEE! I run 5 tank deicers & 10 heated buckets and I don't even notice my electric going up. If it went up 100-150/mo (almost double what it normally runs) I'd be out in the pasture with an axe breakin' ice and I'd have sold KOLD ponies! :blueunicorn::blueunicorn::blueunicorn:





Acadianartist said:


> See, this is what I'm talking about - and why I'm trying to minimize the use of a water heater! From November to April, it will rarely go above freezing. For days on end (sometimes it feels like weeks), we will have -30 Celcius weather. Colder at night. I don't want to find out how much it would cost to run a heater 24/7 in that kind of temperature.
> 
> The owner of my local tack store suggested filling a bottle with salt and water and letting it float (cover on of course) on the surface of the water trough. Knowing Harley though, he'll think it's a new toy and chew on it until it breaks. So maybe a rubber ball would be better.


Well if you figure at the high end of $150 for 30 days that's 5 bucks a day. Well worth it to me not to have to go chopping and digging ice out of the tanks several times a day. REMC is not your friend when it comes to affordable electric rates but they're the only choice we have. Heck the bill is $34 a month using no or very little electricity (maybe turn a light on every once in a while in the tack room) in the summer months.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> Well if you figure at the high end of $150 for 30 days that's 5 bucks a day. Well worth it to me not to have to go chopping and digging ice out of the tanks several times a day. REMC is not your friend when it comes to affordable electric rates but they're the only choice we have. Heck the bill is $34 a month using no or very little electricity (maybe turn a light on every once in a while in the tack room) in the summer months.


Only in this part of the world, it could be significantly more than 150$ a month. Right now, on weekdays when I work, I get out three times a day. Yesterday, I went out and moved my water trough. It's not a particularly large one, but enough for a day's worth of water. I set it in the corner of the paddock, under cover and sheltered by the barn, but in a location where I can easily dump it out away from the paddock. Most likely I'll fish out surface ice, but if the whole thing freezes solid, will just dump it out and re-fill. However, I'd still like to box it in and insulate it somehow, but want to maintain the ability to remove the trough so I can dump out ice. Thinking of some kind of dome-shaped lid with an opening big enough for horses to drink. Like those igloo-style dog houses. Or maybe I should just buy a bigger watering trough and sit the smaller one inside the bigger one with insulation all around. 

Haven't figured it all out yet.... but will have to soon. 

Hubby finished the box around our water line yesterday so it's shut tight and insulated. We put a regular 60W bulb in there and it was toasty warm. Hopefully that will do the trick! 

Things are getting colder fast here... we had a hard frost last night - enough to kill what was left in our garden except the more hardy veggies. Harley was outside shivering, waiting for his breakfast  The dutch doors are left open all night, but soon I'll start shutting the horses in. The problem is that if I shut them in, they can't go eat grass in the pasture if they get hungry. The hay nets only keep them busy for about an hour. So that means they go all night with an empty stomach. I do have hay nets with smaller holes but they hold a full bale so I was going to use that for daytime. Thus my dilemma... so I shut them in so they don't get cold or do I let them eat to stay warm? Soon the pasture will die off and I'll shut the gate so it'll become a moot point. But what do you do to keep your horses from having an empty stomach when they're stalled? I can't go out at 2 am for a feeding...


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

When it's extra cold here I toss LOTS of hay and they get blanketed and stalled. I can always tell when it's really cold, they never have left over hay and the one mare I have, who is known for throwing "frat parties" in her stall always cleans up every scrap. When I walk in and Patti's stall is pristine, except for where she's gone potty, and there's no hay to be found, it's been a very cold night. Other nights, I put a little hay out and she tosses it everywhere and the place looks vandalized. 

I don't know if I'd like a slow feeder net when it's that cold, seems like it would restrict their ability to eat enough to stay warm. Have to have someone from a colder climate sound off on that one.


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Acadianartist said:


> The owner of my local tack store suggested filling a bottle with salt and water and letting it float (cover on of course) on the surface of the water trough. Knowing Harley though, he'll think it's a new toy and chew on it until it breaks. So maybe a rubber ball would be better.


My dd tried that year. Didn't work at all.


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

ChitChatChet said:


> My dd tried that year. Didn't work at all.


I'd make an insulated box for the water tank to be in.

I'd also try digging a hole maybe 4 feet deep under the tank and put expanded metal over the hole for support of the tank so see if the ground temperature and the insulated box would keep the tank thawed.

The guy I work for bought Richie frost free waterers for his cattle that are kept thawed by the 4 foot hole in ground and insulated surrounding. Sure is nice not to have to use a chainsaw to cut out a spot for the cows to drink from the pond or chop ice twice a day in the tanks. There are pricey so I'd try making my own version 1st.

Not sure how they would work in an area where the cold goes deep into the ground.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I live in NW IL. We are at or below freezing for about 3 months every year and get blizzards etc. My horses do not have "real" stalls. Each has a 15X15 run in shed with a run in front of it. Here is what we do:

1. Hay Chix freedom feeders. I feed 3 x per day the last feeding of the day they get about 1/2 bale each - the slow feeders have made a huge difference in hay waste and horse condition. I would recommend these to anyone (we also have Tough 1 slow feeders)

2. We have outside Rubbermaid tanks raning from 75 gallons to 150 gallons - I run 3 tank heaters all winter long (we have some cows as well) my electric bill goes up signifigantly each winter. Our tanks all have insulated boxes painted black for heat absorption- all tops of the boxes are closed with a lid with just enough room for horses or cows to get their heads in to drink. We still must water every other day and must drain and scrub tanks 1X per month for algea and lime build up

3. I have a 25 gallon heated water bucket for the horse whose run in is not shared - this is filled every day with a bucket from one of the large tanks. this too had a "box" made for it because the Bucket never turned off in really cold weather even when it is tucked into the corner of a stall.


We have had periods of up to 3 days without electricity - when we know a blizzard or severely cold weather is coming in we fill all of the tanks to the brim so we can break ice if needed. Short of heated automatic waterers (which are on my bucket list) we have tried all of the gimics with little to no success. Burying the water tanks ended up with dirty tanks that got snow piled on top of them, the 2 liter bottle of salt water was frozen in the ice on the tank. Carrying water multiple times each day is cumbersome and limits time away from home.

Our horses and cows drink far more water in the winter than I would ever imagine. The horses drink more than the cows. We can have days with negative wind chills and temps in the negatives without windchills. Tank heaters are the only thing that has workd

You may be able to cut a hole in the stall wall (if the horses share a stall wall) and have the horses share on tank (we do that so we have to run less tank heaters) and put a lid over the middle of the tank.

Running 1 tank heater will raise your bill some but it may not be hundreds each month (my bill will more than double from summer to winter)


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## Abzeez (Aug 22, 2016)

Acadianartist said:


> See, this is what I'm talking about - and why I'm trying to minimize the use of a water heater! From November to April, it will rarely go above freezing. For days on end (sometimes it feels like weeks), we will have -30 Celcius weather. Colder at night. I don't want to find out how much it would cost to run a heater 24/7 in that kind of temperature.
> 
> The owner of my local tack store suggested filling a bottle with salt and water and letting it float (cover on of course) on the surface of the water trough. Knowing Harley though, he'll think it's a new toy and chew on it until it breaks. So maybe a rubber ball would be better.



I am in Wisconsin and I would never ever want to deal with a freezing tank, on purpose. Pulling heaters out and putting them back in a tank that is partially frozen makes the tank heater work that much harder and probably would cost more money in the long run. (I don't know if that's what you're planning on doing) Plus horses drink less if the water is cold. That's one of the reason I use the 16 gallon heated buckets. They draw far less electricity than the heaters in the big tanks. You just have to fill them more often. I have not tried the salt float trick, but I can imagine with how quickly temps drop the water would just freeze around it. Eh! All this winter talk, why must summer be so short!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

https://www.nrsworld.com/api/api-universal-drain-plug-tank-de-icer-1500-watt-150400?gclid=CjwKEAjwjqO_BRDribyJpc_mzHgSJABdnsFWV8QklB9FckiBsKOiHiQ2PgBmTmQfOJuHbX_8_gs_QhoCbgPw_wcB

This is what I use in my stock tanks, works like a champ and like I said, I don't notice it on my electric bill at all. 

Here's what I use for heated buckets, each horse has 2 in their stall. 
api Heated Flat-Back Bucket - 20 Qt. - Mills Fleet Farm

Farm Innovators 250W Utility De-Icer - For Life Out Here

This one's for the chickens and dogs & cats. Their tubs are smaller. My electric bill is pretty level year round, in winter I heat (with electric) and in summer I use AC, when I add these de-icers, my bill doesn't seem to fluctuate.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

Dreamcatcher I think the difference is that Oklahoma has a more temperate climate than NW IL , WI or Canada. I use the same type of tank heater you show in your thread and my bill will go up signifigantly when the winds are really blowing and temps drop into the negatives for any amount of time. It is not unusual to spend the latter part of Dec and all Jan and Feb at or below freezing in my area - with many night 0 or below. Those tank heaters run 24 hours a day. 

States to the south may get above freezing during the day (even if it is in the low 40's) and the tank heater does not have to run as much. So lower electric bill


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I don't use the same kind but they have the same wattage so should use the same amount of electricity.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

IF I remember right, they also have temp sensors so that they cut off after 40 or 45 F and don't run if the temps aren't down to freezing.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> I don't use the same kind but they have the same wattage so should use the same amount of electricity.


But in colder climates, they will have to run more, therefore using more power. In our climate, it would run 24/7 for several months. I will use tank heaters and/or heated buckets, but I won't use them 24/7. Easier for me to take them out of the tank when they're not needed (eg, when the horses are stalled at night and it's 40 below, I'm not going to heat the outside water tank). Obviously I don't want the whole thing to freeze solid with the heater in it - but all I have to do is dump out the water and re-fill when needed. I also want to avoid the heat dissipating into the cold air surrounding the water trough. To do that, I will have to insulate it, which I haven't done yet. Trying to figure out the best way to do it while maintaining the ability to take out the water trough and dump out the water/ice from it. 

I did pick up an old wooden tack box for 30$ that is just the right size to hold a bale of hay. The idea is that I will remove the lid, drill holes in the bottom for drainage, add feet to keep it off the ground and put an entire square bale in there inside a slow feeder net. It will go under the overhang so that will limit how wet it will get. This should keep the horses munching on hay most of the day while avoiding all the waste you get from throwing hay on top of snow. My only worry is that Harley will not let Kodak get any hay. I will set it up this weekend and monitor them. I may have to get a second hay feeder box if he won't let her have any hay. It will be difficult to put two boxes under the overhang without blocking their stall doors so I'd rather not but we'll see...

I also tried out my new slow-feeder haynets last night in their stalls. I give them each a flake around 9 pm, and I had been using nibble nets, but the holes are too big. They empty them out in no time. This time of year, they can still go nibble on grass during the night, but soon that will not be an option. The new slow feeder nets have 1" holes and there was still hay in them this morning! It requires a lot more effort for them to get hay out and they can only get a little at a time, but it keeps them busy and keeps them from having an empty stomach, which is my goal. A bit of a PIA to fill these nets though... will have to think of a method to make it easier. Hubby had some suggestions that might work.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I have questions about feeding from the slow feeder nets. Horses eat hay which then ferments and generate heat. When horses lose weight in the cold, we add more hay. So, if you restrict their hay with a slow feeder net, how do they maintain their warmth and not burn off too many calories trying to generate heat? 

AA, I have a hunch you're going to rethink your stock tank dumping, unless they are really small and easy to tip over. I have 100+ gallon tanks and can't tip them by myself if they are more than half full when they aren't frozen. When the ice forms on top (when we get good and cold here, it can be 2-3 inches in a night), it also freezes to the sides and can be really tough to break loose. If the whole thing froze solid, I wouldn't get it out til thaw.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I have questions about feeding from the slow feeder nets. Horses eat hay which then ferments and generate heat. When horses lose weight in the cold, we add more hay. So, if you restrict their hay with a slow feeder net, how do they maintain their warmth and not burn off too many calories trying to generate heat?
> 
> AA, I have a hunch you're going to rethink your stock tank dumping, unless they are really small and easy to tip over. I have 100+ gallon tanks and can't tip them by myself if they are more than half full when they aren't frozen. When the ice forms on top (when we get good and cold here, it can be 2-3 inches in a night), it also freezes to the sides and can be really tough to break loose. If the whole thing froze solid, I wouldn't get it out til thaw.


Regarding the slow feeder nets, they eat the same amount of hay in a 24 hr period as if I were throwing the hay on the ground. The difference is that when I throw it on the ground, it's gone in an hour. With the slow-feeder nets, they eat a little bit all day long so they never have a completely empty stomach. I have three kinds of nets with different sized holes so I can adjust accordingly. I would rather they eat all day then wolf it all down at once. I also keep very close tabs on their weight and they never get real thin. If anything, my Arab has a tendency to be pudgy (he's the main reason for the hay nets!). 

As for the water trough, I want it only big enough to contain water for a 24 hour period for two horses. All summer long, I just used a muck bucket. I prefer to keep it small so I can dump out the water every night, rinse it out, and refill with clean water. Dirty water is gross and my Arab (yes, the same one as above) will not drink it. I've seen too many big water tanks get slimy with algae, bird poop, drowned rodents and all kinds of other disgusting things. I understand you have to have one if you have 15 horses, but with two, a small container makes more sense. So you see, tipping it is easy.

During the summer, I just dumped the water on the sand that surrounds the barn. It quickly drained and if anything, kept the dust from getting too bad. It never got muddy in front of their stalls. For winter, I moved the water to a corner of the paddock which is on a side hill. I dump it to one side and the water runs off, away from the paddock. No mud, no ice. Well, that's the idea anyway - I'll let you know in January how it's working! Oh, I also put rocks under the water trough, covered with a wood pallet on which the trough sits. That way, I just tip it to the side and the water runs through the rocks, then down the slope. That's so I don't end up with a lot of erosion from pouring water out in the same spot every time. Also, it's flexible rubber, so even if it froze solid, I could flip it over and tap out the ice, then refill with fresh water.


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## Abzeez (Aug 22, 2016)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I have questions about feeding from the slow feeder nets. Horses eat hay which then ferments and generate heat. When horses lose weight in the cold, we add more hay. So, if you restrict their hay with a slow feeder net, how do they maintain their warmth and not burn off too many calories trying to generate heat?.


It just slows them down a little and prevents waste. They don't get any less hay, and they really don't have any problems eating fron them. I will throw a flake or two on the ground as well, Now, there are nets that restrict feeding and have 1 inch holes. Mine aren't that small and my horses stay fat and happy all winter long.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Acadianartist said:


> Regarding the slow feeder nets, they eat the same amount of hay in a 24 hr period as if I were throwing the hay on the ground. The difference is that when I throw it on the ground, it's gone in an hour. With the slow-feeder nets, they eat a little bit all day long so they never have a completely empty stomach. I have three kinds of nets with different sized holes so I can adjust accordingly. I would rather they eat all day then wolf it all down at once. I also keep very close tabs on their weight and they never get real thin. If anything, my Arab has a tendency to be pudgy (he's the main reason for the hay nets!).
> 
> As for the water trough, I want it only big enough to contain water for a 24 hour period for two horses. All summer long, I just used a muck bucket. I prefer to keep it small so I can dump out the water every night, rinse it out, and refill with clean water. Dirty water is gross and my Arab (yes, the same one as above) will not drink it. I've seen too many big water tanks get slimy with algae, bird poop, drowned rodents and all kinds of other disgusting things. I understand you have to have one if you have 15 horses, but with two, a small container makes more sense. So you see, tipping it is easy.
> 
> During the summer, I just dumped the water on the sand that surrounds the barn. It quickly drained and if anything, kept the dust from getting too bad. It never got muddy in front of their stalls. For winter, I moved the water to a corner of the paddock which is on a side hill. I dump it to one side and the water runs off, away from the paddock. No mud, no ice. Well, that's the idea anyway - I'll let you know in January how it's working! Oh, I also put rocks under the water trough, covered with a wood pallet on which the trough sits. That way, I just tip it to the side and the water runs through the rocks, then down the slope. That's so I don't end up with a lot of erosion from pouring water out in the same spot every time. Also, it's flexible rubber, so even if it froze solid, I could flip it over and tap out the ice, then refill with fresh water.





Abzeez said:


> It just slows them down a little and prevents waste. They don't get any less hay, and they really don't have any problems eating fron them. I will throw a flake or two on the ground as well, Now, there are nets that restrict feeding and have 1 inch holes. Mine aren't that small and my horses stay fat and happy all winter long.


OK, I understand now about the slow nets. That makes more sense than how I pictured it. 

AA, the muckbucket/small trough thing makes sense too. I was thinking about you and dumping the trough every day as I was struggling to dump one of the 100+ gallon ones yesterday and it was being difficult and unwieldy. Since I've never had just 2 horses at home, I have a hard time thinking in smaller units like a 20 gallon tub which would be fairly easy. I have noticed the rubber ones still get the ice clinging to them on the sides but in a smaller sized trough it wouldn't be the issue it can be with one of the big ones. 

In the next week or 2 I'm going to try to make one of the 'solar' trough enclosures I've read about. I'll let you know how difficult it is to make and later I'll see how well it works without a trough de-icer. I don't have problems with my troughs getting nasty for several reasons. We dump them frequently and once dumped, they get scrubbed out with a brush & 10% bleach before refilling them. Also during summer I put a small, 1 inch chlorine tab in the bottom every week or 2, and that keeps the algae down and doesn't allow the mosquitoes any place to lay their larvae (I live in the WNV corridor so that's a BIG issue). RARELY will I get a chicken who was too stupid to live to fall in one, but usually there's enough commotion to get my attention and I go fish it out before too much harm is done, but I get your point. I have yet to find drowned rodents or other wild animals in one of them, I suspect because they are just too big for most to be able to get in. 

I have several of these:









180 gallons

And a couple of these:










300 gallons

And then 3 or 4 of the 110 gallon ones in smaller pastures.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Here in Kansas, our winter temps can get down to -17* F, not including the wind chill. The horses have free access to their stalls which are heavily bedded with straw to keep them warmer if they lay down. We move the stock tanks for both the TWH's and minis into the sun to get the benefit of it helping warm the water, plus have tank heaters in them so the horses always have access to warm water which keeps them drinking better. Grass hay is feed free choice in old leaky stock tanks with a grain concentrate and limited fed alfalfa given to those horses who need the extra twice a day. We try to ride any day that's not blizzard conditions or so icy it's dangerous to keep the horses exercised. Even thought TWH's have 20 acres of pasture, they tend to stand at the hay rather than go out looking for grass. The mini's get turned into the yard twice a day to play since they also tend to stand eating hay instead of running around their 1 acre dry lot when it's cold.


Personally, I'd never unplug or remove the tank heaters to try to save a little money----horses are notorious for not being good drinkers in winter, especially if the water is freezing cold or covered with ice. A vet call for colic would be more than any savings!


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

There is a little device you plug into your outlet and then whatever you you want to find out how much is costing you into that. 

Its called Kill A Watt meter.

Very handy and easy to use.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

@ Dreamcatcher - Yes! Tell me how the solar thing works for you! I'm not ambitious enough to do that this year. Also, the location is shaded most of the time (I have it under the 10 foot overhang). But at the very least, I want to box it in somehow. Would love to hear how it works out for you! 

I agree that having 2 horses and having a dozen or even half a dozen is very different and requires different strategies. It makes no sense for me to have a 100 gallon water trough. The horses would take a week to drain it and the water would get nasty. I try to have a container just big enough to last a little more than a day. That way they never run out, but I don't have a lot to dump out. If it's been raining hard and they haven't drank much, I sometimes just top it up rather than dump out all the water, but I don't do that often because the water gets so dirty. I have "dunkers".


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Prairie said:


> Here in Kansas, our winter temps can get down to -17* F, not including the wind chill. The horses have free access to their stalls which are heavily bedded with straw to keep them warmer if they lay down. We move the stock tanks for both the TWH's and minis into the sun to get the benefit of it helping warm the water, plus have tank heaters in them so the horses always have access to warm water which keeps them drinking better. Grass hay is feed free choice in old leaky stock tanks with a grain concentrate and limited fed alfalfa given to those horses who need the extra twice a day. We try to ride any day that's not blizzard conditions or so icy it's dangerous to keep the horses exercised. Even thought TWH's have 20 acres of pasture, they tend to stand at the hay rather than go out looking for grass. The mini's get turned into the yard twice a day to play since they also tend to stand eating hay instead of running around their 1 acre dry lot when it's cold.
> 
> 
> Personally, I'd never unplug or remove the tank heaters to try to save a little money----horses are notorious for not being good drinkers in winter, especially if the water is freezing cold or covered with ice. A vet call for colic would be more than any savings!


Ok, I'm curious because I have a similar set up I think, and I have no idea how it's going to work. You say they have free access to their stalls. Do you have dutch doors? If so, how do you keep the stalls from filling up with snow? Right now, their doors are open 24/7, but as things get colder, I figured I'd shut them in at night. That's when I would dump out the water from the trough and unplug the heater. Why heat water they can't get to? I have heated water buckets in the stalls. Which, again, they could get to if I left the doors open 24/7, thus removing the need for an outdoor trough, hypothetically (I could refill them at least 3 times a day because I'm at the barn anyway). But if the doors do remain open, then snow and ice can come in and the barn never warms up. I have to say I used to like going into a cozy barn on a cold winter night when everything was closed up and the horses' body heat brought the temps around or slightly above freezing when it was -20 Celcius outside. However, Harley coughed a lot at that barn last winter and it's finally cleared up with good quality hay and living outside 24/7. The barn will be warmer if I close it up, but the air quality will not be as good. 

So, to close them in or not to close them in, that is the question! 

As for closing off the pasture, we will have several feet of snow on the ground for several months so they won't be too keen on moving around in there. The paddock will be plenty big for them to beat the snow down in, and maybe if I'm extra nice, I can get DH to clear it with the snowblower once in a while. Last year we had almost no snow, but the previous winter, we had a total accumulated snowfall of 18 feet. At any given time for a little over three months, there was a minimum of 4 feet of snow on the ground everywhere. I couldn't shovel my walkway because the banks were over my head and I couldn't throw the snow over them anymore. Hoping we won't have that kind of winter...


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

ChitChatChet said:


> There is a little device you plug into your outlet and then whatever you you want to find out how much is costing you into that.
> 
> Its called Kill A Watt meter.
> 
> Very handy and easy to use.


Thanks! Good to know. Though I have to say, it's not even so much about money as it is about not being wasteful. I wouldn't heat my house with all the windows open in the winter. Nor will I use a water heater in a location where the horses can't get to the water. And when I do use said water heater, I would prefer to insulate the water tank so I'm not just heating the great outdoors.


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Acadianartist said:


> Ok, I'm curious because I have a similar set up I think, and I have no idea how it's going to work. You say they have free access to their stalls. Do you have dutch doors? If so, how do you keep the stalls from filling up with snow? Right now, their doors are open 24/7, but as things get colder, I figured I'd shut them in at night. That's when I would dump out the water from the trough and unplug the heater. Why heat water they can't get to? I have heated water buckets in the stalls. Which, again, they could get to if I left the doors open 24/7, thus removing the need for an outdoor trough, hypothetically (I could refill them at least 3 times a day because I'm at the barn anyway). But if the doors do remain open, then snow and ice can come in and the barn never warms up. I have to say I used to like going into a cozy barn on a cold winter night when everything was closed up and the horses' body heat brought the temps around or slightly above freezing when it was -20 Celcius outside. However, Harley coughed a lot at that barn last winter and it's finally cleared up with good quality hay and living outside 24/7. The barn will be warmer if I close it up, but the air quality will not be as good.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Our stalls all are on the south side of the barn and there is a shelterbelt south of the barn that protects the stalls from snow for the most part. The stalls are also 16 feet deep and the dividers between the stalls can be moved to open the space inro one large area which we normally do. That way we can close all but one stall door making it less possible for snow to get in and keeping it warmer.


As you found out with the horse coughing, a closed up barn is not good for the horse's lungs. As long as the horses can get out of the wind and snow, freezing rain, ice, etc, they will be fine. 


IM, the biggest issue with water in winter is frozen hoses although there have been a few years that between the freezing temperatures and the wind, the tank heaters couldn't keep up. Hubby built a wooden "box" to go around the tanks and we shove straw between the box and the outside of the tank for insulation----there's a cover too out3/4 plywood with a 12 inch diameter hole so the horses can drink. This really cuts down on how much electricity the tank heaters use.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

What Prairie is describing that they did for their troughs is real similar to what I want to do. It makes sense that you'd only heat the little trough during the day, now that you've described what your set up is like. I wouldn't heat the troughs either if nobody was drinking. Since MOST of the time we're reasonably mild, I try to keep my guys outside unless it's actively nasty. They do come in to eat and have a warmed drink of water and get blanketed or checked over, but if it's clear and no precip, they go back outside. We don't normally keep any snowfall, it will fall during the night and melt by 10 a.m., 96% of the time. I've found that I don't have coughing issues in my barn because we deliberately designed it to have gaps for air exchange. It's not insulated, so it's really a 4 sided wind and rain break that they can heat up pretty well if both doors are closed. So, too keep snow out, I would close things up as much as you can, but try to still leave something cracked to let the air in and out. If the one gets a little heave-y, then look at maybe a 3 sided shelter for him.


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

Acadianartist said:


> . . . Also, it's flexible rubber, so even if it froze solid, I could flip it over and tap out the ice, then refill with fresh water.


When I was a kid in northern NH, we used 5-gallon Fortex (black rubber) buckets for water. I can remember, when the ice built up (in from the sides & bottom as well as down from the top), turning them on their sides & jumping up & down on them to break that ice! 

(Sometimes that didn't work - I'd have to just swap a bucket out, turn it upside down & leave it for the sun to work on the black & loosen the ice.)

Anne


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

avjudge - I can totally picture my kids doing that. And sliding down the hill on the big ice saucer! Seriously though, I hope to avoid getting a solid cube of ice. But if I do, as you say, best to let the sun work it out and use buckets in the meantime. 

Dreamcatcher, my barn is also built to have excellent air circulation. I do hope there won't be too much snow blowing in the stalls because of the location and the fact that there is a 10 foot overhang, but only time will tell. We frequently get blizzards with snow coming in sideways. Adding a snow fence to one side of the paddock might help. For those who don't know what that is, it's an orangy plastic temporary fence that helps hold back the snow in very open areas. Depending on where the snow is coming in, it may be possible to limit how much blows directly into the stalls. And my hope was that the overhang would act as a shelter when I don't leave the stall doors open (it's 10 x 24 ft long), but I'm not yet sure how that will work. Obviously still some trial and error necessary to see how this all comes together. One thing I don't want is for my stall doors to freeze open or for my stalls to get very wet and icy. Freezing rain storms are worse than snow. Snow is actually a great insulator. A pain to get around in 5 feet of snow, but it's great for keeping warmth in! Unless of course you're wet.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

If your horses have access to the short sides of the overhang could you hang the snow fence along the long side to block snow from coming into the stalls?


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> If your horses have access to the short sides of the overhang could you hang the snow fence along the long side to block snow from coming into the stalls?


I've thought of that, but it would make it hard to access the stalls. I'd have to put in pickets too, to hold up the fence. But it's not impossible. Will try to get pics tonight so you can see the layout.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

It's interesting learning about the various challenges we all face. Here in OK we wouldn't be able to function if we got 5 ft of snow TOTAL all winter, we shut things down when it's 2-3 inches of accumulation. Where I used to live, in the mountains of California, we got 2-3 FEET of snow and the prevailing thought was, "You better not be late for work.". 

I think the biggest challenge here is our extreme temperature swings and the wind that frequently goes with them. It can be 60=70 F one day and then down in the teens for a week and then back up to the mid 50's the week after that. I've ridden in Tshirt sleeves on a New Year's Day trail ride and the following year had on everything in my closet for the same ride. Probably added 50 lbs of clothing for that ride. 

Drifting snow or needing snow fencing isn't even on my radar down here. LOL!


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

@Dreamcatcher Arabians, not too far south of you in Texas, the world stops when it even starts to flurry! DD and I were down in McKinney,TX for a show over Tday weekend and it started to snow. Those Texans thought we had lost our minds when we loaded the horse to head home to Kansas.


In south central Kansas, the city school shuts down before the rural school when it snows which is ridiculous since the buses travel some almost scary country roads that aren't well maintained. Several years ago hubby and our neighbor hitched our Belgian gelding and his Percheron to our spring wagon to haul water----an ice storm had taken out all the electric lines in 9 counties and back then few had generators so we were without water and heat for 9 days, but the small town down the road had enough to share so we could water the other neighbor's cow herd behind us and all of the horses plus have enough for the house.


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## Abzeez (Aug 22, 2016)

@Acadianartist I have one lean to and two stalls that I keep open. One has a Dutch door the other has doors that no longer close. I sweep out snow, shovel out snow, chip away at ice, sand and salt when I have to. Most times I find though the horses make their own trail in and out. I usually give up the fight to keep the stall with the Dutch door free to open and close by December. Snow, like water, always finds a way in.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

As promised - photo with details  

I bought an old tack box that I am converting to a hay feeder. Have taken off the lid and made sure there were no sharp edges inside. Will be putting in a whole bale (box is just the right size for a square bale) inside a slow-feeder net. I've been experimenting with different nets and have found one I like a lot. It takes Harley about 3 hours to get through a flake of hay as opposed to 10 minutes. He only gets three flakes a day this time of year, so this means he is busy most of the day and night. Oh, and the haynet will be secured inside the box with clips and rings. I dumped a bunch of rocks to set it on so it can drain (have put drainage holes in it). 

The water trough is easy to tip, even when full. But I want to insulate it somehow, while maintaining the ability to dump it. 

The stalls are set well above ground level, by at least three feet. This will either make them a lot more exposed, or will be beneficial in keeping them dry. But I'm not keen on putting something in front of them. I'd be putting posts in sand, which will probably not hold, and it seems like a great way for an injury to happen. I guess we'll have to see what the stalls are like in winter and if I need to add a windbreak, I'll have to do so next summer. 

Finally, I'm considering nailing a board to the outside of the paddock corner, near the water trough. It would be a nice windbreak and since I can nail it on the outside (the pasture is on the other side, but will be closed off for the winter), the horses can't hurt themselves on it. Even if it got loose in a big wind storm, it would blow into the pasture, not into the paddock so they would still be safe. 

Thoughts?


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

When you said overhang I pictured something like this, so no my idea doesn't work (easily anyway) for your situation.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> When you said overhang I pictured something like this, so no my idea doesn't work (easily anyway) for your situation.


My contractor didn't want to use posts because he was worried the horses would rub against them. We can, however, put posts in as stand-alones, but for reasons stated above, I'm not real keen on the idea. I also have to be careful not to create an area a horse can get trapped in. Harley tends to get food aggressive around Kodak and will corner her. She will then kick. No incidents so far, but they have lots of room to get away from each other. 

I think the best thing will be to see where the snow tends to accumulate this winter. A partial break could be created from mounded snow.


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