❄️Welfare Wednesday ☃️ Knowing how to assess a horse’s welfare in freezing weather 🥶
It’s been so cold, snowy and Icy here in West Yorkshire, recently it’s been as low as -7 degrees.
What does this mean for our residents and the welfare team’s calls about other horses out in the community?
We have several things to consider when we are assessing the welfare needs of horses both on site and off site.
❄️Body condition of the horse/pony/donkey- do they have a good covering of fat that will enable them to keep warm?
❄️Breed- are they a finer type of equine - a ‘warmblood’ or are they a native breed, a coldblood
❄️Coat condition- do they have a thick coat of hair that is functional and able to trap in heat when it stands on end? Are they clipped or wearing a man made coat?
❄️Horses natural fur coats are usually waterproof due to containing a type of oil that repels water. Donkeys don’t have this oil so are especially vulnerable to cold and wet.
❄️Availability of shelter, either man made or natural - do they have this and is there enough room for all the animals in the group to fit inside?
❄️Availability of forage- equines keep warm partly from the heat created internally when digesting forage such as hay. We look out for this and become concerned if an equine is left for long periods of time in the cold without access to forage.
❄️Health status- sick animals may struggle to keep warm and need extra support
❄️Age - elderly horses can struggle to keep warm due to slower metabolism, less functionality of their teeth and digestion, and age related health complications such as Cushings Disease
🐴 Several of our residents wear man made coats. These are horses that are warmbloods, may have health problems, struggle to maintain weight and are older.
But, most of our residents are hardy native breeds who can cope well with severe weather simply with constant access to hay and what nature provided for them
Alex thinks feed buckets make the best toys 🤣❤️🫏
Playtime
Little foal Stormzy loves playing with his donkey bestie, Ned.
Their favourite game is Tug! Usually with an old welly boot or a dog toy. How cute is that 🥰
Our ponies were in for a surprise when they met their new hay feeder - The Slow Grazer Hay Feeder is a prototype which Doncaster plastics kindly donated to us! 🐴 Watch as they try to figure out what this mysterious arrival is and whether it’s friend or foe. 😂
Thanks to Doncaster Plastics for gifting us this feeder in return for our feedback. Once they had overcome their initial apprehension, they got stuck in and now clearly have very positive thoughts on it—as do we!
Playtime for Buddy and Stormzy ❤️
Pickle and Theodore enjoying an afternoon nap together 💛
Pickle and Theo enjoying an afternoon nap 😴
One of our newest residents Nancy enjoying a hedgerow net 🍃🌿
Horses may enjoy a variety of items including cow parsley, cleavers (sticky weed), hawthorn, hazel, blackberry, rosehips, thistles, nettles, dandelion and willow. Hedgerow nets are great enrichment 🐴
Meet our residents …
Whiskey
Beautiful pony Whiskey is another of our most recent arrivals 💗
She’s under rehabilitation for Laminitis, a painful hoof condition which needs careful management.
Here she is enjoying her recently donated Hay Ball which helps her to problem solve and use up calories in order to get some tasty hay 👅 🥰
Meet our residents…..
Ellie, a miniature Shetland and one of our recently rescued ponies! She’s having a great time with her Himalayan salt lick and treat ball hay feeder, filled with herbs and fresh grass. These wonderful items, gifted to us by our supporters through our Amazon wish list, bring so much joy to our ponies. The wish list https://shorturl.at/5HziQ helps us provide special treats and much-needed items for the yard without cutting into our essential budget for vet fees, feed, and bedding. Thank you for your support!
💧Welfare Wednesday 💧
We’ve been helping the residents keep cool and hydrated today with apple bobbing,willow branches and water buffets 💧
It’s so important to keep animals hydrated and with access to clean fresh water at all times 👌🏻
