Winter Farm and Pasture Maintenance Chores

Winter is pretty much here for most of the country….except those of us in Florida, where one day we are blanketing horses and a few days later we are sweating as temperatures reach 80.

Regardless of where you live, you should be gearing up to start your winter barn and pasture maintenance. Just because it is winter, does not mean you get a break from barn chores!

Winter Pasture Maintenance:

Depending on your climate, your pastures may be unusable, sitting under a foot of snow or crisp from a frost. Or there may be signs of winter rye grass popping up between the last blades of summer grass. It is a good time to be giving thought to what management practices you can utilize in the coming spring.

• Horses should be kept off winter pastures in the north, to prevent horses from damaging the remaining grass and root system, which will result in delaying recovery in the spring. Many farms will have a designated winter turnout area, whether it is a sacrificial pasture or dry lot paddocks. These paddocks will need extra care in the spring as they recover. Ideally, drainage will have been improved in these areas to avoid becoming shoe-sucking mud holes once the snow begins to melt.

• Manure should not be spread over frozen ground. The grass is unable to utilize any nutrients in the winter and adding manure will only encourage the area to become a muddy slop in spring.

• Horses should be kept off pastures for at least a week after a hard freeze or frost (several hours below 28 degrees.) Pastures after a frost or freeze are higher in nonstructured carbohydrates, which can lead to laminitis. Horses with any type of metabolic disorder, who are especially prone to laminitis, are especially at risk after a frost or freeze.

• Keep in mind that there will be no more grass growth after a freeze and horses should not be grazed once the height is under 4 inches, even if your grass is still green. If pastures are allowed to go shorter than 4 inches, the recovery time of your pastures in springtime will be much longer than if the horses are removed.

• Continue to inspect fencing and pasture for holes, broken boards and any other damage which may be caused by a winter storm.

Winter Barn Maintenance:

For many equestrians, winter is their down time. Unless you are fortunate enough to have access to an indoor riding arena or you are able to travel south, where the weather will allow you to continue riding, the shorter days, freezing temperatures, and hard ground means that most riding will come to a temporary end.

• Continue to monitor your horse’s condition and health, especially senior horses. If your horse has grown a long coat, running your hands along their skin as well as continuous grooming will enable you to check for weight loss which may otherwise go undetected. It will also allow you to search for ticks and keep tabs on the condition of the skin. Many skin problems will arise when the conditions are muddy, such as scratches or rain rot, so it is important to keep grooming as part of a regular routine, even when not riding.

• Tack should be well cleaned and conditioned, especially if not being used. Store in a temperature controlled environment.

• If you have not established a disaster plan, now is a good time to do so. Identify the potential disasters that Mother Nature may dump on you and devise a plan for each catastrophic event. If you already have a disaster plan in effect , go over it, make any adjustments, give copies to boarders and have a disaster drill, involving your boarders and employees.

• It is also a good time to review your fire prevention plan and hold a drill with your boarders and employees.

• Check electrical wiring for rodent damage. If a professional electrician has not evaluated your barn in recent years, schedule an appointment with one.

• Remove cobwebs from ceilings and rafters.

• Winterize farm equipment and store anything that won’t be used until spring, such as mowers.

  Now is a good time for cleaning, removing junk and any other barn chores that you have been putting off doing. This will give you a leg up on spring and get you back into the saddle and your horses back on pasture sooner!