Shelter for miniatures in winter

[countrygirl65]

Do miniatures require the same shelter needs as full size horses? I would like to put them in a pasture that doesn't have a barn but it does have a run in shelter, (built out of cattle panels, T posts, and tarps). My standard horses do fine in 3 sided shelters will the mini's be the same?

Thanks for replying.

 

[chandab]

Yes, minis in full coat should do fine with 3-sided shelters, probably even better than the full-size horses do, unless the snow gets excessively deep, then they might have a few obvious problems. [We get some deep drifts here, but it doesn't seem to phase the minis.

 

[amysue]

I think they will be fine in a field shelter. As with any horse (big or small) if they are out in the elements, they require more hay to keep weight up, and digesting the fiber creates heat too. Just be sure to check them often to be sute they're not dropping weight or shivering cold.

 

[Miniv]

I agree...a run-in shelter is great for minis...just be sure to turn the opening away from the direction of most of your winter winds.

 

[7fluffyfriends]

I agree that a three sided shelter deep enough to keep the horses totally out of the weather and dry would be perfectly good. They are hardy creatures. My only other thought is ... how do you water? Are frozen water buckets something you have to fight with in winter?

We are currently at 9 degrees here and this morning it was 4 degrees - the minis are shiny and bright eyed - even the older ones. They have free choice to a pole barn and heated waterers and that is all a huge help when it gets so cold outside - especially so early in the year.

Sometimes I wonder why we don't all have goldfish instead!

Good luck!

 

[secuono]

Mine have an open barn, breeder up the road has cattle panel hoop houses with part of the back closed off and her's do fine. Depth of snow will be an issue. You might have to dig them paths so they can get out and move instead of being cooped up.

 

[countrygirl65]

I break ice for everything, (cattle, full size horses, mini horses, goats, dogs, chickens, and rabbits) it's close to 20 buckets, 3- 100 gallon tanks, and 20 bowls for rabbits. I have a couple heated buckets, and heaters for tanks but I refuse to use them. Two reasons, the cost of electricity and the risk of fire- I am scared to death of a barn fire.

It really doesn't bother me to bad, typically anything with access to outside only gets ice broken in the morning. When I stall the goats for kidding I water them 2x a day. The rabbits get watered once a day also. When the polar vertex hit us last winter I also had 10 calves on the bottle (but no rabbits) I spent 4 hours a day simply feeding and watering. If we had to put out hay or bedding it took longer. But all for the love of farming right

Thanks for the replies, I will be moving the miniatures next day hubs is off work I am sure they will love the size of the pasture, I don't think they have ever been in that big.

 

[amysue]

To ease your watering chores, you could try insulated waterers. I bought bucket cozies from smartpak for all of the five gallon water buckets and two of the muck bucket sized ones for pasture troughs. They're like a ski jacket for a bucket. Even in wicked cold weather, the buckets never freeze solid on me. I also use a lot of Styrofoam coolers as wateters. Just cut a hole in the top for them to drink out ofand the water wont freeze.

 

[countrygirl65]

Thanks!

 

[user 45739]

Glad to see this thread. We just picked up a couple of Coleman drink coolers (2-gallon size) to use as insulated buckets in the barn, with the plan to get insulation foam board to cut to fit and float on top, so the horses can just push the foam down and drink. We're nearly done with the run-in paddock so they have access to their stalls (and thus the insulated water buckets) all day and I'll put them up as usual at night.

Many years ago, when I was working at a Thoroughbred race horse farm, we had retired horses that were out in pasture/run-in sheds all winter. We'd just pile straw in the run-ins at the beginning of the winter and let the manure "heat the shed". It kept the horses warmer if they chose to stay in the sheds, and also seemed to help keep the water tubs, which we had inside the shed to keep snow out of them, from freezing quite as badly.

Once the winter was past and the weather predictably warmer, we'd clean out all the old straw and freshen things up.

I'm sure your Minis will love their "giant pasture"!

 

[AngC]

Our 3 have an unheated barn; they're allowed out 24/7. It's a "big-horse" barn with the "top/bottom" doors. I close the top doors to block rain/wind, and they can toodle out underneath through the bottom doors. We don't get snow that frequently here in WA; but, somewhere I have photos of Nicky and Coco more than belly-deep in snow. They just plow right through the snow. They're not shaved and don't wear blankets. They only get hay (to keep their little internal heaters cranking.)

The only "freak-out" moment I had was the first year, Nicky was walking around with snow/ice packed into his hooves so he looked like he was wearing platform heels; but by the time I finished panicking and went back out to pick his hooves (like maybe 5 minutes) he had already knocked his hooves clean.

I understand your fear of barn fires. The electrical to our barn is so bad (haven't had time to re-hab it yet) that I don't even like to turn on the lights in ours. Our fence chargers are in there, but we've redone the electrical for that (plus the chargers don't draw that much current.) I would love to plug something in for the water buckets, but like you I fear fire risk.

We have black rubber water buckets (around 6-7 gallons.) Since NIcky's bucket is somewhat near our garage where electric has been re-done, his has an immersion heater (like this: http://www.horsetackonline.com/immersion-water-heater-by-miraco.html ) hooked up to an 'outdoor-rated' extension cord run from our garage. He doesn't mess with things like the two girls do (especially Baby.) I've resistance/voltage checked the immersion heater and feel pretty comfortable with it.

We can't do that with the two girls due to where they're located. Plus Baby tries to dink around with everything. This past week or so, we had a cold snap, so I was using gallon milk jugs. I'd fill two jugs with really hot water; if I went out late at night with 2 gallons--it did freeze over a bit but then I'd go out early in the morning--pick the ice off and pour a couple more gallons of hot water.

 

[amysue]

Leaving bedding all winter is an excellent heat source, commonly referred to as a "bedding back" it keeps animals warm and helps keep snow off roofs. Infact, the dairy industry recommends bedding packs in open barns as opposed to individual stalls as the cows like it better and seem to thrive in it. If you set your shelter up right, you can just scrape the soiled bedding out with the tractor bucket. As mini v said, be sure to put a wind block in front of the shelter otherwise it defeats the purpose of a shelter. Two posts with a sheet of plywood works or a stack of straw bales. You can spray pam cooking spray or smear Vaseline petroleum jelly inside of cleanly picked hooves to deter ice balls from building up in hoof walls. If you have a horse with shoes on without snow pads on and it snows and the farrier cannot come out right away you can make a bootie out of baby diaper and duct tape. I am a fan of those garage in a box shelters as they are cheaper than lumber, totally portable and most tows won't tax them as structures as they are temporary. Just be sure to anchor them down so they dont blow away.

 

[AngC]

Leaving bedding all winter is an excellent heat source, commonly referred to as a "bedding back" it keeps animals warm and helps keep snow off roofs. Infact, the dairy industry recommends bedding packs in open barns as opposed to individual stalls as the cows like it better and seem to thrive in it. If you set your shelter up right, you can just scrape the soiled bedding out with the tractor bucket. As mini v said, be sure to put a wind block in front of the shelter otherwise it defeats the purpose of a shelter. Two posts with a sheet of plywood works or a stack of straw bales. You can spray pam cooking spray or smear Vaseline petroleum jelly inside of cleanly picked hooves to deter ice balls from building up in hoof walls. If you have a horse with shoes on without snow pads on and it snows and the farrier cannot come out right away you can make a bootie out of baby diaper and duct tape. I am a fan of those garage in a box shelters as they are cheaper than lumber, totally portable and most tows won't tax them as structures as they are temporary. Just be sure to anchor them down so they dont blow away.

I really don't understand the "bedding back" thing. Color me stupid, but how would leaving bedding in a stall all winter keep snow off the roof?

uhhh, I guess I don't know what a bedding pack is.

I've read and filed the tip regarding Vaseline and hooves. Luckily we don't get snow that frequently. ...plus my overly-analytical mind-set kicked in. How clean would the hooves have to be before you "lube" them?