Derbygirl

I know of a man who owns 5 horses that he keeps on his farm. Last winter I was horrified to see these poor horses standing outside in the field in single digit weather. Now normally this man takes very good care of his horses and always feeds them well. So, this just makes me wonder if horses are very cold weather tolerant or even like it?

HorseDaughter

Yes, I wondered the same, especially last winter, when we had so much ice and snow, and frigid temps - and I saw horses outside at more than one place and was curious if it was even healthy - or if they are OK, if their coats grow thicker in the winter to provide more insulation

Jewel

Many horses do develop thicker coats in the winter but I would still not want my horses outside in the weather for too long in single digit temperatures. On the other hand, when you live in colder climates you can't leave them shut up in their stalls all the time with no exercise.

Buckskin

Horses are big creatures so they don't lose body heat very quickly, but they should have some shelter from wind and rain. It's their legs that get coldest, but they'll often cope, and coats don't really protect their legs.

SaddleSore

They may have been out there by choice, for activity for the day. They'd go half crazy if they stayed in a stall all day, even though it might be cozy.

Derbygirl

I guess I never thought about their size holding in their body heat. I'm sure that even though it was wicked cold they would still want to be out and about to some extent. I was just being my usual worry wart self.

Ladybird

I live in Wyoming and my horses love the colder weather. They are twice as active in the colder winter months. It's really quite something to watch them frolicking and playing in their field.

HorseDaughter

Now that I think about it - I know I have seen the same thing happening at the horse farm up the road. I have watched some of those horses charging across the snowy fields, especially after a new snowfall - the light fluffy snow - kicking it up in the air and even sticking their noses in the snow and flipping it up that way - the same way my dog does!