How are your stable preparations for winter going? You want to ensure that your horses stay healthy, happy, and warm all winter long, and that starts before the first snow falls. You need to have enough food for your horses, you need to get ready for the cold, and since your horses will likely be spending more time indoors, you need to ensure that the stables themselves will be able to keep them protected from the elements.
Here are 4 ways you can prep your stable for winter.
#1. Deep Clean
Just like you can’t give your horses baths once the temperature drops too low, cleaning the stables once winter strikes can be quite the challenge. While it’s one thing to eye your once-white horse and yearn for warmer days so that you can restore their coat to its former pristine glory, when it comes to your stables, keeping them clean is about more than aesthetics. As such, this is a crucial way to prep your stable for winter.
Since horses tend to spend more time in the stable during winter, doing a deep clean helps preserve a healthier environment for them to stay in. If the stable lacks cleanliness, this can result in health problems, such as respiratory issues.
You can prevent such issues with measures like hosing down rubber mats, the floors, and the walls with disinfectant. You can fix anything that needs fixing. It’s also good to do this before it gets too cold, as you want everything to dry thoroughly, to both prevent mold growth and problems from freezing.
#2. Take Care Of Any Repairs
If anything around the stable needs fixing, it’s best to take care of that when you’re working to prep your stable for winter. For instance, you’ll want to ensure that all of the lights are functioning properly, to ensure that everyone can see in the shorter, darker days. You’ll want to seal any drafty areas, to keep the stables warmer. You’ll want to look for anywhere that pests could sneak in and seal these spots off as best you can.
You’ll also want to ensure that all of your pipes and faucets and the like have been properly insulated in order to prevent problems like frozen, burst pipes.
#3. Prepare Winter Supplies
Come the winter months, stable maintenance tasks change. As such, when you prep your stable for winter, you don’t want to forget about this. You’ll want to ensure that you have the appropriate winter supplies, such as snow shovels and salt and headlamps, in order to ensure that you’re ready for the conditions this season brings with it.
#4. Stock Up On Food And Water
If you are working to prep your stable for winter, chances are, you’ve already been stockpiling hay to ensure that you have enough to get you through the winter months. Your horses can’t exactly graze the way they used to when the ground is covered in snow. The winter season can be challenging enough without having to worry about running low on food or water for your horses.
You can make this a bit easier for yourself and your horses by installing insulated non-electric automatic waterers. This way, you won’t have to worry about if your horses will have enough to drink or if their water is frozen over and you need to go out and break the ice. Instead, your horses will just be able to drink temperate, clean water all year round, without you having to worry about it.
Non-Electric Automatic Waterers For Your Stables
Bar Bar A makes keeping your horses hydrated throughout the winter easier than ever before with our non-electric automatic waterers. These connect to your water line, so that when your horses go to drink, water comes up, and when they’re done, the water drains back down. This makes it easy to ensure that your horses receive the fresh, clean, temperate water they need in order to stay healthy and hydrated, no matter the season.
If you’re working to prep your stable for winter and want to make watering your horses easier, installing one of our waterers is a great way to do so. To learn more about our automatic horse waterers, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.