WELL winter has arrived in Scotland, and although we knew it was coming that first week of frost and snow always comes as a shock to the system, especially when autumn was so unseasonably mild.

It will have come as a shock to your equine charges too, with the grass still growing well in November it is now frosted and, in some places, covered in snow so how can you ensure that winter is as comfortable and enjoyable for your equine as possible?

Exercise

Unless you have the luxury of an indoor school it is unlikely that your horse will get much ridden exercise during the worst of the winter months. Turnout time may also be reduced when yards and roads become treacherous with ice. These changes in your horse's lifestyle mean that his nutritional needs will be very different and in some cases the change may be quite drastic.

In some instances the lack of turnout can bring about unwanted behavioural or personality changes. Another risk associated with reduced mobility is colic so it is important to try to safe guard as much as possible against this. It is important that your horse's feeding regime changes according to his differing needs throughout the winter.

Forage

Forage should always be the most important part of an equine's diet and its importance becomes even more crucial during times of reduced exercise and when temperatures plummet. Forage is not only essential to maintain gut health but it also is the best way to keep a horse warm. The hind-gut fermentation that occurs in order for the horse to digest fibre produces lots of heat, much akin to the horse having its very own mobile radiator!

Hard feed does not have this same warming effect, even though it can be described as heating. It is not this kind of heat that it produces but more the lively, unruly, behavioural kind of hot some of us dread come the winter. Feed forage ad-lib at all times and for horses that are out hay should also be offered in the field, particularly if it is frosty or snowing. There are many different kinds of hay feeders available, and these can help reduce wastage, which should always be a consideration.

Hard feed

Due to reduced exercise, if your horse is a good doer then it is vital to cut back hard feeds so that they don't pile on the pounds. Gradually change your good doer to a low energy chaff with minerals or a balancer pellet. Do not starve them but try to limit the hay that they are able to eat by using very small holed hay nets or even doubling hay nets.

If it is not icy then soak hay for a minimum of four hours to reduce sugar (and therefore energy) levels. This will mean that they can still fulfil their natural desire to be constantly munching, keep their guts healthy and relieve boredom without piling on weight. Use weigh tapes and body condition scoring once a week to keep a track on what is happening with any horse. The eye can be deceptive!

Even if your horse normally loses condition in the winter, his energy needs will still have changed. If his exercise is reduced he no longer requires explosive, fast response type energy, what he needs is extra energy to maintain condition as the cold increases. With this type of horse it is best to swap to a high oil, high fibre, low starch type of feed so that the energy supply is maintained or even increased, but the energy is more of a slow release variety. This should stop any unscheduled 'airs above the ground' whenever you do manage to ride. It will also limit digestive upsets (ulcers, colic etc) due to an unsuitably high starch intake.

Conditioning feeds (preferably nuts) and/or high oil chaffs (Alfa-A Oil) will suit this type of horse very well. As always ensure a constant supply of good quality forage. As this is the biggest portion of a horse's diet in the winter, it is crucial that it is the best quality that you can get.

Slowly does it!

We all know that one of the golden rules of feeding is that any changes to your horses feed should be made gradually. Sudden changes in quantity and/or type of feed (eg from a basic horse and pony cube to a conditioning type cube), can lead to mild digestive upset at one end of the spectrum to colic at the other end. But how gradual is gradual? Changes should be made slowly over a 7-10 day period. The current advice, is that no more than 200g/day of the feed to be introduced should be added / day for a 500kg horse and proportionately less for smaller horses.

It is not just hard feed which has to be changed over gradually; sudden changes in forage supply can also lead to problems. In particular if you are swapping from hay to haylage or vice versa, ensure that you feed both for at least a week. Sudden diet changes upset the delicate balance of the microbes in the horse's gut. The gut microbes need time to adjust to a new feed. It is sometimes worthwhile to think about feeding the gut rather than just the horse.

Water

One of the hardest things to keep on top of when temperatures are below zero, for prolonged periods, is the provision of water. This sometimes forgotten nutrient is even more important in the winter as your horse's diet has likely changed from a nice, wet grass based diet to a dry, forage diet. If possible try to fill water buckets with warm water so that they will hopefully last a while before they freeze again. Wrap outdoor troughs and buckets with straw or blankets to provide some insulation. Use a ball on the surface of troughs to try to stop ice forming all over the trough. If there is someone on the yard that can do water duty during the day as well as morning and evening then this is ideal. Many impaction type colics occur during the winter due to a combination of lack of water and lack of exercise. Try to add as much water to the bucket feed as possible, by either using sugarbeet type products or just adding warm water to chaff. This can ensure that their water intake is kept up. In cold weather horses sometimes prefer their water to have the chill taken off, this can be easily achieved by simply adding a flask of hot water to a bucket of cold water.

On the bright side, it is only a few days till the shortest day and then we will have lengthening days and spring on the horizon. Plenty to look forward to. In the mean time, ensure your horse has a constant supply of forage and water and winter won't seem quite such a chore for you or your horse.