Rainy, warmer weather also help set up the environmental conditions for horses to rapidly develop rain rot, also called rain scald. Preventing rain rot isn’t particularly complicated; you simply have to keep your equine buddy clean and dry. Unfortunately, that can be easier said than done, in our climate.

To be blunt, rain rot can be a total pain to get cleared up, once your horse comes down with a galloping case of it. It’s not life-threatening, but it’s awfully unattractive, and can become stubbornly entrenched. If this is the first winter/spring you’ve spent in a rainy climate with your horse, you might not have seen this condition before, and might you’re uncertain as to how to recognize whether your equine companion has a case of rain rot.

If you surf around the internet looking for information, you’ll find several articles that mention rain scald as something that occurs to “horses in poor body condition”—and that’s more than a little misleading. When you live in a climate like ours, perfectly normal, healthy horses can develop rain rot.

You’ll likely first notice little bumps on your horse’s skin, or a sort of rippled, odd texture to the skin and hair, often along his back or hips, or even on his neck. In more advanced cases, the hair looks matted and crusted. If you gently brush at it, the hair and scabs lift away, leaving patches of bare, irritated, sometimes serum-oozing skin, beneath. It really is pretty distinctive, and once you’ve seen it, you won’t mistake it for ringworm or any of the other skin conditions horses can develop.

Some horses seem more prone to the condition than others. Rain scald is most often caused by a fungus, Dermatophilus congolensis. The fungus requires an oxygen-poor environment, so you’re going to have to gently clean away the thick hair and crusty, scurfy scabs to let the air reach the affected areas, before the infection will clear up. The easiest and most gentle way to do this is with daily bathing, until the hair starts growing back on those bald patches. You should use an anti-microbial shampoo, like chlorhexidine or dilute betadine scrub.

It’s also important to remember that the condition is transmissible; you should thoroughly clean and disinfect any brushes, curry-combs, blankets, and tack. If you’re having trouble getting the condition to heal, you might need to give your vet a call—extreme cases may require a course of antibiotics, or your horse might have another skin condition, complicating treatment.

Rain rot isn’t particularly uncomfortable, and it’s certainly not a reason for stall rest. While you’re waiting for your horse’s skin to clear up enough that you can ride, again, don’t hesitate to make use of the extra time for grooming, groundwork, and bonding.

The cost of hay has increased as much as 60 percent in some parts of the country this year. According to an article published last summer by the Tri-City Herald in Washington State, the amount of acreage devoted to growing hay has dropped 11 percent since 2003. In the Pacific Northwest, a bad growing season further reduced the amount (and quality) of hay for sale.

To compound the problem, the United States ships a lot of its hay to Asia. According to a study by the Livestock Economics department at Washington State University, ports in the Pacific Northwest provide about 65% of the total hay import to Pacific Rim countries such as Japan and Korea.

Most of the hay sold in the Pacific Northwest, both local and exported, is used for dairy farms. According to the WSU study, the Pacific Northwest “produces the highest average milk yield per cow in the United States.” The overall high quality of our local hay has a lot to do with the quality and quantity of our milk.

Dairy farmers have been increasing the size of their herds over the last few years. Although dairy herds in Oregon saw a decline in 2007, the total number of dairy cows in both Washington and Idaho saw a sharp increase. And all those cows are hungry!

If you’re starting to feel the pinch, you might want to look into alternatives to the hay you usually buy. The Colorado State University Extension Office has an article on how to stretch your hay, including conversion tables so that you can calculate how much you will need to feed. Always be sure to feed your horse a proper diet, with the correct amount of roughage!

All of these factors have caused the price of hay to go through the roof. And of course, add to that the recession, which is causing a lot of families to make difficult choices about where to cut back their spending. Between these two factors, there are a lot of horses out there who need a new home.

How can you help? If you have been thinking about getting another horse, now is a great time to buy or adopt. Horse sellers are reporting a collapse in horse sales, both at auction and by owner. Adoption is another wonderful option.

You can ask your local animal shelter for information on local horse rescue organizations and shelters. Even if you can’t afford to adopt another horse, there has been a sharp decline in charity donations this year. They will welcome any donations you can make, be it money or in extra tack, equipment, or feed. Even the smallest amount can make a difference.

If you already have a horse and are having trouble finding a way to make ends meet, please think of your horse. States like Montana and Wyoming are seeing a significant increase in the number of pet horses released “into the wild.” These horses don’t do well, and most of them are rounded up and sold at auction. A domesticated horse may be able to forage well in summer, but it’s going to have a rough time in winter. Letting your horse “run free” is cruelty, plain and simple.

Animal control agencies are also reporting an increase in the number of seized animals this year. Please don’t let things get to the point where animal control has to come rescue your horses from your care. If you can’t afford to keep your horse, make that tough decision to find it another home - now, before things get too bad.

If it’s at all possible, offer your horse a bucket of tepid or even warm water, at least twice a day, in addition to her normal water supply (which she’s currently turning her nose up at because it freezes on her whiskers.) If there’s just no practical way to offer warmer water, then consider adding a scant fistful (a couple of tablespoons) of pickling salt to her feed.

And speaking of feed, a really good way to get a little extra water into your horse is to feed mashes. Remember reading those horse stories when we were kids, and some beloved horse is always getting fed a warm bran mash? You can use wheat bran, beet pulp, or rice bran, as a means of getting some extra salt, fat, calories, and water into your horse’s diet, when the weather turns off cold and foul.

Beet pulp pellets are available at almost any feed store; beet pulp is nutritious, and horses typically like it. You can sometimes buy shredded beet pulp, but it’s more expensive and harder to find. I always, always, always soak my beet pulp pellets. Some people don’t, but the pellets are very dense, hard, difficult to chew, and will absorb twice their own volume in water—and we’re trying to get extra water into your horse’s guts, not suck it out. So for a quart of beet pulp pellets, you’ll want to use at least a half gallon of water. If you use cold water, let them soak overnight. If you have hot water available, then a half-hour or so is usually long enough. You can make enough all at once for the entire day’s mashes, because the soaked beet pulp keeps quite well in a bucket, in cool weather.

Making a mash is simple. You don’t even have to be a good cook. Take your horse’s feed pan, add two or three cups of beet pulp and/or plain wheat bran (available at almost any feed store), add the normal portion of sweet-feed and/or supplement, a fistful of salt, and enough (warm, if you have access) water to make the mixture into a sloppy gruel. If she won’t eat it, you can add apples, carrots, or other favorite treats to entice a horse that’s never eaten a mash to give it a try. You’ll get better at figuring out just how your horse likes her cuisine served, as you practice, too. If you’re wildly successful beyond your dreams, heck, try it out on your family for breakfast, too.

It takes a bit more time and care, but your horse is going to be safer, happier, and healthier for it. She’s less likely to lose weight or colic during the cold-snap, and you’ll sleep better.

Take a good look at your horse, to begin with. Is she a bit thin, already? Perhaps she’s a hard-keeper, anyway? You’ll want to beef up her feed, then, especially during cold, wet, weather: Extra hay, if she’s currently cleaning it all up, and extra grain or sweet feed, as well. Horses can shiver off an amazing amount of calories, even just overnight.

There’s no need to stop riding, during the cold weather. In fact, you and your horse can very much enjoy cold-weather rides; but you’ll want to perhaps take your warm-up a bit more slowly. Pay close attention to how easily your horse is breathing, and don’t be surprised if she coughs a bit while warming up, especially if she’s spent more time than usual, stall-bound. It’s dustier in a stall than out in a pasture, after all. (If she doesn’t stop coughing, though, you’ll want to stop working her and figure out whether or not she’s ill.) You’ll definitely need to leave extra time for cool-down and extra grooming, after a ride. If you don’t have a good cooler to toss over your sweaty horse, post-workout, you’ll need one. (I often use an old wool blanket I’ve repurposed for this situation, actually) If you’re going out on the trail, consider a rump-rug, to keep the big muscles in her hind-quarters warm and comfy.

You’ll want to leave a bit of extra time to curry her, as well. Her winter coat is denser and longer than her summer coat, and she’ll need more time to dry. That winter coat, by the way, serves her better if it’s well groomed. Warm air traps much more effectively between those longer, thicker hairs when they’re clean, fluffy, and free of mud, sweat, and debris.

You’ll want to provide a good blanket, whether she’s in a stall or turned out. If your horse has access to pasture, that blanket really should be waterproof. (I like Weatherbeeta ^TM, or Rambo Rugs ^TM.) We’ll be talking more about blankets again, when we get around to the rainrot conversation, by the way. Tomorrow, though, we’re going to visit about feeding for cold or inclement weather.

I’m not a vet, and I don’t play one on TV—so I’m not qualified to give veterinary medical advice. As always, don’t hesitate to talk to your own vet, farrier, or trainer. All of these highly-experienced folks will be familiar with your local climate, as well as any issues specific to your horse.

Scratches is the layman’s term for what is, essentially, pododermatitis. Either a fungus called Sporotrichum schenkii , or sometimes a bacteria called dermatophilus congolensis seem to be the most usual causes of scratches. The condition can also be complicated by bacteria and secondary infection. You can’t just ignore scratches because it’s likely to get much worse, left untreated.

Every experienced horse person you talk to will have their own personal favorite remedy for this common condition. You’ll hear advice that ranges from sauerkraut poultices to clipping the area and coating it with nitrofurazone, zinc oxide, diaper-rash ointment, or cattle-wormer paste. I’ve tried most of these things, and honestly most of them work just fine. You’ll find even more advice if you do a quick Google search, including multiple offers for sure-thing remedies, if you’ll just enter your credit card number in the box provided. Mostly what these remedies have in common is that they drastically change the environment that would have allowed the fungus (or bacteria) to grow unchecked.

In my own experience, for the most part, common sense is going to help you more than anything; first things first, get the horse out of the environment that’s causing and aggravating the condition. Your horse, and his developing scratches, needs to be standing somewhere dry. You can bring him into a dry stall, or provide dry bedding in his pasture shelter. You’ll need to clean up the affected areas, gently and thoroughly, so you can get a good look at the skin. I’ve had good luck with plain ivory dish-soap, in warm water, with the kind of scrubby mitt you might, in warmer weather, use to bathe him. It’s an effective topical cleanser, but still mild enough not to further aggravate the already painful and inflamed skin. Then follow the advice of someone you trust to know what they’re talking about, to get the infection itself cleared up.

Once your horse is showing healthy, pink, unbroken skin, it’s time to think about preventing a recurrence. It’s hard to go wrong with a good moisture-shield, when you’re ready to turn your horse back out—and this is where I’ve had the best luck with diaper-rash ointment. You simply coat the healing areas with a generous layer of ointment to help protect the tender new skin.

Next time, we’ll talk about identifying, treating, or preventing the last of the Unholy Three conditions I’ve come to associate with winter in the Northwest: Rainrot.

The specter of a barn fire looms over every horse owner - as it should. It’s not uncommon for a barn to burn to the ground in the space of a few minutes. In cases where the structure remains intact, horses can die quickly from smoke inhalation. Everyone who works in your barn should be involved in fire prevention.

Ignition

• Cigarette smoking is an obvious source of flame. A lit cigarette accidentally dropped into a pile of loose hay can kick everything off. No smoking in the barn!
• Piles of dirty rags can spontaneously combust. Rags which have come in contact with any chemical, even something as innocuous as leather conditioner, should always be cleaned before being put back on the shelf. Oily rags are a common culprit in fires, but other chemicals can break down over time and become flammable.
• Damp hay can spontaneously combust. Horse safety expert Michelle Staples reports that “One of the three major causes of stable fires is hay.”
• Electrical equipment should never be left to run unattended. Stable fires can started by box fans, space heaters, radios - anything that plugs into the wall. If you like to leave a radio on for your horses, buy one that can run on rechargeable batteries.
• Make sure that your electrical system is up to code, and use it correctly. Don’t chain together more than one extension cord per outlet, and don’t use an adapter so that you can plug a ton of things into the same outlet. Inspect extension cords frequently, looking for cracks and mouse bites in the insulation.

Prevention

• Keep loose hay swept up - not only in the hay room, but in the tack room, aisles, and the dozens of other nooks and crannies where the Loose Hay Fairies sprinkle their magic. Loose hay can spread a fire quickly.
• Keep fire extinguishers beside every exit, inside every room, and at the middle of any long aisle. Make sure that everyone who works in your barn knows the location of every fire extinguisher, and knows how to use them.
• Make sure your phone is easy to reach, and that everyone knows where it is. If you have a cordless phone, designate a spot for the handset and make sure it doesn’t wander. Post your address (and directions if necessary) beside the phone.
• A standard home smoke detector isn’t designed to be used in a stable. Its sensors quickly clog with barn dust, rendering it useless. Instead, use optical or heat-sensing smoke detectors which are designed for use in dusty locations.
• If you operate a commercial stable, and are on a municipal water supply, consider putting in a sprinkler system. Horse fire safety expert Laurie Loveman has some excellent articles on the various considerations involved in setting up a sprinkler system. A sprinkler system is expensive, but check with your insurance agent - it may reduce your monthly premium.

This can present as dramatic lameness, with a very sudden onset. I’m not kidding when I say “dramatic,” either. I know people who’ve hauled horses to the vet for a middle-of-the-night emergency call, because they were certain the horse had somehow broken a leg—only to find out the horse had an abscessed hoof, instead. If you do that with your own horse, prepare to be an extraordinarily good sport when the vet, interns, and techs you’ve dragged from their beds in the middle of the night snicker at you while they treat your horse.

So you go out to the pasture, and your horse is refusing to walk up and get his hay. He’s toe-pointing, and non-weight-bearing on on leg . . . but he was just fine, a few hours ago. Once you ascertain that he hasn’t been kicked by a pasture-buddy, the tendons and ligaments are cool and tight to the touch, none of the joints are hot or swollen on the affected leg, and there aren’t any new joints and no bones poking out through his skin, it’s time to suspect an abscess in the hoof.

There are a variety of causes for an abscess. Anything that compromises the sole of the foot—nail-punctures, bits of gravel or debris, improper trimming and shoeing, even a deep bruise—can result in this incredibly painful condition.

What do you do? The poor horse looks miserable, it’s raining, and you’re just not feeling up to performing exploratory surgery. If you go look it up on the Internet, you’ll find a lot of contradictory and confusing advice: soak it, don’t soak it, open the sole to let it drain, don’t go digging around in the sole, get antibiotics for the horse, give him bute, don’t give him bute, put him on stall rest, make him walk around . . .

If this is the first abscess you’ve had to deal with, first things first. Call your most horse-knowledgeable buddy, and ask them if they know anything about treating an abscess. Next, clean the entire hoof (sole, too) and leg. Check for visible punctures, bruises, and abrasions. When you look at the sole of the foot, look for black lines or pockets, especially where the sole meets the hoof-wall. Many times you can actually see where an abscess has formed.

Certainly, soaking the foot in warm epsom-salts water isn’t going to do any harm, can help with the pain, and might help identify the problem area. Don’t go poking around with a screwdriver or hoof-knife, though; leave that for your vet or your farrier, or your extremely knowledgeable friend/trainer whom you’re willing to trust with your horse’s future soundness. If your knowledgeable friend wants to poke around with a screwdriver, reconsider his or her participation and call your vet or farrier, instead; call whichever is most likely to be able to schedule your horse immediately.

Your farrier should be able to tell you whether or not you need a vet for a prescription for antibiotics, depending on how severe the abscess.

Regular hoof-care, regularly-scheduled trimming/shoeing, and keeping your horse’s environment free of debris can all contribute to better overall hoof-health. If your pasture is muddy, try to find a way to bring in gravel or fill (hog-fuel is a Pacific Northwest favorite) so he’s not standing in a constant environment of muddy bacterial soup. Keeping horses in a wet winter climate presents its own set of challenges and health risks. Fortunately, a bit of extra care goes a long way towards mitigating the adverse effects of the climate.

Next time: The Wild World of Scratches!

In the winter, though, when you wake up, clean stalls, feed, and go to work, all before the sun is all the way up? Less fun. And when you come home in the dark, then feed, and clean that stall yet again? Way less fun, still.

So what do we do with horses in the winter, besides wait for the weekend? Arena lights are all well and good, if you happen to have access—but if you’ve got backyard horses like I do, it’s more than I can face to load up and trailer to an indoor, lighted facility and ride.

But remember those familiar, well-loved trails you’ve spent so many hours on in the long summer daylight? Those trails are sheer magic in the dark.

Now, if you happen to be an endurance rider, you’re probably already nodding your head in agreement. But if, like me, you came to night-riding later on in your horse experience, you’re furrowing your brow and maybe thinking I’m nuts.
I’m not. Hear me out. This can change and improve your horse life, (and your horse’s life).

Trail riding at night might sound scary. There are several things to remember to keep yourself and your horse safe, too. Here’s where to start.

• Call up your trail-riding buddy, the one who complains and commiserates with you about not getting any free and unstructured saddle-time in the winter, and propose an adventure. Get her to agree before she knows the specifics.
• Pick a safe trail that you and your horses know very well. Make a date to meet, and give a night-ride a try. Plan a short ride, for your first outing. (Make sure someone at home knows where you’re going, and when you’ll be back.)
• Dress carefully—you’re going to have a lot more fun if you’re warm and dry and comfortable.
• Remember to pack a flashlight on your saddle but try not to have to turn it on, once mounted. You won’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary, because it will actually mess up your night-vision (and more importantly, your horses’ night vision) and the jouncing of the flashlight beam can cause motion-sickness.
• Set a goal for yourself, so you don’t go out and just trudge along. You should have an idea how long this particular ride takes in the daylight, already. Add in some extra time, because even a trot feels like you’re flying, in the dark.
• Wear something reflective. They make reflective tape, if nothing else. Even if you don’t think you’ll find yourself hiking along the shoulder of a highway in the dark, it could happen. (Trust me. I know.) Or if the Search and Rescue helicopter has to find you with a spotlight, at the bottom of a ravine, it’ll help. KIDDING. I’M KIDDING. Seriously, do dress to be visible in the dark. Some strips of reflective tape on your tack or braided into your pony’s tail might be a good idea, too.
• Ride. Really ride. Learn that trail you already know, this time in the dark. Your horse sees better than you do, remember, so trust your pony. If you find yourself getting nervous or disoriented, hop off and hike for a bit, until you’re steadier and feel ready to hop back up. There’s no shame in that.

Remember, this is bonding time for you and your horse. Those exercises your trainer makes you do to learn to trust your mount? This is when you learn what use they really are. This is when the two of you can form one of those bonds other riders shake their heads in envy over. Don’t let winter stop you, go have an adventure, instead.

Montez votre cheval!

There’s an old joke among horse-people about buying the horse itself being the cheapest part of getting and having a horse. No matter how old and hoary the joke may be, every time it’s told, horse-people supply the punchline in unison, and everyone chuckles ruefully at the bone-deep truth of the basic observation.

Maybe you just saw one of those ads —you know the ones—they read something like, “15.3 hand, 1/2 QH, free to good home: Joe-Bob is steady and safe, 19 years old with excellent manners. Bombproof on the trail. I just have too many horses - so Joe-Bob is free to caring home with excellent references.”

There’s another aphorism that goes like this: Free horses never are.

I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble. And I don’t want to prevent the good work done by animal-rescue people everywhere, either. Horse-ownership is a huge commitment of your time, energy, and money, though, and not to be rushed into.

So let’s ask some basic questions, first:

1. How much hay does a horse eat? 15-20 pounds a day, usually, at least. And then it comes out the other end and has to be dealt with in manure form. Are you set up to deal with hay storage and a manure pile, or are your neighbors going to pass a new community covenant to get rid of you and your new steed?
2. If you’re not going to keep your trusty pony at home, are you ready to commit to the cost of boarding him? (And don’t forget to factor in travel time and gas mileage, when you answer this.)
3. How much free time do you have? And are you really ready to give up (at bare minimum) an hour or more out of every day? And it’s every day, remember—Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and making sure your horse is taken care of the next time you want to go to the beach for a couple of days. What about taking lessons, scheduling vet visits, farrier visits, and making time to just go ride or groom or play with that new horse? This can take over your every free hour pretty fast. Your house won’t be as clean, you’ll get stains on your clothes, and you’ll notice a bumper crop of assorted bruises, scrapes, and twinges you’ve never had before.
4. How much disposable income are you willing to commit? Horse ownership adds up fast. Board bills (or fencing and shelter, if you’re keeping horses on your own property,) feed bills, worming, hoof-trims/shoeing, halters/blankets/saddles/other assorted tack, surprise middle-of-the-night veterinary emergencies, and that’s not even considering the really big expenses like a truck and trailer, or converting the garden to a round-pen or exercise arena.
5. How does your family feel about the idea? It’s not going to be that much fun cleaning that stall before you leave for work, especially after the novelty wears off. It’s going to be even less fun when the person who shares your bed starts snarling at you when the alarm is going off an hour early.

That all sounds a bit negative, maybe. I don’t mean for it to, honestly, I love my horses. If you’re still game, after all that, (or if it’s already too late for you, you have your horse already because you’ve been bit by the same bug as me) then visit again. We’ll talk about horses and horse-ownership, and tell stories to each other, and generally commiserate in that special way only other horse people get.