Ten degrees this morning. Negative five wind chill. Last night we put out seven bales of Bermuda grass hay (for 8 horses) to make sure it would last through the night. Grass hay is the fuel for their heat generating engine. No blankets. (See our recent blog post. Blankets subvert their own amazing thermoregulatory system.) They had the barn breezeway for a wind break. And the submersible pump in the pond to keep it from freezing. This morning they were all in high spirits. Even Skeeter who will be 27 in March. Several were actually frolicking in the snow.
Skeeter boy always knows where the camera is :).
I love your articles about no blankets, I run a boarding facility and rarely put blankets on my own horses, but I often share your articles with my boarders to help back up when I tell them their horses will be fine without heavy blankets on!
Callie
No horses at my house – was 0 here (mainly because the sensor in the shed doesn’t go below!) Water froze – first time in 10 years. Noticed in passing this am that 2 places who have horses didn’t turn out today. Your kids are tough. AND healthy. Your pump certainly seems to be working well!
By the way, I went on the site for Nokota horses (?) yesterday and saw your blog as a link. Youre getting around!
Stay warm Joe & Kathleen
And yay for that Maggie. Didn’t know. Thanks for the heads up.
Good for you, Joe, and good for your horses! It’s tough sometimes to look at the thermometer and not want to make our horses look all warm and cozy, because it makes US feel all warm and cozy! Here in upstate New York it was almost -20° with the wind chill last week, and we’re looking at -30° with wind chill for the next two+ days. Our horses, donkeys and mule are all outside and naked as jaybirds, except for their own thick, wooly coats. Thank goodness they’re all healthy and sound, because it’s sure a pleasure to watch them play in the snow. God knew what he was doing when he put coats on His animals!
Indeed He did Robynne!