HORSES don’t quite understand Christmas the way we do and you may need to consider how best to care for your horses this Christmas. Daily routine tends to go out the window over the holiday season but between all the festivities it is important to remember that routine is very important to horses.

HAVE A PLAN

The festivities can be distracting from our daily duties so make a realistic plan ahead of Christmas. See who is around to share out the equestrian duties and try to keep things as close to the normal routine as possible for your horses.

Organise everything you need in the days leading up to Christmas. Get feeds made up ahead of time, but avoid putting in wet feeds or supplements until the time of feeding as they are likely to make the feed very soggy. If you need to fill haynets or bring hay bales down from the barn do this in advance. These small things will make it a lot easier to quickly hay and feed your horses over Christmas.

Keep feeding times as close to normal as possible. If you know your feeding time on Christmas Day is going to be slightly different try to make this a gradual change. For instance if you normally feed at 5pm and on Christmas Day you know you aren’t going to be home until 6.30pm try to feed a little later each day in the lead up to Christmas and then gradually bring that time back to normal over the following days. Try to avoid changing the feeding routine as much as possible.

If your horse is on livery check with the yard manager ahead of the holidays as to what the normal yard routine is over Christmas. Be sure to respect what they say and be as helpful as possible. Remember they have to look after your horse on Christmas Day!

STOCK UP

The last thing you want to happen over the holiday period is to run out of supplies. Be organised and make sure you have plenty of bedding and feed.

It’s impossible to avoid emergencies but do your best to avoid unnecessary call-outs from your veterinary surgeon and farrier. If you have something minor you think may need attention, get it looked at now to be on the safe side. Don’t let things develop into a problem.

This being said, if there is an emergency most veterinary surgeons will be on call on Christmas Day. However, their regular fees may not apply.

For horses which are stabled or in the field check that automatic water drinkers are clean and working correctly. If your horse uses a water bucket make sure this is topped up and clean.

If you think that you will be delayed and your horse will be left for longer than normal over Christmas, consider buying a larger water bucket to use or giving your horse two water buckets so you can be sure they will not run out of water.

If your horse is living out in the field check them as per normal and make sure they have hay available if grass is limited.

Try to see them as normal over Christmas. If this is not possible, arrange for someone else to cast an eye over them.