Here in
beautiful Victoria, BC, we see snow about once a year. Being on the West Coast our snow is often
heavy, wet, and becomes icy quickly.
As snow
falls, Hidden Acres Farm becomes a winter wonderland. A gorgeous scene with snow-covered trees, Tally-Ho’s
majestic draft horses munching happily on their hay, and dogs running wild while
creating snow trails. We keep this
peacefulness in mind as we work around the clock to maintain the herd’s health
in cold weather.
While draft
horses are able to withstand cold better than lighter breeds (they have a “lower relative body surface area per unit of weightʺ[1]), the majority of Tally-Ho’s horses
are blanketed to provide a bit more energy conservation; and our older horses are
set up to lounge in the shelter of the barn. The above photo shows a few of our horses
(Titan, Tony and Max) that are not
outfitted in blankets. Simply put: these
boys love to shred blankets! If a horse
destroys every blanket we put on them, eventually our logical brains catch up and
we realize this will become a daily game for them. Instead, these horses naturally develop their
own warm, woolly winter coats. Our 30+
years of experience consistently shows that the horses will always choose their
natural environment over our human-created methods, preferring to be with their
herd-mates in the open air, despite cold weather.
On the
farm, our amazing our team of people work in the freezing temperatures to
ensure the horses are cared for! It is important
that the herd continue to have free-choice, high quality feed; receive their
daily grain supplements; and have access to water. The reality: pipes freeze, water troughs
freeze over; machinery ices over; tree branches lean or fall on fence lines;
etc. It’s almost comical to watch us
humans bumbling around the farm shuttling hundreds of buckets of water, losing
our footing around as we put out grain, and creatively finding ways to de-ice,
well, everything.
During
snowy conditions in Victoria we keep safety as a top priority and purposefully halt
all downtown carriage operations.
Extreme cold can be hard on the horsesˊ lungs when they
are working; and our roads become dangerous.
Not only do we not want to risk trucking the horses into town, we don’t want
to risk their (or the public’s) safety around vehicles that could
be slipping on our streets.
As the snow
falls, enjoy the serenity, and while you are out braving the elements to ensure
your animals are safe and happy, remember…
“To love a great horse is to touch something beyond words.ʺ
-Samuel Riddle
(owner of the great Man o’ War and Triple Crown winner, War Admiral)
[1] http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info-coldweather-man.htm
