First Coast Pet

Posts Tagged ‘winter’

Even pets that normally spend all of their time outside need and appreciate a warm place to sleep on those bitter cold winter nights. Almost any place will do. A mud room or a garage is often a great choice to protect your pet from rain, wind, snow and frigid temperatures. Consider the following to protect your pet.

Even inside the mudroom or garage, the pet will need a nice warm dogs bed to be most comfortable. Many of these rooms have a concrete floor that will quickly remove heat from your pets body. A good quality bed acts as an insulator to keep the pet warm on the coldest of nights.

If it is still too cold even in the mudroom or garage for your pet, you may want to consider adding a portable space heater. Just be sure that it is away from anything combustible, and that the cord is not somewhere that you pet could chew into it or knock the heater over. Most of these heaters do have an emergency switch that will turn them off if they are tipped.

Sometimes outside pets get wet and muddy before coming inside. If there is a muddy mess in the pets room, try using your Hoover wet dry vacuum to clean up. Once you get the water and mud picked up, you will want to use an old towel to remove the remainder of the mess. The vacuum will also pick up excess pet hair after the pet moves back outside to his favorite dog run.

It having the pet inside is not possible, then try to provide a warm dog house. Waterproof burlap helps to keep rain and wind outside of the house when hung over the door. It also helps to keep body heat inside so that your dog has a warm spot out of the weather. You can also add wood shavings or straw to the inside of the dog house to give the pet a place to burrow and stay even warmer.

Pets that stay outside during the cold will need an extra portion of food for these very cold days. Their bodies require the food in order to provide the heat that is needed for them to keep warm.

When water is freezing outside, you pet still needs to have water to drink. Provide fresh water three to four times every day. Cold windy weather can lead to dehydration in pets, so for their health, be sure that you provide the water that is needed.

When you care for your horse, it is vital to make provision for the winter months. Horses should be able to tolerate the winter climate and stay as healthy as possible. In the winter horses will have particular requirements which you as the owner will have to take in hand. It is vital to organize for winter in advance.

Horses naturally lend themselves to cool climates. In fact, horses cope with icy weather conditions much better than warm weather. Despite this, there are some essential things owners will need to do to make sure their horses remain healthy. Be sure the horse doesn’t have any parasites, and has been vaccinated up to date. The expenditure for doing these things will significantly pay off during the winter, as the expenses of feeding your horse will be reduced.

You may also want to work with your vet in planning up a health plan for your horse. Preparing your horse for cold weather will help it reduce the requirement to eat greater amounts of feed in order to maintain its weight. There’s no need for your horse to lose weight during the winter. Permitting your horse to gain a slight amount of weight will help them throughout the winter months, as the extra fat will act as a cushion to supply the horse with energy if it becomes stressed. Throughout the winter you will want to provide your horse with some extra calories.

The best protection for a horse throughout the winter is its actual winter coat. If allowed to grow, it will act as a warm blanket which will lower the loss of heat that the horse experiences in winter scenarios. A horse’s coat is also glossy and will help brush off off the frost and ice. If kept outside, you will want to make sure their coats grow long before the temperature drops for winter.

To confirm the condition of your horse, you will need to feel its ribs. A longer coat may indeed hide the fact that your horse has lost weight You should be able to feel your horses ribs, but not be able to see them. You should also feel your horses ears. Are they cold? If this is the case, your horse is cold.

Like all animals which are warm-blooded, horses have to regulate their body temperatures in order to remain healthy. It is crucial that they conserve heat during the winter, so you should ensure they’re ready for the frost.

Visit the Horse and Pony Directory for more information and horses for sale