It will be late January when you receive this issue of the magazine. Winter already has been tough on many of us, and on our horses. Lots of snow, freezing rain, and below-normal temperatures make us wish for more temperate climes where we actually can get on our horses and ride on something not frozen. Someplace where our ears, fingers, toes, and nose aren’t constantly numb by the time we finish chores. Blessed are those with indoor arenas in this type of weather.

Winter also is colic weather. Horses don’t tend to drink as much water when it’s cold — and we don’t much like chopping ice — so they are more prone to impaction colic. They also don’t get as much exercise, and often owners mistakenly feed horses too much of the wrong thing to “help them fight the cold weather.” Hay is the ticket to keeping the digestive system working naturally and “warming up” the horse. After all, equines are designed to be “hay burners.”

In case of emergency, make sure you have your veterinarian’s phone numbers close to the phone, and know what you need to tell him or her if your horse isn’t “acting just right