05/12/2025
Behavioural changes in winter 🐴
It is widely accepted that winter and the cold just makes horses “fresh” but I want to give you some deeper ideas to think about before you set about working your horse harder to offset this.
Behaviour doesn’t deteriorate because horses feel good, behaviour deteriorates because they feel worse. Explosive behaviour, “freshness”, rearing, bucking, biting, grumpy faces, tail swishing, barging, being mean to other horses, being difficult around hoof handling, to rug and to tack up are all signs your horse is struggling.
If your horse’s behaviour changes during winter it is because things in his environment and/or his body have changed.
We’re generally looking at their basic needs not being met and/or they’re experiencing more pain or discomfort than they do in the warmer months.
If a horse’s behaviour deteriorates with the cold weather despite nothing else changing we are highly likely looking at a pain issue. I see horses with cribbing or wind sucking behaviours that hugely increase in the winter months despite them still living out 24/7, they are using it as a stress-relief because their bodies are struggling more.
Here are a few points to think about when assessing your own horse’s situation:
🐴 Cold - if your horse has orthopaedic issues they are probably going to feel worse in the cold. This is why I think behaviour deteriorating in winter can be so indicative of pain/discomfort. I used to be such a “never rug an unclipped horse” person, but I now have 2 older unclipped horses with orthopaedic issues who I keep well rugged as I notice a difference in their comfort levels when I don’t.
Coping is not the same as thriving and if you have a question mark about your horse it is worth trying to keep them warmer to see if their behaviour improves. Overweight horses can get a really harsh deal here, leaving horses to deliberately get too cold to get weight off them may be counterproductive, especially if they’re already struggling with orthopaedic issues, try to assess the horse in front of you.
If you have a clipped horse and it is very cold it is worth keeping a rug over them until they are warmed up when you ride them.
Horses who are moving less and eating less fibre will have a harder time staying warm.
🐴 Mud - It is unfortunately something most of us have to deal with in UK winters, hello fellow clay-land dwellers. Moving through thick, sticky mud or across wet, slippy mud is hard on their bodies. Just think how hard it is for your to trudge through in your wellies. Again any horse who is already struggling with physical issues is going to feel the strain and fatigue from moving around through mud and this could exacerbate their issues and cause a deterioration in their behaviour.
Extra fun is when your deep mud turns to rock solid ruts in the ice for your horse to navigate.
We could think about creating mud-free areas, moving onto rested fields or turning out in the yard or arena etc.
🐴 Less movement - Perhaps like many people you are having to keep your horse stabled more than you’d like, your horse is in a smaller turnout space or he is just not inclined to move as much because he is parked at a hay bale and all of the grass has gone. Every system in the horses body thrives on movement to stay healthy so you can see how we can quickly run into issues when we are forced to restrict it.
If you need to add extra movement to your horse’s day it is much better to focus on calm movement like hand walking together and enrichment activities. This is much healthier for your horse than having their mouth/face yanked about because they’re too over threshold to contain themselves on the lunge. Being able to mooch and have a good roll in the arena can go a long way to helping them feel more settled.
🐴 Social concerns - if horses are being stabled more this means they’re spending more time alone and feeling isolated from their herd, this can be really stressful for horses. There is also the added stress of their friends being turned out/brought in at different times. Creating a plan so field mates aren’t left stressing without each other can really help. If two horses are good friends you can hand walk them together and let them groom each other too.
I won’t stable either of my horses any more, when they are “in” they are in a corral or large indoor pen together. Being together and having space to mooch between hay stations meets their needs so much better than individual stabling.
🐴 Weather stress - the weather in winter is generally more unsettled and naturally puts horses more on edge. High winds and relentless rain add to a horse’s stress load.
🐴 Gut health - there are so many factors that affect gut health. Seasonal hormonal changes, changes in diet such as moving from grass onto more hay, changes in the grass itself and higher-stress levels as discussed in the previous points. We want to make sure our horse’s have access to appropriate forage 24/7 so they are getting plenty of fibre, then we need to consider how to support them nutritionally and supplement where appropriate.
So there are several ideas to think about before you reach for your gloves and the lunge line, a horse exploding on the lunge is slamming loads of brace and stress into their already compromised body. There are other ways you can better support your horse which are healthier for his body and his mind. Let’s address the cause the best we can instead of just trying to manage the symptoms. 🐴
