United States Eventing Association

As the leaves begin to change in autumn, it’s time to get ready for colder weather. The short list of preparing for winter is to pack everything into your truck and trailer and drive south…but if you must stay in a colder climate, there are things you can do to make your tack room a comfortable retreat from the cold.

Begin with a clean-up around the farm and complete repairs on your entire barn: check the roof for leaks, oil the hinges on doors, and fill any holes in the floors of your stalls. Trim dead branches from trees around the barn to prevent catastrophes during heavy snow fall or ice. If you complete these tasks before cold weather moves in it will be easier on you and you won’t have to disturb your horses when they are warm and snug in their stalls.

Now it’s time to take on the tack room. You should begin by taking stock of your seasonal equipment. Ideally you cleaned your horse’s winter blankets and stored them somewhere clean, dry, and safe from rodents during the summer. If you didn’t clean your blankets at the end of last winter, now is the time to run them through the washer, while you can still get them dry in time to use them. It’s also a good time to stock up on blankets for horses that will spend the winter outdoors, and have old blankets repaired if necessary. So that you have less work to do at the end of winter, when you’re busy grooming those horses shedding their furry winter coats, clean your fly sheets and fly masks now and put them in storage when you take the winter stuff out.

Let’s face it: barns seem to always accumulate unwanted debris. A bunch of junk lying around is not only unsightly, but becomes a hazard to your horses and provides a habitat for unwanted critters to nest during cold weather. Before you get down to the nitty gritty, start by going through your tack room and disposing of any and all trash, being sure to get rid of baling twine, old feed bags, or any other clutter you’ve been meaning to clear out.

Aside from the obvious junk there is likely some good quality equipment that you don’t use anymore. You can donate this to a therapeutic riding program for a tax deduction or sell it at a consignment tack shop or online through a service such as Ebay. The less equipment and clutter you have to organize, the easier it will be to prepare for the long, cold winter ahead.

Now is also a good time to go through your products and supplies. Get rid of empty containers or expired or empty medical supplies, and be sure to re-stock anything that you need on a regular basis. Talk to your veterinarian about which supplies to have on hand: especially if your barn is in a rural area the vet may not be able to reach you in the case of icy road conditions, and you should be prepared for a colicky horse or other situation.

Some medications can freeze during cold weather, rendering them ineffective, so you might choose to store these in your house or somewhere that they will remain at room temperature. Alternatively, purchase a thermal cube that comes on at 35 degrees to keep meds from freezing (http://www.horse.com...cube/SLT700550/). You can plug the cube into a regular outlet in the tack room and then plug a light fixture with a heat lamp bulb in it. When the temperature drops below 34 degrees in the room, the light will come on and warm things up enough to keep them from freezing.

Be sure to keep a small supply of sand and salt on hand. Sand is an effective means to break down ice and increase traction for your horses during the winter months. Salt can be used to de-ice steps, walkways and other surfaces that are dangerous when icy, but beware that regular salt can burn the paws of cats and dogs; there is a special variety of de-icer on the market that is safe for pets.

Speaking of cats and dogs, before the temperature drops be sure to create cozy and warm sleeping areas for farm cats or dogs that winter in the barn.