11/05/2026
An excellent read
Colic Season is officially here! 🐴❄️
As the temperatures drop, the risk of winter impaction colic goes up. When the water gets freezing cold, horses drastically reduce how much they drink. Combining dry winter hay with low water intake is a dangerous recipe for intestinal blockages.
Here are a few quick, actionable things you can do to keep your horse hydrated and protect their gut health this season:
🧂 Add loose white salt to their feed. Top-dress 1 tablespoon a day for large horses and 1/2 tablespoon for smaller horses/ponies directly into their daily meals. This triggers their thirst mechanism and forces them to drink.
🧼 Keep a white salt block out as a backup. Let them top up as needed, but don't rely entirely on blocks. Many horses won't lick a freezing cold block enough to meet their actual sodium needs.
🍲 Soak their feed. Adding warm water to their grain, pellets, or beet pulp is an incredibly easy way to sneak extra fluid directly into their digestive tract.
🔥 Heat your water sources. Ice-cold water is unappealing to horses. Keep tank heaters running and heated buckets plugged in so the water stays inviting to drink.
🏃♂️ Keep them moving. Stall confinement slows down gut motility. The more movement, the better! Maximize turnout time, and if you are riding, just make sure to warm up and cool down appropriately for the weather.
🧪 Use electrolytes wisely. Offering electrolytes once a week can help encourage drinking, but ALWAYS ensure they have access to a separate source of clean, plain, fresh water.
🌨️ Snow is NOT water! Horses cannot physically consume enough snow to meet their daily hydration needs (which is about 6 to 10 gallons a day). Eating snow also drops their core body temperature.
Let's keep those guts moving and water buckets clean and heated this winter!
Share this with your barn friends to help keep everyone's horses safe. 👇