Is this normal?

[mygirlmaggie]

I apologize for so many questions in a short amount of time. But I'm so used to back when I was young and how my parent's worked with the horses and everything. So this new stuff is new to me. I went out today and was brushing off my mare and noticed she was pretty clingy..more then usual. Well I tied her up for our usual grooming sessionI was standing there brushing her and I felt shaking..so I stopped and stared at her. She was shivering. Her whole body was shivering and her lips were quivering. She has her winter coat although it doesn't seem as thick as it should. So I went out and got her a blanket and am going to put it on as the windchills are supposed to be -10 tonight. Is it normal for a horse to shiver? What would cause her coat not to be thick enough? She has a barn she can go in to get out of the weather and it's closed all around except for the entrance in. The vets aren't open as it's Sunday. I was thinking of having my vet out to get a checkup done on her. Is this something I should be concerned about or is it normal? I'm so paranoid now..if I could I'd bring her in my house!

[Blue]

She's probably cold, I'd keep a thick blanket on her, give her hay and bring her in a stall if you can. :)

[WashingtonBay]

Your temperatures are really cold! And standing still and being brushed, that might tend to make her even colder.

I'm glad you got her a blanket. Not every horse has a lot of coat. It's largely just genetics. Some horses just grow more than others. Bay grows a pretty good coat... The pony even more... Cyn grows hardly any winter coat at all... she looks summer slick even in winter, I've never seen another horse like her (but I sure wish I had her, instead of my fuzz monsters, when I was showing!)

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=433&pictureid=4822

[FoxFireEMT]

Yep I would guess she's just cold. I'd say that if the above suggestions don't work then maybe you should have a vet out. Tis the season for colder weather & some shivering for "less fuzzy" horses! Good luck!

[Cat]

I'm not sure if the amount of coat is always due to genetics. I looked at last years pictures of the horses and compared them to this year and both Toby and Drifter have less coat this year compared to the same time last year. Apache is about the same and the Donkey's is thicker this year. Go figure.

As to the shivering - do you know how to take the temperature of the horse? Drifter was shivering before and it turned out to be due to a fever. He ended up on a round of antibiotics right before thanksgiving and now is all better. Even yesterday, when the wether was much colder than when he was shivering, he wasn't shivering at all - which tells me it was the fever that wast he issue, not the thinner coat.

[WashingtonBay]

Well, I think if horse is shivering on an otherwise mild day, it's reason to be concerned, but if a horse is shivering when it's -10 degrees outside, it's probably just cold ;)

[mygirlmaggie]

Wow washington..your horse looks sleek and smooth! I felt the need to get a blanket because I couldn't stand to see her shivering. So I thought I should throw one on her just to be safe. I can't stall her as she's never been stalled in her life. I locked her in the barn once and she flipped. She screamed and ran circles constantly. I know coyotes walk the woodline around her so I'm sure she's leery of being cornered and I can't blame her as she's all alone. I honestly have never taken a horse's temp. I can buy a thermometer..what's the normal temp for a horse?? If she's still shivering tomorrow even after having the blanket on I'm definately calling the vet.

[WashingtonBay]

I think they're better off blanketed and free to move than they would be cooped up anyhow. I hope she's snug as a bug in a rug today. :)


And yeah - Cyn stays sleek all winter... she's fine when blanketed, but she's obviously the first one to shiver around here if she gets caught in the wet and cold without a blanket on.

[Cat]

Learning to take the temperature of a horse is one of those things any horse owner should learn, so even if its just because of the cold, this sounds like a perfect learning opprotunity. :) Their temps normally stay around 101 degrees.

Here is an excellent link on how to read the main vital signs of your horse:
http://www.equusite.com/articles/health/healthVitalSigns.shtml

[mygirlmaggie]

Thanks cat I'll definately read up on the temp taking. I put her blanket on and she was soo happy. At first she wasn't sure. She got all bug eyed and tensed up. After I got it on her and hooked up and left her stand tied for about 5 minutes to get used to it she accepted it. I let her go and stood out to watch and see how she did. She ran and played and trotted all over. I checked under it after 10 minutes and it was all warm and toasty. She seemed much better. She was happy to roam around and just play. So I'm hoping that helped! I'll be checking on her frequently to make sure she's ok with it and that she's not shivering. But when I left she was toasty and there was no shivering! So I'm pretty happy about that.

[Cat]

Yippie! Glad to hear it.

[jeezitsjacki]

glad you got her a blanket. Im sure she was just cold. I would be too in those temperatures!

[Miracle Whip]

My mare was alone for several years and did fine. I can tell you though that she calmed down a LOT when we got the second horse. One horse can keep track of the coyotes and the other can rest. Plus they help keep each other warm. Part of the antics is to get the blood going. Whip and Ginger seem to hate each other the colder it gets, but the mock fights keep them warm and they are best buds again when fly season starts.

[Remali]

Sounds like maybe she just got a bit cold.....the temps really took a dive and the winds have been whipping a lot here in WI. I think it is a good idea to blanker her...just make sure if it should snow or if we get freezing rain that the blanket is waterproof and she doesn't get wet underneath the blanket.

[quest]

She does sound cold. I would keep the blanket on her. You can also fold the blanket up and back when you groom her as well if she is cold when you take it off. Also, extra roughage helps as well.

[JackieB]

Glad you got a blanket on her. Some horses don't need them, but others do. All horse coats are not equal for some reason.

I also cannot stand to see a horse shiver. You definitely don't want them to shiver if you can help it. Just like a human, I would imagine that it makes them more susceptible to getting sick if they shiver for very long. They are uncomfortable, unhappy, and somewhat distressed over being cold. That can't be good for keeping their immune systems in tip top condition.

Make sure your blanket is adjusted properly. WB always warns us about getting those belly straps snug (not tight, but not hanging down) so that a horse can't get its foot caught in one.

Also as quest said, hay (roughage) is important. A horse has an "internal furnace" that works like a compost pile to generate heat. However, it needs hay in its gut to have the bacteria work on to create that heat.