Having large animals to care for can seem easy. Feed them, water them, give them a shelter. And sometimes it IS that easy. Being honest about horses, this is not always the case. Horses have been domesticated for years and with that domestication is breeding. Breeding of traits, such as conformation, temperament, gait and/or color. Sometimes health issues are also considered in horses but not often; this has led to a commonality of horses called “hard keepers”. A hard keeper is a horse that has all it needs to survive and be healthy and happy, but they just aren’t. They loose weight, have feet problems, chewing issues, breathing issues, they gain too much weight, allergies, cancer……they for whatever genetic reason have health issues. In the winter you need to be extra aware of your horses health. Drops in temperatures, increases in temperature can effect your horses health creating colic situations. Colic is a block or twist in the horses intestines. Colic is deadly for horses and something all horse owners try to avoid at all costs. Winter can be extra hard on hard keepers and it’s on the caretakers to make sure your horses, including the hard keepers are set up for success!