By Bill Heller
The brutal winter storm terrorizing much of the United States demands that New York breeders keep their horses warm and safe. Different breeders are taking different approaches, but the common denominators are making sure they eat well and have constant access to water.
“Every farm, every situation is different,” Ken Williams, manager of Amsterdam Two Farm, said. “We have been working around the clock, making sure they have a steady supply of water, unfrozen water. We’re at a pretty high elevation, so you worry about water freezing. It’s one of those things that is always on our radar. I’m sure I have to work harder at that elevation to make sure we’re sufficing those needs.”
Now 32, Williams has been taking care of horses in the northeast for more than 15 years: “To me, it’s just kind of normal. I know winter. It’s basic horse care. They need constant, open water and a lot of hay throughout the winter to stay warm.”
He continued, “We give them a lot of hay. We feed our guys a mixture of first cutting, second cutting and alfalfa throughout the winter, and they have access to it 24/7. I like the alfalfa in the second cut to add extra calories and protein through the winter when it’s hard on them. Horses generate body heat by digestion of fiber. The more they eat, the warmer they are. You keep them heated from the inside out. You must have a good, dry supply of hay continuously for 24 hours.”
Gregg Falk, manager of Chestertown Farm for the past nine years, grew up in hard winters in Minnesota: “I grew up with livestock on a farm as a kid dealing with cold weather and frozen water lines. You know you don’t leave your horses laying out. There’s not a lot of hills and there’s not a lot of trees. So if it’s 10 to 15 degrees and a 30- or 40-mile-an-hour wind comes out of the north, the cold goes right through you.”
He began his horse career with show horses, then had the good fortune to meet D. Wayne Lukas at Canterbury Downs in September 1986. “He had a string of horses there,” Falk said. “He said, `Son, do you like horses?’ I said, “No, I love them.’ He said, “If you want to make a living, you need to get into racehorses. Doing show horses, it’s hard making a living. Not so many opportunities.’”
Falk took full advantage of this opportunity and worked for the famed trainer for 14 years: “It was an awesome experience. I started out as a hotwalker, then groom and exercise rider. Then breaking babies for him all over the country, Florida to Hot Springs to Churchill Downs to Keeneland to Saratoga. It was an incredible experience to work with Kiaran McLaughlin, Jeff Lukas, Todd Pletcher, Mark Hennig, Dallas Stewart and Randy Bradshaw. They taught me so much. It was amazing to be around those guys. They were walking encyclopedias.”
But at a different point in his life, Falk decided to abandon the racetrack and head to a breeding farm. “Things change,” he said. “Priorities in my life changed a little bit. I got married. We had a young daughter. She did tee-ball and soccer. I missed them. I wanted to go to a farm so I could spend more time with my family. Wayne was so understanding about it. He said, `I understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. I respect that.’ Looking back, it was the best thing I ever did.”
He keeps his horses warm in the winter. “To me, the biggest thing I learned over the years, it doesn’t matter if it’s chickens, pigs or horses, you got to feed them. You’ve got to give them as much as they’ll eat. Hay is an important thing. Calories and shelter. Get them out of the wind. Horses will get more cold if it’s the lower ‘30s when it’s raining than when it snows. They do fine in that stuff. They are social animals and they like to be together. All our stalls have windows so they can see each other, which helps them. Horses like to be able to see their neighbors.”
Falk does leave horses outside. “If you have a three-sided building, you know they’ve got shelter. Calories and shelter. The biggest thing is calories.”
He continued, “You’re constantly looking at body condition and you want to keep weight on them. As the grass starts to disappear, we start to feed hay. And then you feed more hay at this time of year. It’s all hay and grain as well as a combination of that.”
Dale Thiel, who runs Eddybrook Thoroughbreds with her husband Warren, has plenty of experience in dealing with the winter cold. “We lived in Vermont for 18 years and went back to New York in 2006,” Thiel said. “We know an awful lot about cold. We lived on top of a mountain. Every morning and night, I make a mash of alfalfa pellets and hot water. That helps get a little warmth into them when they get it. Sometimes, I’ll add carrots and a few other things.
“When it’s cold, we also give them a cup of oats every night or in every meal. That helps their energy level. A real old-time vet in Vermont told us about that. He was a Standardbred owner. He passed away. The oats were one of his tricks. The oats are not going to cause them to colic by overfeeding them.”
Thiel came up with her own innovation: “We have an arena that we use as a big run-in shed so the horses can come or go if they want. Sometimes, they prefer to be out and keep moving around. I think it’s important for horses to keep moving around and not be stuck in a stall. We have a heated water tank. We start using blankets when it gets down to the ‘20s. I have one horse who prefers to eat outside. He likes the fresh air. Horses are very content in this cold weather as long as they’re getting the proper nutrition, good quality hay and water.”
Tracy Egan, a long-time news anchor before becoming Executive Director of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, has been breeding Thoroughbreds at her Seven Furlong Farm for more than 30 years.
She too was helped in dealing with the cold’s effects on Thoroughbreds: “I was taught by a Canadian to keep them warm. Maybe 40 years ago. He said, `Keep them warm from the inside out. Don’t blanket them. Let them develop their fur coats.’”
She knows the importance of feed and flowing water: “You want to give them good-quality hay and clean water kept thawed by water heaters.”
She also gives them “a little bit of electrolytes leading up to and during the cold spells to encourage them to drink water. When it gets extremely cold, I use electrolytes, just as I do when it’s extremely hot. In the summer, the water keeps them cool. In the winter, it helps keep them warm.”
She added, “We give them alfalfa every day because when they digest it, they are protecting themselves from ulcers. If they have ulcers, they won’t want to eat all the forage they need to create calories to burn.”
