Prodney’s Blog: After 42 winters, I know a thing or two about the cold

Humans do make me smile, you’re just not equipped to deal with ‘weather’. A few flakes of snow and you disappear inside fleecy layers. You get excited by fresh clean snow but hate it melting. And you moan when your plans are disrupted by travel delays.

Prodney with Abella, with Rusty playing the wallflower

Take a lesson from how we respond. And, well – chill.

Horses are designed by nature to live outside year-round. In the summer months our humans may clip our coats to help us stay cool, but in the winter we simply grow our own rugs to keep us toasty. And my early years in Russia mean that my coat is the envy of the yard. It’s inches think and the humans even like to bury their hands in it to thaw out their fingers.

Just like humans, we’re all different. You know when you put your thick winter clothes on, and you pass someone in shorts and T-shirt (and they’re not even running!) and you can’t believe it? Well, it’s the same for us. Some feel the cold and others don’t, some will need a warm rug, some won’t (and may even overheat!). We definitely all need shelter from rain and wind, as that can chill us to the bone, but the natural shelter of trees at the back of a field is often warmer than a bare stable with a concrete floor.

There’s something else we have in common, too, and that’s the part that food plays in keeping us warm. You turn your backs on salads and go for warming soups. And we graze almost continuously to keep our own personal central heating system going. Digesting food warms us up. Of course, not all of us can eat hay, and if this tactic is to work, each horse needs to have a plentiful supply of the food that works for him or her. (Hint: BRING CARROTS! Just kidding.)

It’s easy to focus on food and forget about water, but we are in danger of dehydration if water troughs are frozen. We rely on our humans thawing it out for us at least twice a day to keep supplies going.

The younger members of the team will charge round the field and even have snow fights. I prefer to cuddle up to Abella. She’s a big lady and the combination of my thick coat and her warm flanks is a winning one, without the need to expend all that extra energy.

Always listen to your horse. We’re all different. But we’re MUCH better at winter than you are. Maybe one day you’ll evolve…

Prodney is Chief Equine Officer (CEO) at Park Lane Stables, and achieved celebrity status following the TV coverage in 2021.