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I did an Arctic expedition in 2003. As a social scientist, my job was to study how the explorers learned to handle the extreme environment. Interestingly, some of these ‘smart’ people ended up with frostbitten fingers, because extreme cold of this nature gets you before you know it. Extreme cold creeps up on you and the damage is done before you feel the pain. So I know something about living in -30 degrees for a sustained period of time, living out on the ice in a tent for days at a time.
We are not used to this kind of cold in Maine. Animals can freeze to death quickly in this weather. They can become frostbitten, and there is not cure for that problem, which will recur every year in winter. And frostbite is very painful.
Monitor the Ears: For your dogs and horses and other domestic animals, ear tips are the most vulnerable parts. We had a dog on the Arctic expedition, and our expedition leader would not let the dog, who was our polar bear guard, come inside the tent at night. He slept in a sleeping bag, but it was not enough. Our dog ended up with frostbitten ears, and they were very painful. And this was a big dog that grew up in the Arctic, a dog who could chase polar bears and was a huge, strong animal. How easy it was to believe that he would be alright, because he was ‘used to it.’ It is easy to think animals can survive better than we can. Don’t let that fool you: Extreme cold is very dangerous for all mammals, especially domestic animals.
Animals need to have serious cover when it is very cold out, folks. They are warm-blooded animals, just like us. So be very careful, the animals cannot tell you when they are freezing and they don’t know it until after it happens.
Cover from Wind: Animals need to stay out of the wind for sure in this weather. They can get frostbitten in a matter of minutes, just like people. Sun helps a lot, but be wary of cloudy days and nighttime. Keep then under cover and out of wind, even if they want to wander out.
Food: Animals need far more food when they are trying to keep body temps up. Feed more often than you would in good weather, and feed wet foods. More carbohydrates are also helpful : calories are what they need to burn. The Arctic explorers craved sugar, and I expect animals do too, in extreme weather. So a little more sugar can help the calorie burn. Also, different flavors: sweet, sour, salty. Varying textures help too: Crunchy (lettuce, treats) and slurpy (mashes), help to avoid horses going off their feed in mid-winter. They crave fresh food.
Hydration: Studies have shown that horses drink 50% more water if it is warm, not cold, in winter. Animals need to stay hydrated, so warm water and gruels and mashes are better than dry food. Hay cannot be wet in extreme cold, so even more important to monitor water intake. Water buckets, unless heated, freeze in a few hours in this weather.
Dry: If animals get wet in extremely cold weather, they will die of hypothermia, just like people. Keep them dry.
My own take on Dog clothing: Because I’ve seen how quickly frostbite happens, my dog, who accompanies me to the barn each morning, wore 2 layers of jackets and a windbreaker overlayer, this morning. He has booties for anything under 10 degrees and he wore them this morning. Dogs can burn their pads on extremely cold surfaces. They can lick something metal and freeze their tongues. They don’t need such clothing for less than 10 minutes of outside activity, but anything over that, and they will start to lose body heat. Get them inside, or dress them appropriately for the extreme weather. Even Malamutes and Samoyeds can frostbite their ears if they are exposed to this -15 degrees air with wind chill factors that create -20 degree temps – and left outside.
It’s dangerous out there right now for animals not used to extreme cold. Do not rely on their ‘instincts’ to get them through. Be smart. Protect your animals from this extreme cold.
Carole-Terese Naser
Adagio Farm
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January 2011