If you plan to put your horse in a stall if the weather gets bad, clean it out and make necessary repairs to remove any risks. After the horse's housing is in tiptop shape, check your horse, which should also be in tiptop condition before winter. The horse should have an adequate amount of body fat to insulate against winter's cold wind, rain and snow. You can use a visualhandson system to evaluate body condition. Your horse should have at least a BCS of 5, which means you cannot see the ribs but can feel them if you run your ringers over the rib cage applying slight pressure.
Horses add body fat from front to rear and top to bottom.
Evaluate their necks, withers, covering over their rib cages and croups, and around their tailheads for deposition of fat. It is really important that you feel your horses in winter due to their heavier winter haircoat. Often, one cannot accurately evaluate a horse's body condition by only visual appraisal. It is important to body condition score your horse each month in winter. If your horse is less than a 5 body condition score, you need to increase its energy intake to improve body condition.