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WHAT DARKER DAYS MEAN

Dwindling hours of daylight may leave you feeling rushed and glum, but the shorter days of winter can have a different effect on your horse. Here’s what they mean to him:

• A thicker coat. Winter hair coat growth is triggered as the number of daylight hours decline, a process that started way back in midsummer. By the time the sun is setting in late afternoon, your horse is probably plenty fuzzy.

As days begin to lengthen again in mid-December, his body will begin receiving hormonal signals to shed his winter coat and new summer growth will begin, long before you’re thinking of spring.

• Although a horse’s eyesight doesn’t change in the winter per se, the shorter days allow him to put his superior night vision to use. Horses with healthy eyes can see far better in the dark than we can. In fact, a moonlit night is similar to full sunshine in terms of how well he can see. Do be mindful, however, that horses need longer to adjust when moving from