Grazing native rangeland can help lower costs of wintering livestock in northern climates. However, extreme cold and wind negatively affect an animal’s thermal balance, increasing energy demand when nutritive value of the forage is low. In a 2 year study, the authors determined whether exposure to winter wind elicits a stress response in pregnant cows (5 – 7 year old) grazing a foothill rangeland. They measured several indicators of stress-response of cows which had (windbreak) or did not have (non-windbreak) access to windbreaks. In winter 1, backfat thickness increased on windbreak and non-windbreak cattle. Body condition scores of both groups were lower at the end of the trial. In winter 2, backfat thickness decreased for windbreak and non-windbreak cattle. Body condition score did not change. Changes in backfat thickness indicate that cattle in winter 1 were catabolizing more lean muscle tissue, whereas cattle in winter 2 were catabolizing more fat. Cattle in access to windbreaks tended to have a stronger cell-mediated immune response than non-windbreak cattle. Birth and weaning weights of calves, and calving interval were similar for windbreak and non-windbreak cattle. Windbreaks were of minimal benefit to cattle grazing our foothill range site. Differences between windbreak and non-windbreak cattle were subtle, primarily reflected in slight differences in immune response and in backfat thickness.