At what temperature do you move your horses from their fields to the the barn?

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8441336]
Horses are well adapted to cold weather and as long as they have adequate water and food, can tolerate some pretty cold temps.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/equine-winter-care/

Horses should have access to shelter from wind, sleet, and storms (Figure 1). Free access to a stable or an open-sided shed works well, as do trees if a building is not available. In the absence of wind and moisture, horses tolerate temperatures at or slightly below 0°F. If horses have access to a shelter, they can tolerate temperatures as low as -40°F. However, horses are most comfortable at temperatures between 18 and 59°F, depending on their hair coat.

Energy needs for a horse at maintenance increase about 1% for each degree below 18°F.[/QUOTE]

Seriously, SmartPak is just trying to sell blankets. Horses do just fine in some pretty cold temps. 40 degrees is balmy to an unclipped horse.

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=Montanas_Girl;8447160]
This is a common mistake. The thermoneutral temperature zone (those temperatures at which the body doesn’t need to burn extra calories in order to stay warm - or cool) for horses is 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit. While you may be cold at 40 degrees, your horses (if they aren’t clipped) are just happy someone finally turned the heater off! :)[/QUOTE]

According to the U of MN, it’s 18 degrees, not 40.

[beau159]

[QUOTE=Linda;8448728]

So even though I may be “over reactive” from a blanketing perspective, its really not a problem unless they seem hot or sweaty,right? So long as they aren’t overheating (as in sweating) I figure that they are set for the temperature to drop later in the night.
thoughts on that?[/QUOTE]

I’ve always been told that if the horse feels WARM under the blanket, then it’s too warm. They should feel neutral under the blanket.

Think of how you feel when you have on a coat that is too warm for the temperature. You are going to feel warm before you actually get sweaty. Either way, its uncomfortable.

[beau159]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8452106]
According to the U of MN, it’s 18 degrees, not 40.[/QUOTE]

I’ve always been told the neutral point is 40 degrees F, and that’s what was taught by a class I took with our extention office.

[saje]

You can’t just go by the thermometer reading either.

50 degrees + rain + wind is much harder on them than 20 deg of still & dry air.

A young fat horse with a dense coat will have a broader comfort range than an old horse, a skinny horse, or one with a light coat.

A horse that’s able to move around to warm up is better off with less covering, a stalled horse may need more if the barn is very open and cold.

There are too many variables for things like blanketing charts & the Smartpak app to be the very roughest of guides.

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=beau159;8452579]
I’ve always been told the neutral point is 40 degrees F, and that’s what was taught by a class I took with our extention office.[/QUOTE]

People tend to just repeat things they hear, which is why I linked my source. It does say that the lower critical temp for a horse with a summer coat is 41, and I guess that would hold for a horse that is clipped.

[clanter]

our horses do not care about the temperature, it is when the sun goes down …twenty minutes before sunset they are at the barn to be put up… every day, year round … it is their place of comfort… either out of the wind or under the fans depends upon the time of the year

[midnight_rose]

[QUOTE=saje;8452712]
A horse that’s able to move around to warm up is better off [/QUOTE]

Absolutely. People tend to think that putting a horse inside makes them warmer, but it’s actually the opposite. Barns are unheated, there’s no access to sunshine, and horses can’t move around. Why do horses run and buck like crazy when you let them out of barns in cold weather? Because they’re COLD!! Moving around is how they warm up.

[dexhol]

[QUOTE=midnight rose;8454470]
Absolutely. People tend to think that putting a horse inside makes them warmer, but it’s actually the opposite. Barns are unheated, there’s no access to sunshine, and horses can’t move around. Why do horses run and buck like crazy when you let them out of barns in cold weather? Because they’re COLD!! Moving around is how they warm up.[/QUOTE]

I’d agree with that. I boarded at an older facility with a good sized barn, central aisle (under a loft) as well as shed rows on either side. The horses lived out for the most part. Came in to eat and went right back out with plenty of hay (about 1/2 a bale per horse, twice a day in winter). We had a couple boarders who insisted that Poopsie would get cold and absolutely MUST be brought in if it would be below freezing at night. Every morning those 3 horses that were inside (one on the interior and 2 on the shed row) were COLD. Even blanketed they were chilly, sometimes to the point of shivering, while the ones that spent the night out were completely fine, even those that didn’t have blankets. The movement makes a huge difference in their ability to keep warm.
That being said, I now manage a hunter barn and they’re strict on the day/night turnout thing. When they swap over, they stay that way, regardless of temperature (wouldn’t be my first choice, but it is what it is). In at 4, doesn’t matter the temp. Although lately the old guy (with the full hunter clip, ears, legs, everything) has decided anything over 63 (and he’s annoyingly exact on that) is TOO FREAKING HOT, and will pace and scream for hours until he is brought in so they’ve only been able to get a few hours a day over the last little heat wave we appear to be stuck in. I’m sure he’ll be THRILLED when it gets back to the 40s during the day, me, not so much!

[Mukluk]

I’m in Linda’s climate (HI LINDA!!!)- we are in the lower Sierra Nevada mountains at about 4000 feet. My two TBs are staying warm. They eat 24/7 and have access to shelter. They have 3 sided stalls that do a good job of blocking the wind. The open side goes out to paddocks and turn out. I have blankets but thus far have not used them. Didn’t last year either. Our gelding is medium fuzzy my mare is lightly fuzzy. I keep feeling their ears and they are warm : )

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=midnight rose;8454470]
Absolutely. People tend to think that putting a horse inside makes them warmer, but it’s actually the opposite. Barns are unheated, there’s no access to sunshine, and horses can’t move around. Why do horses run and buck like crazy when you let them out of barns in cold weather? Because they’re COLD!! Moving around is how they warm up.[/QUOTE]

My thermometers (both inside and outside) disagree with you. Depending on which windows and doors I leave open/closed, I can make the barn warmer or colder than the outside temp. My horses will run and buck even on summer days as well.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8455258]
My thermometers (both inside and outside) disagree with you. Depending on which windows and doors I leave open/closed, I can make the barn warmer or colder than the outside temp. My horses will run and buck even on summer days as well.[/QUOTE]

yeah our barn is the same, when we built it is fully insulated … not really against the cold but the heat

We have a north side wind break to provide shelter from the normal winter winds that drop out of the artic apparently aimed at our place

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=clanter;8455469]
We have a north side wind break to provide shelter from the normal winter winds that drop out of the artic apparently aimed at our place[/QUOTE]

LOL I had one of those - felt like I lived in a wind tunnel. The winds actually ripped the storm door off the hinges. When the leyland cypress (planted by a former owner) finally matured, it REALLY helped cut the wind.

[MCM746]

My guys tell me what they want. They are out 24/7 right now with a run in. It’s been a very warm winter here in New England so far. I bring them in to feed them and when they are done eating they start pawing at their doors to go back out. However, when the snow flies they are eager to come in and are not as happy to go back out for the night, so I leave them in. If you know your horses well you can pretty much guess their preferences.

[Doctracy]

We don’t live in a cold climate. My decision is based on hazardous weather such as lightening,cold rain,ice,and tropical type storms. I also use rain sheets for turning out since we have so many rainy winter days. I will be getting a walk-in shelter soon and that will eliminate most of the stalling needs except for dangerous weather or injury/illness.
If somebody is clipped I blanket accordingly.

[Flash44]

I finally switched to day time turn out today. It’s been really warm where I am (Mid Atlantic) and I have been leaving them out all night.

[Montanas_Girl]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8452106]
According to the U of MN, it’s 18 degrees, not 40.[/QUOTE]

Then you have misinterpreted the research. Please show me your references, because I can’t find them.

[Lord_Helpus]

I am guessing that the above posters are talking about horses with full winter coats who are under 22 years old.

I have 2 clipped horses who wear heavy blankets with necks when the wind chill gets to the low 30’s (I do not look at the temp – my criteria is the wind chill (or as we call it in NC, the “feels like” temp )

When the ‘feels like’ gets into the 20’s, they come in with their blankets left on.

I have 3 retirees. The 25 year old is showing a couple ribs this winter. He never wears a blanket, but comes in when the feels like is in the low 30’s. Because of this, the 18 and 21 year old also come in at that temp, although I would leave them out until the ‘feels like’ gets to the mid 20’s if I was not bringing their buddy in.