Blanketing Advice

[cnd8]

Not sure what to do, if anything at all, for a NON-blanketed horse. He has a thick coat and he is pasture boarded with free choice hay and a shelter (but not a wind break). Next week, we will have lows around 20. To some that may not sound extreme, but for us here in South Georgia it rarely happens. There is potential for rain on one or two of those nights.

Should I leave him naked, as he is accustomed? Or should I use a waterproof turnout sheet? I do not have a filled turnout blanket for him. So it is either nothing at all or a waterproof sheet.

Thoughts? I want to say I read something over the years about a sheet compressing their fluffy hair and actually making them colder. Wet and cold just seems miserable.

[2DogsFarm]

If you can get there to check him when it rains, you may be surprised to find he’s not wet through.
Haircoat has a growth pattern that sheds water.
My 3 unclipped beasts will stand in rain, even though they have free access to stalls leeward of most prevailing wind.
Their backs may be wet, but if I put my fingers through the floof, to the skin, they’re always warm & dry there.
If it helps you sleep better (as it sometimes does for me) I’d use the waterproof sheet for the rainiest days.
You might ty an oldschool trick of stuffing hay between horse & sheet on his back. It allows the hair to fluff some & if it falls out, it becomes a snack.

[JB]

There’s a good chance this coming rain will soak to his skin if he’s out in it long enough. The good news is that it won’t be in the 20s when that happens, but if he’s wet enough when it does get that low, that’s a problem.

What sheet do you have? Some are physically heavy enough they will truly lay hair down enough to make the horse cold. Is it possible to borrow a medium weight turnout for that time?

[lenapesadie]

Similar situation here except it’s my mom’s elderly draft horse that’s unfortunately lost a bit of weight this winter. I ordered him a medium set, but if it doesn’t get here in time I have some spares I could make work for him. I’ll be out and about seeing if I can buy him anything locally today to hopefully avoid a situation where I need backup blankets and don’t have any.

For your horse, if it’s truly the rain sheet or nothing. I’d put the sheet on him during the rain and then pull it off after the rain passes.

[cnd8]

This one…
https://www.sstack.com/dura-tech-viking-euro-surcingle-turnout-blankets/p/37478w/a1/100000000398/av1/100000007711/a2/100000000532/av2/100000008689/a3/100000000369/av3/100000005943/?variant=true

Can’t think of anyone to borrow from. I board at a farm that breeds cutters (basically ponies. lol) and mine is a barrel horse (big running bred).

[JB]

Ok, so that’s not too physically heavy. I’d do as lenapesadie said, put it on while it’s raining, check on him to make sure he’s not getting cold, then take it off when the rain stops. If you find him cold, then 2Dogs idea of hay under it might help

[mmeqcenter]

@cnd8

I want to say I read something over the years about a sheet compressing their fluffy hair and actually making them colder.

This is a myth.

@cnd8

Should I leave him naked, as he is accustomed?

Yes.
If he has a shelter, he’ll use it if he needs to to get out of the rain.
He’ll be fine.

[bingbingbing]

I would sheet him. I never trust them to do what is best for themselves.

[JB]

@mmeqcenter

This is a myth.

It really depends. Some sheets are physically heavy enough they do lay the hair down, and since they aren’t also adding warmth, it’s easy to make the horse cold. It’s maybe not AS much of a problem now that modern sheets are pretty lightweight, but it still happens, it happens to mine. Sheets aren’t often used here, mostly reserved for temps in the upper 50s and rain. If I try to sheet them at 50 or below and rain, even with full winter coats that keep them plenty warm when it’s 20* but dry, they will be cold.

[lenapesadie]

I suspect fit of the sheet comes into play as well.

My pony’s sheet is much lighter than my horse’s sheet, but it lays close against his body. It does seem to make him colder compared to sections of his body not covered by the sheet. That’s a direct contrast with my horse’s sheet which is much heavier but fits loosely over my horse. He’s much warmer under the sheet than places that are uncovered.

I primarily use sheets to keep horses dry in wet but not cold weather particularly in advance of much colder weather. Or to keep my riding horse clean when the sheet won’t make him too warm

As to OP’s situation, my bet is that horse will use shelter AFTER he’s wet and cold and then he’ll be a popsicle when the REALLY cold air hits. So that’s why I say put the sheet on in the rain. At that point it’s not about keeping him warm while the sheet is in, it’s about making sure he’s able to stay warm when it’s really cold! I think that’s similar to your thinking as well.

OP: is buying a cheap blanket locally an option? I literally just returned from a local feed store where I purchased a HW with attached neck cover for my mom’s horse for $100. My local FB group is on fire with folks buying and selling blankets.

[cnd8]

@lenapesadie

As to OP’s situation, my bet is that horse will use shelter AFTER he’s wet and cold and then he’ll be a popsicle when the REALLY cold air hits. So that’s why I say put the sheet on in the rain. At that point it’s not about keeping him warm while the sheet is in, it’s about making sure he’s able to stay warm when it’s really cold! I think that’s similar to your thinking as well.

Exactly. With the wind, he will get wet. Combined with the cold temps, that is where I worry. The sheet is actually a few inches too large for him, but not dangerously so, and it has a somewhat baggy cut to it, so I don’t think it will press all his hair down, per se. I think I’m going to go for it if the rain and cold temps overlap.

[lenapesadie]

That sounds like the best case scenario for the sheet imo. With it being loose and modern light fabric I bet it will do the trick.

The forecast keeps changing, but we may get periods of freezing rain where I am. Nasty.

[LCDR]

My thoughts. Your horse has grown a winter coat that is suitable for your area’s usual climate. Twenty degrees and freezing rain in South Georgia is not usual. I would blanket and make sure he gets a good supply of hay to digest and generate heat.

[SMF11]

With all the horses I’ve had over the years, and all their sheets (I board retirees) not ONCE have I seen a sheet make a horse cold. Not. Once.

Some horses run colder than others (eg will shiver when it’s 60 and rainy, while their herdmates don’t shiver at 50 and rain). It’s these horses that run cold that just need more blanketing than others. It’s their metabolism, though, not the sheets.

[emeraldcity]

@SMF11

With all the horses I’ve had over the years, and all their sheets (I board retirees) not ONCE have I seen a sheet make a horse cold. Not. Once.

How can you know that? Honest question. But if, as I’m guessing is likely, your measure is whether they’re shivering… well they don’t need to get to that point to be colder than they would have been without the sheet.

Equestrian Voices podcast had a scientist on recently who studies blanketing. I don’t remember the details but she either did a study or there is one or something that confirmed a sheet does make a horse colder. So science says they do, at least with what we know now. That doesn’t necessarily mean it makes them TOO cold, but it absolutely can make them colder than they would be without it.

[cnd8]

@emeraldcity

That doesn’t necessarily mean it makes them TOO cold, but it absolutely can make them colder than they would be without it.

Yeah, I wont put the sheet on at all if it does not rain. He is fine with cold temps and has a roundbale. It is the rain and cold combo I am fearing.

[sophie]

I would put the rain sheet on him, definitely.

IME, rain will soak through to the skin. Snow, on the other hand, might not. I remember rushing to the barn in a blizzard to put a sheet on my Tb mare (who had a decent winter coat at this point). She was out in the field, covered in snow. When I checked, though, she was dry and warm underneath the layer of snow.

I think the “flattening coat = cold” myth comes from blanketing horses years ago with heavy, non waterproof, non breathable blankets. We’re lucky to have lighter blankets with better technology, nowadays.

[tabula_rashah]

I live where it’s colder but… I have an older Fjord mare that grows a wooly mammoth type coat. In general, when it gets cold, windy, snowy etc, she’s all like “yeah! bring it on!” but when we get cold, soaking rains, she’ll shiver (yes she has shelter and 24/7 hay). I do a turnout sheet for the pouring rain days and she’s seems very happy that way

[SMF11]

Rather than rely on some unknown expert on a podcast, do your research. From the University of Kentucky: https://afs.ca.uky.edu/content/blanketing-horses-do’s-and-don’ts

As to how I know if they are cold, but not shivering, I feel their ears, and I watch their behavior. How do you know a horse is cold? Or is just fine in their sheet?

[emeraldcity]

For what it’s worth, whoever wrote that page on UK is also “unknown” to me.

This is the scientist who I heard on the podcast- https://www.uwrf.edu/FacultyStaff/5666873.cfm
I can’t compare one expert to another, and of course not every expert necessarily agrees on everything or draws the same conclusions, but I think it’s more than fair to call this woman an expert in the field- and only random in the sense that I hadn’t heard of her prior.

I’m really not arguing for or against any type of blanket in any specific circumstance, I am just reflecting what I heard from an expert who knows a lot more about the science on this particular topic than I do.