Blanketing and weather variations

[shadesofbay3]

my barn came up with a great chart for us all to hang on our stall doors for blanketing purposes - i already had my own for straight temperatures (35-45, 45-55, etc), but this one is great, because it adds in extra weather conditions (sunny vs cloudy and windy vs snowy and rain)

obviously this is all very personal, but how much do you change up your blanketing if the temperature is the exact same but the weather conditions are different? for example, if you were planning to sheet for 55 degrees and cloudy, what would your thoughts be for rain?

my horses go in small paddocks and are on night t/o and unfortunately dont have shelter, so i have to factor that in

[LCDR]

Each of my horses has 5 blankets , and I try to compensate for both wind and rain, especially wind. Plus, my horses are unclipped, older or retired, and that factors in as well. As does how much winter coat each has grown.

I would love for you to post the chart that your barn has come up with - PLEASE!

The usual charts I see were developed by blanket-selling companies, and IMO they tend to over-blanket.

[FjordBCRF]

@shadesofbay3

obviously this is all very personal, but how much do you change up your blanketing if the temperature is the exact same but the weather conditions are different? for example, if you were planning to sheet for 55 degrees and cloudy, what would your thoughts be for rain?

My two cents as a fluffy fjord owner . Even with a modified Irish clip in the fall, my guy goes out naked in almost all weather. We live in NE Ohio so we get wet, snowy, cold winters. He does have a no fill Rhino in case it’s VERY cold, windy/wet since his dry lot has no shelter, but the last time BM put it on, he said he probably didnt actually need it…or want it haha. I also grew up with a quarter horse in the same region, and she always did very well in the elements.

I have found through offering weekend help, and being in a co-op barn, MOST people very much over blanket their horses. We have always had a couple of true freeze babies, but I cringe when I see an entire wardrobe for a healthy horse with a full winter coat. When I would swap blankets for a heavier option based on the owners weather preferences, so many times their horse would already be cooking in what they had on.

I think when it comes to blanketing and factoring in all weather, not just the temps, it really depends on the individual horse.

We are a real life version of this cartoon . A fjord and his warmblood buddy!

[Texarkana]

I think managing blankets for many horses at a boarding barn is a totally different ball game than managing blankets yourself, especially if your horses are at home.

My horses are at home and I adjust for the amount of sunshine, wind, and precipitation constantly. A sunny and calm 50 degree day is very different than a cloudy and windy 50 degree day, and it changes again if you add in precipitation.

My horses would be naked in the first situation, but in no fill sheets in the second situation if the wind was strong. And if it’s raining, they would probably have a 100g on. (This is obviously for turnout/outdoor situations, not stalls)

Yet I would never expect a boarding barn to go through those mental gymnastics.

[Renn_aissance]

My horse is 29, Irish, still working on his full native pony breed coat but quite plush, BUT hypothyroid and has arthritis. Also, his owner (in possession of her own punk thyroid) is crazy. He owns a sheet, 100g, 250g, and 450g, with no fill, medium fill, and heavy fill hoods. He goes out with 2 compatible buddies in a field with a tree line, a shed, and a hay roll.

55 and clear, he’s naked.
55 and rainy, he’s in a sheet, because with that hair coat if he gets soaked to the skin he will grow fungus by the time he gets dry. Being Irish, the weather conditions don’t actually bother him.
55 and rainy with today’s 30mph steady winds, he’s in the 100g with a no fill hood. Neck arthritis.

I have a blanket chart for the barn staff, but try to come out at turnout time every day so they don’t have to deal with my idiosyncrasies. Generally, the chart is set up for 10 degree intervals with a note that if rainy or windy, blanket for 5 degrees colder than the real feel. What I do myself might be different. See above about how his owner is crazy.

[shadesofbay3]

This is the situation I am in-

I have a 6 year old warmblood who is new to me and I’m not sure yet of his preferences yet… he is unclipped:
-Above 45- Naked
-30-45- Sheet
-15-30- Medium
-Below 0-15- Heavy

I also have a 27 year old TB who is coming out of a clip (a month ago) and stays clipped due to Cushings and other myriad of health issues… she does run a bit on the hot side
-Above 60- Naked
-45-60- Sheet
-30-45- Medium
-15-30- Heavy
-Below 0-15- Double

This is what I was working with for just regular weather, assuming sunny with the actual temperature, not even the “feel like” temperature. Idk how i’m sure how to adjust for the new categories, which are the cloudy/windy and rain/sleet/snow. Obviously being a boarder I can’t count on 948754 blanket changes a day, I would rather them be chilly than hot, and most places I feel blanket for the warmest or coolest part of the day, especially the coldest, if they are going out overnight

[shadesofbay3]

that’s super helpful… 5 degrees colder than real feel for cold and windy!

[LCDR]

Every place I have boarded blankets for overnight at afternoon feeding time, which might be at 4PM. It may be 55 degrees and calm then, but drop to 40 at 9 PM and then below 30 with lake advisory winds at 3AM. This example is a recent real-world happening where I live.

One nice thing about finally having my own place is being able to postpone blanketing until after the sun sets and the temperature begins dropping, so there is no sweaty coat under a blanket.

[TWH_Girl]

I would love to see your barns chart too, OP.

I used to put a medium on in early December and not take it off until spring. Honestly, with unclipped horses in WI, I never once had a horse too warm. As winters have seemed to become more mild, I’ve come to use 100g quite a bit. I change out 100g and mediums on and off throughout the winter. Mediums up to low 40s, 100g low to mid 40s and a heavy only when temps are bitter cold and for a stretch of time. I use all in ones or hoods with heavyweights. Otherwise a variety of Wugs or original cut blankets.
When you see high temps for the day, it’s only that temp for about 2-3 hours at most. My 24/7 outside horse I’ll probably err on keeping his Rhino varilayer on to take dark and cold temperatures into account.
I do not understand the rationale on using a sheet when it’s cold. It’s just not something that I do. If it’s cold enough to put something on, add some insulation to make it worthwhile or just leave them.

[Simkie]

Having horses at home, I play it by ear based on how it feels, so yeah, for sure–it can really vary based on wind and sun and weather.

But. I also find that blankets are so breathable anymore that the range of temps they cover comfortably is hugely more broad than the blankets we used to have. In general if I’m not sure or changing weather is expected, I hedge heavier. I’d rather have them warm than cold and find it has to be really warm to have them sweat. Of course there’s a good deal of ymmv and some horses that just run warmer may have a more narrow comfortable range.

[LCDR]

Who could forget wool-lined canvas New Zealand rugs,with those thick leather straps?

(Shires catalog photo)

[jvanrens]

@LCDR

Who could forget wool-lined canvas New Zealand rugs,with those thick leather straps?

(Shires catalog photo)

I should have gotten danger pay for putting one of those things on one of the boarder’s horses at the barn where I had turnout duty at. Nasty thing and heavy to throw up on a 16.2 horse that likely didn’t need it considering the coat he had on him.

There was another boarder who decided after a winter of ignoring her horses decided they needed to be blanketed at the end of March (when spring begins in this part of the woods). I ignored her request, since she didn’t show up at the barn anyway. Her poor horses would have melted in their winter blankets at that point.

[clanter]

rarely if ever do we blanket any of the horses, they all have several but really are not needed

Some of our blankets are Bakers from the 1950s that are still in good condition mainly because since we moved from north Kentucky blankets are not needed

And most of our horses came from near the Canadian border remember the winters they endured in North Dakota where the low tonight is 6F (record was neg 29F) These guys think winter here are nothing to fear

[Bluey]

[Texarkana]

@jvanrens

There was another boarder who decided after a winter of ignoring her horses decided they needed to be blanketed at the end of March (when spring begins in this part of the woods). I ignored her request, since she didn’t show up at the barn anyway. Her poor horses would have melted in their winter blankets at that point.

This is one of my pet peeves. Along with people who blanket inconsistently; I don’t mean infrequently, I mean regularly but without rhyme or reason. I drive by one small farm all the time that makes me batty. It’ll be a polar vortex and the usually-blanketed horses will be standing outside naked. Then the same horses will be in blankets with hoods during an unseasonably warm stretch. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and MYOB, but I swear those poor horses always are dressed in the worst possible way for the conditions.

[Fior]

I blanket my horse under 40 degrees. I have a sheet but almost never use it unless it’s going to be in the 40, rainy and windy. I board my horse and like to keep things clear to the place. He’s out 24/7 and has a really sturdy shared run-in. Not one of those horses happy to graze in the rain.

[hillary_again]

That’s super cute! Thanks for the laugh. Life imitating art.

[PaddockWood]

I hate blanketing but…you gotta horse losing weight and until you figure out why and solve it and get headed back in the right direction…(sure enough this week we found two more diseased molars that were extracted - they were so loose they wiggled - poor girl) AND then the universe blesses you with a PSSM horse who is noticeably grumpy if chilly. But I digress…

And not only is there the great challenge of having them warm, not cold, and not hot. Because if they’re not warm what is the point of it all and if they are hot you’ve got a horse that could easily colic it would seem.

So yes, the sun, the wind the difference in temp at night versus during the day. And then there’s learning each horse and do they run hot or cold, right? My mare has barely a coat and runs hot. She is mostly good in a 100gram - unless we get to zero.

My PSSM guy who spent the first 6 years in the Big Horn Basin in WY with brutal weather…runs cold. Maybe it’s his PSSM doing that? And he has a thick, beautiful heavy coat. He lives mostly in a 200 gram and we go 300-400 if there’s wind and in the teens.

But not if it’s sunny, no wind and temps go to 30. Having them home and being able to check them on the weekends has me very aware they can get hot too quick.

There’s a large consensus here about the value of 100 grams and that is a really handy blanket for sunny, windy but still chilly-to-cold and you don’t get the horse in trouble temp-wise. Over heated.

I also hate blanketing because I have a strong opinion that the pressure on the vertebrae at the withers makes them sore. So I’m switching out a lot and do like a Wug thinking it’s a better design to avoid that.

[Renn_aissance]

@PaddockWood

I also hate blanketing because I have a strong opinion that the pressure on the vertebrae at the withers makes them sore.

I agree. One of the ways in which I am idiosyncratic about blankets is that I will change out layers to add up to the same overall weight of fill so that the same rug is not sitting on the same spot 24/7. There is a method to my madness, I swear.

I do think the Wug design helps with this, but depending on the horse’s shoulders you then have to watch for shoulder and chest pressure.

[shadesofbay3]

Will PM you!