Sorry in advance for this ridiculously long post.
Are there general temperatures that people use for blanketing charts? This is my first fall without being able to get to the barn daily, currently able to do 3-4 days/week. The barn I board at is now requesting all boarders to have a blanketing chart for their horse. However, I’ve never really put it into chart formats since I’ve always just eyeballed it based off of temperature + if my horse feels warm under her blanket. I am in MA so it can get chilly but it’s not cold right now, although fellow boarders have started blanketing so I’m thinking I should at least start drafting my blanket chart.
I saw some example charts online but they look really warm, most of them advise start blanketing an unclipped horse at 40+ Fahrenheit. I feel like my horse will be too warm since she’s a very easy keeper (a bit chubby) and is a foundation Morgan that grows a pretty fluffy coat in the winter that I haven’t clipped in a couple years.
However, she’s out during the day without access to a run-in or shelter when it’s raining/snowing etc but inside at night in a barn that is usually ~15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is outside. I know hay really keeps them warm, especially 24/7 or free choice hay, however they get fed hay 3x a day so I think that will influence things a bit.
Not super sure how to set it up for temperatures without being overly complex and annoying for the barn staff. I think the majority of boarders tend to start blanketing around 50s or even 60s but was worried that she’ll melt if I don’t make my own chart since I think there’s sometimes a tendency to over blanket in my area. The blankets I used last year were a 250g Rhino Vari-Layer Plus (has neck cover) and a 100g Rhino Vari-Layer Wug, both waterproof/turnout. I also have a 0g Horze high neck rainsheet (like a Wug basically) but I get a little iffy about 0g sheets in case they get soaked through.
I was thinking of something like:
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45+ F: No blanket
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35-45F: If raining, 100g Rhino Wug. Otherwise no blanket
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25-35F: 100g Rhino Wug
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15-25F: 250g Rhino Plus
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Below 15F: 250g Rhino Plus with 100g Rhino Wug on top
Does this look too warm? Not sure if I should change widen the 3rd & 4th temperature ranges but also feel like I am way overthinking the numbers. I personally am freezing all the time but my horse is probably not. Also pondering whether I should bring back my hay net for her PM hay so then it’ll last longer at night when the temps are dropping.