Blanketing recommendations?

[abbylee]

So I recently bought my first horse (yay!)… And I am in need of some help with deciding on how to blanket him. My last lease horse was a heavier mustang cross, and since I didn’t own her, I didn’t need to manage her blanketing. That being said, she was an easy keeper and tended to run warm in the winter, meaning she was not complicated to blanket. My new guy I think will be a little trickier. He is a hard keeper OTTB, and I like to full body clip in the winter since we can get some occasional hot days. I live in the California SF Bay Area, and in the winter days can occasionally reach 70 degrees during a hot spell, and can be low 30s to high 20s at night when it gets “chillier.”

I know it’s the middle of summer, but there are still some good online sales going for blankets at the moment, so I would like to start preparing (and budgeting if necessary) for blanketing season now. It can get rainy, so I know I’ll need a light waterproof sheet just to keep him comfortable, but I am wondering how heavy of a blanket is worth investing in? With my last mare, we usually just had a sheet on her and a medium fill one (and occasionally both) if it got colder or during storms. Both horses lived outside in a small pasture with a shelter. Any advice would be appreciated, TIA!

[Highflyer]

I doubt you need anything heavier than a medium weight at those temps. I really like the lightweight ones (80 or 100g) for in between days and then you can add them as a layer if necessary. So I’d probably get a sheet, a 100g, and a midweight.

[Jeepgirl311]

I also just got my first horse (yay!) and am also starting to think about blankets for her. Where are you seeing the best online sales right now?

[Simkie]

@Highflyer

I doubt you need anything heavier than a medium weight at those temps. I really like the lightweight ones (80 or 100g) for in between days and then you can add them as a layer if necessary. So I’d probably get a sheet, a 100g, and a midweight.

Yup, agreed. And guessing that the 100 gram will see the most use, so don’t scrimp on that one. It can be a tough weight to find, but SO useful.

[PrincessPonies]

In the 20s clipped my horse, who runs cold, wears a heavy, at least 300g I think. She also has a medium and a sheet. Recently I got a light 100g blanket for her but I’ll be honest it seems to make her hotter than her medium. I suggesting getting two sheets. That way when the rain is bad you can switch them out. Past two sheets a cooler, medium and heavy is probably all you’ll ever need. The big this is you don’t know if this horse runs hot or cold. My friends horse was a super hard keeper but he ran very hot.

[Guilherme]

Between roughly 15 F and 60 F there is no need to “help” an otherwise healthy horse regulate it’s body temp. Indeed, aggressive “blanketing” will compromise the natural protection their coats them by causing the horse to sweat under the blanket and/or mat the hair so that it cannot build the “air barrier” it was designed to build.

If you live in a place where winds are high help the horse out by providing a wind break (wall, trees, cut, etc.). If there is lots of hot sun then provide some shade (cover, trees, etc.) If you live someplace with lots of rain then maybe a rain sheet is a good idea to reduce soaking (which also renders the natural hair coat less effective).

You also don’t do the horse any favors with frequent bathing using soap. That removes the protective oils from the coat and renders it less effective in protecting from both rain and cold.

In short, if you live in Superior, WI you probably will need some sort of protection from cold. In suburbs of 'Frisco? Probably not so much!!!

G.

[Simkie]

@Guilherme

In short, if you live in Superior, WI you probably will need some sort of protection from cold. In suburbs of 'Frisco? Probably not so much!!!

A horse with a full body clip in SFO will need to be blanketed at times.

[DJohn]

I’d get a 100gm Amigo (it’s a rainsheet with 100 fill), a Rainsheet and a 200gm liner.
That way you have a potential combo of:

1. Rainsheet
2. Rainsheet + 200gm Liner
3. 100 fill rainsheet.
4. 100 fill rainsheet + 200gm liner.

So you’d have a max 300 if it got super chilly for the night (lol 20F made me laugh but for a clipped horse standing in a non-insulated barn, it could get quite cold!).

Waterproofing is most critical for me since my horse lives out.

[mmeqcenter]

I have a rain/wind sheet (no fill), a medium turnout (200g), and a heavy turnout (350g). Since moving to Florida (from Ohio), I have used the heavy like twice (it got to 18°F overnight! I did not move here for that!)

My typical schedule, I usually don’t do more than a Trace clip or Irish clip:
<70°F and raining = sheet
<60°F and clear = sheet
<45°F = medium
<30°F = heavy

Probably seems like overkill to many, but I’ve tried less, and my OTTBs shiver, especially if it’s raining and under 70F.
Also, they’re more like guidelines, not exact rules. For instance, if the low over night is like 28F, but it won’t be 28F until 6am and by 7am it’ll be back up to 32+ because sun, I’ll just do the mediums that night.
A warmblood I did full body clip this past February when he arrived, I followed basically the same schedule, he tends to run a bit warm.

There is no proof that blanketing hinders the ability of the hair to “stand up.” Once the blanket is removed, the hair that was under it has no problem standing up to provide insulation. When the blanket is on, well it obviously doesn’t need to.
If a horse is sweating, then yes, they’re over-blanketed and your schedule should be adjusted.

[asterix]

This is pretty horse dependent. Mine are crossbreds and easy keepers, and they’d be speed dialing PETA if I put something on them when it was 60, raining or not. With a bib or Irish clip they would get a rain sheet if raining and under 50. The 100g is super useful for windy and under 32. I have 200g for when it is sustained below 20. Otherwise naked. Full body clip and I would probably up all of those by 10 to 15 degrees except the sheet. Maybe 60 and raining.

[abbylee]

Thanks everyone for the advice! Now to start online shopping… Any particular brand recommendations?

[Miranda_and_Oscar]

I have a sheet, light, medium and heavy for my guy (I use the light and sheet interchangeably for the most part as the light only has fill along his spine). I also have 2 mediums (he is field boarded so I like to have backup in case one gets wet). I usually trace clip him in the winter (but I am in Maryland, so it gets a little colder here and he is 20).

Most of the blankets I have are from Schneider’s apart from one I got on a super sale online (and that one is just my backup). I have had good luck with Schneider’s. I like that they have a “wither comfort” style since my guy has a high wither. They come waterproofed and mine have lasted 2 years so far (only 1 needed a small patch after a year). https://www.sstack.com/

[Texarkana]

I don’t think you can go wrong with the combination of a turnout sheet with no fill and a medium weight turnout as a starting point. That is always my minimum to have for horses, along with a fitted cooler or liner.

Then you can add from there depending on the horse’s needs.

[Simkie]

@abbylee

Thanks everyone for the advice! Now to start online shopping… Any particular brand recommendations?

Rambo, if you can afford it!

I recently bought all Rambo wardrobes for my four (cha-ching!) because I was just so tired of dealing with other brands. If you’re buying several pieces, you might check here. I wound up saving a few hundred bucks on my spree, even with the overseas shipping. AND she still has the blue 100g blanket, which seems to be impossible to get in the US. (The new color is a very light grey–nearly white. Who in their right mind wants a WHITE horse rug?? :lol:) That particular rug is my favorite and most used piece!

[SonnysMom]

I would start by asking the former owners what they did that worked.

I would start with the waterproof sheet and medium blanket. I already own fleece coolers, BOT mesh sheet and Irish knit that in a pinch I can layer with. In your case I would look into getting something between a lined waterproof sheet and a medium blanket.

[asterix]

I’ve actually had good luck with smartpak blankets…

[Highflyer]

@Simkie

Rambo, if you can afford it!

I recently bought all Rambo wardrobes for my four (cha-ching!) because I was just so tired of dealing with other brands. If you’re buying several pieces, you might check here. I wound up saving a few hundred bucks on my spree, even with the overseas shipping. AND she still has the blue 100g blanket, which seems to be impossible to get in the US. (The new color is a very light grey–nearly white. Who in their right mind wants a WHITE horse rug?? :lol:) That particular rug is my favorite and most used piece!

I love the almost white blanket when I have to find a plain bay in a 50 acre field at 4 a.m.!

[mmeqcenter]

I like my Weatherbeeta Genero s, they’re several years old and not a rip.

[Cynical25]

If a horse will be turned out/not stalled, I aim for the lightest weight possible to just take the edge off, not make him toasty. I want to supplement his natural protection, not replace it completely like I must do with a fully clipped show horse who resides primarily in a stall.

My current horses are turned out 24/7 with a 3 sided run-in shelter in Texas - in winter it could be 15°F when I feed at 5am but 70°F when I return home at 6pm. My thick coated mare hates blankets, but my wussy QH gelding begs for a cover if it’s below 40°! Waterproof, breathable turnout sheet is our most useful item. He gets a 200g medium weight turnout blanket if it’s dropping below 25° overnight, but if the forecast shows over 40° during the day I will swap to his turnout sheet at breakfast - it will provide some continued protection against wind and wet while it’s still cold out, but won’t make him sweat later in the day. I also have a 100g blanket liner I can layer under his Medium weight if he needs it, but the Medium was enough warmth on even our coldest nights this past winter.

[MustangTwist]

Fellow SF Bay Area equestrian here! Luckily the weather here is pretty moderate, but as other have said, especially if you body clip your horse you’re going to want to have a variety of blankets and sheets on hand based on fluctuating temperatures.

I actually like the SmartBlanket app, esp. for those days where I’m not sure whether my guy needs a blanket/sheet or not. You can enter the zip code of your barn, information about your horse (full clip, partial clip, lives inside/outside, etc.) and it will give you a recommendation. I don’t always follow it, but it’s a good tool!