Blankets for the indoor boarded horse?

[teh_Kibbster]

A bit of background:

Horse has been on 24/7 turnout for the last 1.5 years.
Horse is moving to a new facility in the spring and will have a stall.

He was on indoor board in Winnipeg previously. However, it was so cold there, his lightest sheet was 150g because when the cold came, it was there overnight.

We have the following:
2 no-fill rain sheets
2 150g rain sheets
2 300g turnouts
2 fly sheets
1 nylon liner.
1 polar fleece cooler.

Do we need a cotton sheet for his stall? What is the purpose of a cotton sheet? In my mind, it just keeps them clean.

Can a polar fleece cooler accomplish the same? Not in the hotter weather, but spring/fall.
What about the nylon liner - instead of a cotton sheet?

I should add he is a grey and a disgusting pig in his stall. I am all for keeping him clean with the help of a blanket - I’m just not sure what else we should add to his wardrobe.

What are your suggestions?

This facility is quite the step up from anywhere we have ever been before. I know everyone is going to have Rambo matching everything, but that is not in our budget :lol:

[DoodlesMom]

So, my guys are stall boarded, but only come in if it’s super cold/raining/snowing. I leave them in their turnout blankets while inside, for the most part. If it’s super cold, I may layer. My younger one is a train wreck in his stall, so he definitely gets something waterproof overnight!

Getting a cotton sheet seems pointless, IMO. In addition to their TO sheets, mids, and heavy blankets, my younger one has a nylon liner (200g fill, I believe) and a fleece BOT, and the old man has a mesh BOT and a polar fleece liner. They have never needed anything more… but we aren’t in Canada! If you wanted to get something to leave on him when he’s in, I would suggest a liner or stable blanket with fill. As for keeping him clean, a TO sheet or stable blanket with a neck may help.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=teh_Kibbster;9013635]

Can a polar fleece cooler accomplish the same?[/QUOTE]
Not unless you want to spend the rest of your life picking bedding and hay off your fleece cooler.

Turn out clothes work fine as indoor clothes. No need for a totally separate wardrobe for indoors.

[fordtraktor]

To me it really depends on the culture of the barn. I keep indoor horses in the same clothes as outdoor. If it is standard to change them, however, and you want a “stable blanket” I would highly recommend Big D (Kodiak and All Americans). I have some Kodiaks that I honestly bought in 1992 and they are still warm and totally comfortable. They are also very sturdy, I have 4 and not a single one has a rip. I bought 2 more on superclearance a couple of years ago and they are still in the packaging because I was waiting for the older ones to give up the ghost, and they haven’t.

I use them under turnouts for extra warmth too. So if it is super cold here, rather than layer two turnouts (heavy for the horse to carry around) I put the stable blankets under the turnout and they are toasty and warm without all the weight.

[dotneko]

Well, our barn stays warm (and can be heated in bitter cold).
Our horses have med and heavy weight turnouts that we throw over whatever they wear inside and remove when they come in.
My guy wears his fleece cooler with proper straps inside. Some are naked, some wear their back on tracks.

[Princess_Sparkles]

Depends on what the barn offers–at my place the horses are either naked or wearing a stable blanket inside, and we throw a turnout over top. Some people just leave their turnouts on all the time and the horse doesn’t get changed at all.

I have a blanket obsession so I have all weights of stable blankets and turnouts, and I layer and mix and match according to weather conditions. For my boarders, I prefer if they have a stable blanket (200 g of fill) for cold weather wear in the barn, at least 1 rainsheet (2 is better) and at least a midweight turnout blanket (200-300 g). With those options I have a reasonable ability to keep most horses warm and dry. I’m in Ontario, not Winterpeg though, so our weather is not quite as extreme as yours!

Ask the barn you move into what they like their boarders to have–to me it sounds like if you pick up a stable blanket (not a sheet, but something with some fill) you should be fine.

And yeah, don’t use a fleece cooler as a blanket. I find they are not designed for a horse to live in, even with straps, and often twist and pull at the shoulders if a horse is wearing it all the time. Not to mention that bedding and hay will stick to it like a beast!

[Cowgirl]

I personally do not like turnouts on inside, for three reasons: (1) stalls are small and they lay down in their pee, etc., and that is hard on the waterproofing; (2) turnouts that are windproof, don’t breathe as well as a a stable blanket and a horse is less likely to get hot in a stable blanket…oh and (3) all of my turnouts have neck covers because it is windy here and I clip–the horse doesn’t need the neck cover inside. I use a 200gm Rambo Supreme or a Rambo supreme sheet for turnout; for inside, I have a 200 gm back on track stable blanket. I also have the 100 weight Rambo with neck cover, but rarely use it. If it is super cold, they layer for turnout. When it is warm, I have a Rambo aussie all rounder or a fly sheet. Here, we have extremes of temperature and it is about 15 degrees warmer inside than outside and of course no wind inside. Most days in the winter, it can get in the mid 40s and they don’t need more than a turnout sheet. When it is down below freezing, she gets the 200 gm. When it is below 15, they generally don’t turn out, but if they do, she’ll be double blanketed.

[Mozart]

I am a little confused. Has the horse been on 24/7 turnout in the Winnipeg (the weather I know best as it is my area…) and is now moving to a stall in Ontario? Or was in indoor board in the Winnipeg area and now moving to indoor board in Ont? It makes a difference because if he was on 24/7 outdoor board in Winnipeg he will be a yak. Any blanket in the barn will be too warm unless you clip him.

Here is what I do in Winterpeg: the horses that come in at night get a 150 - 200 gram stable blanket, depending on whether or not they are trace clipped or are wusses. My barns stays above freezing, I strive for +5 C.

For turnout I add either a 150 gram water proof shell (for as cold as -5) or a 250 to 300 turnout (up to about -20). Colder then -20 they get the 400 (Shedrow Elite…warmest one available)

The stable blanket stay on underneath. My favourite is the Amigo Insulator as it is light weight and does not shift around.

A lot will depend on the coat your horse currently has, whether you plan to clip, what is the temp in the barn, do they turnout in every weather, will they change the bottom layer or just add a turnout (if even that, lot of barns don’t take off turnouts even when they come into heated barn…my pet peeve…)

[Mallard]

I’m in Ontario and we have mild weather compared to Winterpeg
The blankets that you have will be fine.
My guys (ponies…so they do have lots of hair!) live outside naked.
Only come inside if it’s wet and windy. I do have one mare with not much coat who wears a 200gm.

He probably won’t need any in-stall blanketing unless he is clipped.
Depending on when he gets here …and how much coat he has… you may have to give him a bit of a clip.

[teh_Kibbster]

I’m sorry, I was unclear.

2013 to 2015 horse was on indoor board in Winnipeg.
2015 to present he has been on outdoor board in southern Ontario.

Spring 2017 we are moving to a facility a little south of Barrie.

We are no longer getting the -50Cs we saw in Winnipeg in winter 2013 :winkgrin:

Horse grows a nice coat. I’m not worried so much about keeping him warm - we are great at that now!

I’m more wondering how do you keep stalled horses clean/dry because I don’t think his turnouts will breath enough for the Ontario winters.

Is this where the stable/cotton sheets come in to play?
Our nylon sheet is no fill, just a liner (like a slinky).

[specifiedcupcake]

If you’re just after cleanliness and not warmth, I’ve been a big fan of the Rambo Grand Prix Helix sheet. Apparently it can double as a cooler but the fabric is such that bedding doesn’t stick to it, and it has nylon lined shoulders so no rubbing!

[Mozart]

Thanks for the clarification. If you are moving in the spring of 2017 I don’t think any of his prior situation will really come into play, by the fall of 2017 he should be fully acclimatized to his new situation.

I think it will still depend on warm the barn in. In the spring and fall my barn is around 10 - 12 C. At that time of year my horse are not yet clipped but the barn is bit chilly so they wear nylon sheets. I have always used Big D nylon sheets http://www.pleasantridge.ca/index.php/big-d-nylon-sheet.html and they are very durable but I have not tried the Shedrow nylon sheets; they look very similar. http://greenhawk.com/wdItemDesc.asp?strilhID=Web&strmdNumber=BLS4011&stricSKU=BLS4011

Your nylon liner might work if it does not slip. Does it have leg straps? There is really no magic to a cotton sheet, I mostly use them at shows to keep horses clean. They are bit more breathable than nylon, therefore I don’t worry too much about the horse overheating.

Disadvantage of a cotton sheet over a nylon for every day is that I find they get dirty faster and rub more than a nylon sheet.

[enjoytheride]

Some barns do not change blankets when the horses come inside so you need to find that out first. My horse wears her turnout to bed overnight. My barn manager will change from a midweight to a sheet or back if I’m not out myself to change blankets but that’s it.

[Shagyas_Rock]

I think you have everything you need, from what I can see. We can get some bitter cold here, too - down to 20 below, with windchills worse than that, but these periods of bitter cold probably don’t last as long as yours do, in Winnepeg.
I have two mares that are stabled over night and two geldings who have run-in stalls.
I have stable blankets, but I rarely use them - unless someone is on stall rest or something like that. I simply don’t have time to be switching from stable to turnout wear; I do my chores in the morning before going to work, and fussing with blankets doesn’t fit into the time budget. I have never had a problem with turnout blankets “not breathing” and I bed my stalls fairly deeply - (urine is well absorbed) and I’ve never had a problem with that affecting the waterproofing of any blanket. There are a couple of things though that you might consider adding to your horse’s wardrobe, that I have found extrememly useful: the Schneider’s nylon blanket liner, which comes in either 180 gram or 300 gram - and the Schneider’s “Tekno-fleece” blanket. The liners are great - you can use them under either a turnout sheet or blanket according to the temperatures and they stay in place beautifully, due to the special slots in the liner through which you pass the leg straps of the turnout. Slicker than snot, as they say:lol:
The Tekno fleece blankets are super for fluctuating temps. They’re pretty warm - my filly will stay toasty in temps as low as 25 but if they rise to 45 by mid afternoon, she remains dry and comfortable and never overheats. I’ve found it to be very useful - they make tekno fleece stable blankets too that you could probably use as a liner if you wanted.
Just my two cents - good luck! And you stay warm, too. I’ve found that fleece under garments - such as fleece undershirts and tights - are heavenly for staying warm in bitter temps. And L.L.Bean boots:)

[kcmel]

The problem with a cotton sheet is that it will not keep him clean if he lays in his manure (I have a mostly white paint that loves to lie in his manure!). A very light turnout such as an Amigo Mio might work. Or any other 600D waterproof sheet. (I like the Mio because it has good coverage, but it is not very sturdy for turnout).

[GoodTimes]

I wouldn’t be buying blankets until you’re there. Every barn is different. There are 40 stall barns that are so drafty that they’re as cold as the outdoors. There are heated barns where unclipped horses are naked and clipped horses where a cotton sheet. There are in between barns that aren’t heated, but are insulated enough that when the horses are in the clipped horses wear an insulated liner and the unclipped horses wear sheets or are naked.
It might also depend on if your horse is stabled near a door.