Heavyweight blanket not warm enough. What next?

[sublimequine]

My 20 year old mare with Equine Metabolic Syndrome is struggling a bit with some extreme cold temps we’re having right now. Found her cold the other night - in her 300g heavyweight blanket. It was subzero outside, wind chills around -20F.

She’s a good weight (a bit plump), plenty of hay, nice three sided shelter. Other horses to huddle up with.

What do you do when the heavyweight isn’t enough? Ended up throwing a sheet ontop of her heavyweight and she’s happy and warm now. I worry about all that weight of the blankets though, and the temperatures are supposed to get even colder soon. Not supposed to warm up for another week or more.

[Marla_100]

Leg wraps can help a lot. BOT quick wraps are great in cold weather. Add layers for warmth, fleece blankets, regular blankets. Also Neck Covers help. Maybe staple a tarp over 4th side of shelter with a small area to go in and out.

[ndirish07]

I double blanket or add a liner of some sort when it gets really cold. I don’t really worry about the weight of the blankets. I use Rambos and considering my horse is 1,400# I don’t think he really notices the weight of a blanket. Also, just as point, I don’t really consider a 300g to be a heavyweight. For me a 400g is a heavy. That’s all to say that I wouldn’t be too surprised that I’d have to add a layer in that temperature with just 300g. Right now, my horse is rocking nearly 500g (200g blanket, 200 gram liner, and fleece cooler/liner, with 200 gram hood) but he’s also full body clipped.

[CanteringCarrot]

Perhaps add a neck cover. Or purchase a blanket liner. Usually I just out a 100g liner underneath and it isn’t super bulky or heavy (the Rambo liner).

[JB]

I do worry about the physical weight of blankets if they’re going to be on more than a day or so, if they are not at least a high neck. The wither relief style from Schneider’s is better than most, IME, but even they still make contact on the front of the withers, and that weight can make the horse sore.

A high neck, or full neck 80-100gm sheet on top of the blanket can help a lot, and won’t add much physical weight.

[tazycat]

My gelding has been shivering being double blanketed. A heavy weight blanket 300 Gram fill first layer,medium weight blanket second layer. I wrapped his front legs with wool sock then standing wraps over the wool socks. Have quilts that were a bit long so they cover cornet bands. Has really helped him,plus i found the BOT sheet i had bought here earlier this year. Took off his blankets put the BOT sheet on then blankets back on over it. Did that yesterday evening about froze my fingers off.

This morning for first time in 6 days he’s not shivering. Pretty sure his shivering has made him a bit body sore. Temps here are ridiculously cold -22 this morning and only going to get colder starting tonight wind chill -45 through monday morning.

[ryansgirl]

You layer blankets. I’d rather have my mare in her 100 gram and 200 gram Weatherbeetas then one 300 gram blanket. She stays much warmer when i layer blankets. Same with my old gelding - He wore multiple blankets instead of a single heavyweight (he’d shiver once it hit 50 degrees at night so needless to say he had a huge wardrobe with lots of layering options). I also prefer high necks - takes a lot of pressure off the withers.

Temps are currently in the single digits below zero with windchills i don’t want to think about. My mare has on a 200 gram regular neck, 200 gram high neck and a Rambo Wug sheet on top. This works for her and has for years. (She also has free choice hay, hot water, shelter, etc).

[quietann]

Neck covers really help. Beyond that, layer! And take the blankets off occasionally to be sure they aren’t rubbing.

[TWH_Girl]

There are sure a lot of threads about shivering horses lately! This winter is too much cold too soon for too long. No warm up for a week now.

My 24/7 outdoor boy is in a 360gm Weatherbeeta with a hood; my stall boy is in an Amigo Wug heavyweight. So far, they are fine like this. The older and metabolic ones struggle the most.

[cristalle]

I always layer for warmth, for myself and my horses. Right now I am wearing 2 old cashmere sweaters, and when I go out I will put on a polar fleece, a hat, a scarf and a quilted vest, as well as splash pants, gloves and boots. It is a lot of taking off and on, but it works.
Same with the horses. Mine are wearing mostly medium weights, with rainsheets on top. And they are warm. If they need added warmth, I would swap out the medium weight for a heavy weight and/or put something like a wool or fleece liner underneath.
They also have shelters, constant hay, warm feed 2xs a day, and heated water.

[Abbie.S]

I always find layers to be a better system - it’s not about actual “weight” of the blanket, it’s about creating space for heat to be trapped.

My personal experience for horses that don’t tolerate cold well (for a variety of reasons, but that three that come to mind for me were old, metabolic and the other was a very hard keeper) is using a 100 gram stable blanket that’s got a full nylon lining (Amigo makes my favorite) under any heavyweight-rated turnout blanket does that job. The addition of that extra fluff of the stable blanket works wonders and the nylon lining keeps it slick against the horse’s skin to avoid rubs.

I also haven’t bought a regular neck turnout in years. All of mine are a high-neck - less pressure on the withers and I find the horses don’t get as much moisture around the shoulders under the blanket.

[TWH_Girl]

What are thoughts on a fleece underneath? I realize they are static-y and not smooth like a stable blanket or liner.

[SecondInCommand]

@TWH Girl

What are thoughts on a fleece underneath? I realize they are static-y and not smooth like a stable blanket or liner.

I’m personally not a fan of fleece in direct contact with the horse’s coat for use as anything other than a cooler. It tends to travel backwards as the horse moves, and creates a vice around the shoulders and withers. A nylon lined blanket has the ability to move forward when necessary, whereas the fleece does not without being manually lifted back into position.

FWIW, my horse is wearing a 440 g stable blanket with a 280 g neck right now. His 200 g medium turnout overtop was insufficient for keeping him happy, so it now has a 400 g liner in it. He’s weairing more than 1000 g for turnout, and is temp-neutral now. He’s got lots of hay but no shelter, and is stalled at night. The stable is a Schneiders and the turnout and liner are Horseware, so the fill is pretty good for providing warmth while being ergonomic and not weighing a tonne. I’m in Canada, and it’s been -25C (-13F) when he goes out in the morning, if that helps.

[Jealoushe]

What kind of blanket? Someblankets do not breath, so they get frosty on the inside of the top liner and do not make the horse warm.

Amigo has awesome insulator blankets you can put underneath as a layer. They are toasty warm and not too expensive.

[Renn_aissance]

Layer layer layer, but be mindful about how you do it for the horse’s comfort and the longevity of your blankets. Part of a blanket’s insulating value is its loft; as the fill compresses they lose some warmth. So, if you have a heavy blanket on top of a medium blanket, the heavy is crushing the medium. In general, I prefer to layer light fill over heavier fill, although I put a turnout sheet at the bottom because it has no fill to compress.

If your stack has different necks, I prefer the highest neck on top- otherwise the lower necks are creating a pressure point where they push down on the higher neck. Be mindful, too, that you don’t bundle the horse up such that it can’t move freely. Horses will go off bucking and farting in the field to warm up; Michelin Men cannot.

My metabolic fellow is clipped and not as good at thermoregulation as he used to be as a younger horse. He’s been layered in two rugs most of this week- and when the real feel has been well down from the raw temperature because of precipitation or wind chill, sometimes three. That’s when it really starts to get miserable.

[DJohn]

I agree with not using anything fleece at the bottom or one of those awful baker blankets. They pull horribly on the withers and shoulders! Why anyone ever thought those things were a good idea is beyond me! No baker, no fleece, no wool!

I am all about layering when it gets cold, as well as neck covers. Slippery blankets are best for liners. Even greenhawk sells the slippery kind now. But I prefer Amigo 100%. When I say “slippery” I mean Polyester on both sides.

My TB is out in the same temps as 2ndincommand’s horse except he’s out 24/7. He is currently in a 350gm Amigo liner and a 400gm Amigo turnout with a neck cover. He is perfectly happy. I don’t think he needs any more than that but if he were to need that I’d probably have to add another liner which I’d rather not do. Not because it’s too heavy physically but it’s just too much for him to move around/sleep in comfortably.

[SonnysMom]

I sometimes find putting an Irish Knit as a base layer with layers on top can keep them a little warmer. The Irish Knit has all the holes that hold the warmth. I personally prefer combo neck blankets so there is no wither pressure but my one horse is really shark finned.
I wonder if you were to take a heating pad or electric blanket, stand him in crossties and put it on his back with a blanket over him if you can get rid of his chill. Maybe once you get him warm and then add a few layers he will stay warm. My trainer uses an electric throw on a number of the horses this time of year before we ride. It seems to really help with cold backed or tight backed horses.

[Brigitte]

Sublime, I’ve done just what you did, adding a turnout sheet on top. It really helped more than I thought it would. As everyone else has said, layering is the key.

I wouldn’t worry about the weight at all right now, more important that they stay warm. Right now my OTTB is in a medium weight Amigo Bravo with the 200 gm liner. I don’t usually use the neck cover, but have put it on this year since he is out most of the time and the windchill is so bad.

The turnout sheet on top also helps with those blankets that don’t seem as waterproof as they should be.

[WNT]

I like the all-in-one type sheet for a top layer. It has the hood integrated so it takes pressure off the withers and base of the neck. Amigo Insulators are tough to beat as a base layer, and easy to wash to boot.

I also agree that my horse seemed to stay warmer in layers than a single heavier weight blanket. He had a bevy of medium weights that layered nicely. He had the Insulator or an old Bucas TO for the bottom, then a Weatherbeeta high neck, and for the top either a Shires all-in-one sheet or an Amigo 1200D with neck cover that was a size larger than his regular rugs (81" over 78"). It doesn’t hurt if you’re planning on layering for your topmost layer to be a size bigger.

[jonem004]

Yikes, that stinks it’s been so cold for you! First, consider moving. Seriously. I did, couldn’t be happier!
Short of that I like a nice thick fleece cooler or blanket liner, or even a throw from the house as a short term if you pin it to the inside of the blanket. Fleece is light, and seems to cling a little better to the hair coat and hopefully prevent some of the gaping that can let cold air in. But some horses really don’t like that ‘cling’ and it can cause rubbing and skin soreness on more sensitive individuals. Hope it warms up for you!