Hiya! I currently live in a very hot area but will be moving up around Quebec early next year. When it comes to cold weather stuff, I’m completely clueless (I don’t even own a single blanket!) I’m wondering what the best approach to blanketing is? I see some people prefer layering and others just have all different weighted blankets - of course I don’t want to overspend but I also want to be fully prepared. If it means anything, my pony is about 8yo, doesn’t grow much of a coat at all (if she ends up growing one, I’ll probably trace clip as she’s being moderately worked.) Thank you so much.
What kind of barn will she be living in? You will want very different blankets for a horse living in a field with a run in versus living in a barn with a runout or with turnout in the day time. Also whether you have a heated blanket room to dry your blankets. Also who is doing blankets and how much they are willing to change them
Quebec is extremely cold in winter, so you probably want a 300 gram fill waterproof turnout for full winter. You might consider a detachable neck piece. And then a rainsheet or very light fill blanket for transitional seasons. If she is inside a barn and clipped you might want a non waterproof stable blanket overnight, but I’ve never found a need for one because I have a stall with runout.
You might also want multiples of these, but you won’t really know until you are up there. Usually in cold climates there is a brisk trade in second hand blankets, sometimes nearly new, like all tack. They do need to be properly laundered and re waterproofed every year.
Haven’t yet settled on a single barn but most likely she will be stalled in a non-heated barn with daily turnout. Heated tack room to keep the blankets dry. Thank you for the input!
My horse is fully clipped in winter. She is out during the day, and in an unheated barn at night. I have a rain sheet (no fill), medium weight, and heavy weight with neck cover. I don’t have stable blankets - she wears her turnout sheets in the barn - unless they’re really soaked, the turnouts typically dry on the horse fairly quickly. We’re in Maryland, so most of the winter she’s just wearing the medium. I only have one of each, although I know some folks who like to have spares so they can wash them mid-season. It can also be nice to have a spare if your horse is tough on blankets (although you probably won’t know that yet).
I suggest that once you find a barn, you ask the barn owner/manager what they recommend. Every barn is different in terms of how many blanket changes they’re willing to deal with, what systems they like, etc.
I find a wardrobe of 100g, 200g & 400g to be super useful for whatever weather. I haven’t used a no fill sheet in YEARS–if they need cover, mine do better with a little fill. Lots of brands to choose from! I do Rambo.
You’ll also need a cooler. Some like polarfleece for easy washing, but there’s nothing like wool!
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Sheet, 150-200g, 350g. I prefer neck covers, for extra warmth or too remove as needed. Cooler and scrim, for you, too. Possibly a shoulder guard. Horseware is the brand I like, but the fit is slightly different that other brands. If the horses is turning out in all sorts of weather, it’s easier and cheaper to just buy all turnout rugs and not bother with stable rugs.
I have recently purchased 2 Horze sheets from Chick’s Saddlery. The horses have only worn them a few times, but I’m happy with them so far and the 2 of them together cost less than one Horseware Amigo. If you go to that site, stay away from their house brand (Rugged something?) and the Tough 1’s. Tough 1’s are cheap, but I haven’t found them to be very water proof.
Agreed with all the others that a 3-blanket system is ideal and gives you flexibility. If I were you, I would spring for a detachable neck piece (unless you don’t plan to clip the neck much and/or your horse runs really hot). Our barn uses a no-fill turnout, mid weight, and heavy weight (~ 350-400 g). Don’t be surprised if you have to go through a few different styles to find what works for your horse (i.e., I found out the expensive way that my horse is better dressed in a high-neck cut, versus the normal wither cut which rubs into her neck).
You’ll also want coolers if you plan to ride. There are LOTS of options. I recommend getting one that also covers the neck, unless you think your horses neck is unlikely to get sweaty and/or cold (unlikely). I’m moving away from fleece as I just cannot handle the static - the poor horse would regularly leap to the back of her stall with literally and emotional shock. Wool apparently does not create static, is warmer, and wicks better.
You’ll also want a quarter sheet. Again, fleece is convenient, but static. People at my barn swear by the back on track ones. I just got the non-fleece BOT quarter sheet and love it - it’s warmer, non-staticky, and appears a bit water resistant in case we’re hacking and get some sprinkles. I recommend ones that are cut up a bit by the leg (i.e., not a perfect square) in case you think it might interfere with your leg (as it does mine - I like to do part of my warm up with the quarter sheet on when it’s cold, so I need those leg aids!). (Admittedly, the BOT quarter sheet does not have this style… c’est la vie.)
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This is one of those questions whose answer is extremely variable, depending on your conditions. I’m going to give you an outlier that gives you an example of some of the variables to consider.
I have a 25-year-old [age] Irish Sport Horse [breed and coat character] accustomed to mid-Atlantic temperatures, where he lives [climate]. He has Cushings and hypothyroidism [health conditions]. He spends his days inside and is turned out at night with a three-sided shelter, hay, and congenial friends [living conditions]. He is partially or fully clipped [hair coat].
As a younger horse, he ran hot, and would disrobe in the field if he felt too warm. As he has gotten older, he’s run cold- he started coming in grumpy and stiff. So I overhauled his rug system. In our climate we have real-feels below 0 (high winds more than ambient temperatures,) winter tends to be damp, and we have more ice storms than snow.
I have an unlined sheet, a 100gm, a 250gm, and a 450gm VariLayer. Each blanket has hood attachments. I have an unlined, medium, and heavy hood. This gives me the option to have him wear up to 800gm of fill, plus the benefits of layers if needed. (I purchased in sizes that this actually works, and he can move freely. We’ve done it in really bitter temperatures.)
I also have a wool quarter sheet for riding (Saratoga Horseworks) and a wool dress sheet for apres-ride cooling out (thick, plush, Irish import.) I prefer wool over fleece because of static.
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My Herd of 3 - 20yo Hackney Pony, 18yo TWH & 6yo mini - live out 24/7/365 by their choice.
Barn is open to them at all times and setup so prevailing winds do not blow into the stalls.
All 3 (especially mini 
) grow nice thick coats.
I rarely blanket & I live where Polar Vortex temps can go well below zero F.
If we get a heavy, wet snow or blizzard conditions I check for warmth: brisket, belly, loins & ear tips. If they are warm & dry in those places, no blanket.
If snow is piled on their backs, but not melting, they stay unblanketed. If backs are wet to the skin, blankets go on but come off as soon as they are dry.
The haircoat insulates well if allowed to fluff up creating air space.
I had a WB who never grew more than a plushy Winter coat & he was fine unblanketed too.
Including the blizzardy night I did lock them in - w/o blankets.
He managed to get his stall door open, went out & then the door got stuck so he could not get back in.
When I went to feed the next morning, pony was frantic at being Home Alone, but WB was fine after overnighting outside unblanketed.
I only have midweight - 200gm fill - blankets for them.
Blankets are used so infrequently they last a long time.
I live in Ontario so very similar climate.
I start blanketing in October, and my horses do not grow a coat nor do I need to clip because I blanket early.
From 10 degrees to 5 degrees they wear a light Amigo Rain sheet 600denier - https://shop.horseware.com/product/mio-turnout-0g-lite/
From 5 degrees to -3ish they wear a Horseware Rhino Wug 1200D rainsheet - https://shop.horseware.com/product/rhino-wug-0g-lite/
From -3 to - 10 they wear an Amigo bravo turnout with neck 100gm https://shop.horseware.com/product/amigo-bravo-12-plus-w-front-disc-closure-100g-lite/
From -10 to - 20 they wear an Amigo Bravo turnout with neck 250g https://www.bahrsaddlery.com/horseware-amigo-bravo-12-plus-medium-turnout-with-front-disc-closure-hw-amigo-bravo-12-plus-md-disc.html
Beyond -20 they wear an Amigo Bravo All in one 400gm. https://shop.horseware.com/product/amigo-bravo-12-all-in-one-turnout-400g-heavy/
When its really windy or snowy I go up a level in the blanket because of the wind chill.
Amigo also makes insulators that are great to throw under a rain sheet if you don’t have the ability to buy multiple turn outs.
I spent the money on quality blankets so I only have to buy them once, they will last years and years I have found if you invest in good quality.
I live in Ontario as well. I’ve got one that lives out 24/7 with a run-in, and two that are stalled in an unheated barn with daily turnout.
They each have an uninsulated rain sheet. This is good until the daily highs are around freezing.
They each have a 150gm midweight, that’s good down to -10C.
They each have a 300gm heavy, that’s good down to -25C
They each also have an insulated stable sheet that can be thrown under any of their turnouts during really cold snaps, or if a blanket is wet or out for repairs.
I prefer the fit of the high neck blankets. But if you’re planning on doing any clipping than I would definitely get detachable necks.
I used the same system when I lived in Edmonton. When we were out there we had a heated arena, so my gelding was fully clipped except for his head, legs, and a strip under his belly. I just put the insulated stable sheet under his turnouts and he was fine.
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Our horses are changed for turnout every day to keep them from sitting around in wet/muddy clothes. Whether or not you need indoor and outdoor clothes will depend entirely on your barn situation.
We do a minimum of 4 items per horse (7 if you have in indoor set and an outdoor set).
Outdoor: No fill turnout sheet, 250g medium turnout blanket, 400g+ turnout blanket with neck cover.
Indoor: stable sheet, 250g medium stable blanket, and 400g+ heavy stable blanket with neck.
Every horse also has a cooler.
I should add I’m in the PNW, so very different from Quebec (I lived Montreal for 2 years so I know the cold!!).
Here we rarely go much below freezing but rain and wet are hard on horses. However there are huge differences between individuals. My big Paint is practically waterproof and never suffered on a winter field. I do put a blanket on her when it gets to be under 5 C and raining/sleet even when she’s in her stall/runout because she doesn’t have room to move around and warm up.
She wants a blanket on when it’s 1 C and sleet. She hates a blanket when it’s up around 10 C. The down side of blankets is they can rub out mane and make horses itchy.
The other horse I’ve been caretaking is a Lusitano cross, and we’ve seen her actually shaking with cold on the field in the winter/ early spring rain when the other horses were unbothered. A shivering horse is a horrible sight and it needs immediate fixing.
Just saying though that they are really different.
Except for the heated tack room, of which I’m madly jealous, this is my set up exactly. I live in Maine, so our climates are similar too.
Unlike a lot of northerners, I rarely go heavier than midweight, and layer if it gets really cold. The key thing here is to avoid slippery underlayers, or things will slide around like crazy. I also dislike layering “systems” for this reason, and would rather build my own using non-slip stable blankets as underlayers.
My big thing is dryness, so I like neck covers a lot, even if they’re not ultra heavy. (I’ll probably bib or Irish clip one extra-hairy guy this year, but that’s it.)
To avoid rubs, I use blankets of different styles and change them out frequently.
My favorite brands are Weatherbeata (which seem to fit most breed types pretty well) Shneider’s (especially for stock, draft and pony breeds) and the Big D blankets from Smartpak (which have a good, long drop, and fit TBs and warmbloods especially well).
My horses have more clothes than Lady Gaga. Each one has: at least two rain sheets with neck covers, two midweight blankets with neck covers, and two stable blankets, of differing weights, at any given time. You certainly could get away with less, though, especially if you’re clever with layers and have a heated tack room to dry them.
Good luck - and prepare to go broke! The prices of blankets have really gone through the roof just lately.
Absolutely! My three have the same wardrobe, but they’re often wearing different outfits.
I live in Ontario, boarding at a well-insulated barn. My horse is a 25 year old TB who feels the cold easily, but also sweats up when working, so he currently has a blanket clip. He has a vast wardrobe consisting of a no-fill rain sheet, a stable sheet, a 100g rain sheet, 100g stable blanket, 200g stable blanket, 200g turnout blanket, a 300g stable blanket, and a 400g turnout blanket. He also has a BOT mesh sheet, a wool cooler, and a fleece quarter sheet. All the turnout blankets have attached hoods except the mid-weight, but I bought a hood that attaches to the hooks on his stable blanket. Except for his stable sheet and mid-weight turnout, all blankets are Amigo.
I swear he has a better wardrobe then I do!
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Hey, I think you’re actually worse than I am! Wow.
The only thing I find harder to resist than a blanket sale is a boot sale.
Definitely clip only a minimal amount at first until you have a sense of what he needs… I do an Irish clip and it cuts way down on sweating but leaves them a lot of protection.
I’ve been happy with my smartpak blankets - if you get the Ultimate line they replace them for free for 10 years…
“The other horse I’ve been caretaking is a Lusitano cross, and we’ve seen her actually shaking with cold on the field in the winter/ early spring rain when the other horses were unbothered. A shivering horse is a horrible sight and it needs immediate fixing.”
I hole-heartedly agree with this point - watch your horse carefully the first year to see what their preferences are. I always thought I was projecting my cold and overblanketing, and was horrified to find my horse shivering one early morning after having been brought in from overnight turnout - mind you, this was mid-September in the mid-Atlantic region, with temps maybe in the upper 50s - not cold by any measure! But maybe combined with morning dew and a little breeze, it was enough to make the horse genuinely cold. Needless to say, this event combined with knowing this is a horse that genuinely dislikes rain where others usually wouldn’t care - I keep her a little more rugged up now, where other horses would probably be roasting.
Believe it or not I double blanketed my horses when living in CA and when I moved to the Midwest I blanketed them for 1 year and then quit completely. They did ok when stalled in CA and wearing blankets but even with turnout blankets they just didn’t like wearing them when living out 24/7.
They didn’t have much of a coat in CA but they grew a good one the first winter w/o a blanket.
I still have a Dover turnout I used on one of my past horses 25+ years ago. Just in case.
Many horses are happier without a blanket ( no matter what the temp) if they have plenty of food and shelter. I would say wait and see if she even needs a blanket. You may find you don’t want to ride in the dead of winter and won’t need to clip.
