Temperature changes

[JB]

While I can’t speak directly to all these heavyweight blankets, and layering on top of them, since I don’t own heavies, and only layer no-fill or 80gm sheets over mediums, I just wanted to mention something:

Some of these blankets are physically heavy. I can say that my Schneider’s high neck mediums are physically lighter than some of the mediums I’ve had in the past. They all have their own weight.

Just be careful adding physically heavier blankets on top of physically heavier blankets, especially if they have "normal’ necks where the blanket lies right on/around their withers.

[Scribbler]

General thoughts.

Obviously clipped horses are in a category of their own and can’t heat regulate at all.

But I feel like most unclipped horses, even with skimpy hair, can be fine with lighter blankets that block wind and precipitation.

It’s useful to remember that range horses acclimated to colder temperatures do just fine way up in Northern Canada, including feral horses in the Yukon. Horses are actually made for cold to temperate climates, and evolved on the steppes.

That doesn’t mean all modern pet horses are acclimated, or that you want to let a horse shiver. And obviously Arabs and Arab derived breeds like TB evolved in deserts! And sudden temperature shifts are hard on everyone.

Nevertheless, an unclipped horse is not a human toddler and generally needs only a bit of help, not a full wardrobe of layers.

As far as blankets affecting hair poof, the mechanism by which horses poof their hair is called horripilation, basically hair standing on end. If they are warm their hair is sleek, even a winter coat. If they are cold they ruffle up their feathers. I’ve seen my very shiny mare poof up her short summer coat when we get a cool rainy day in August. When I blanket her in winter she has a fluffy neck and shiny body but if I take the blanket off her winter hair poofs up in a couple of hours if she needs it. And under that hair she is warm on her skin.

I do think she grows more hair when she lives outside over the winter certainly more guard hairs, beard, fetlocks, even with a blanket.

[JB]

@Scribbler

It’s useful to remember that range horses acclimated to colder temperatures do just fine way up in Northern Canada, including feral horses in the Yukon. Horses are actually made for cold to temperate climates, and evolved on the steppes.

Yes, but also remember, those climates are pretty far North, so daylight hours decrease a lot faster, to be a lot less, than more Southern areas, so they are triggered to have a heftier coat (in general) which helps protect them. And, farther South, it’s very likely to have spells of pretty mild to even warm weather, and since skin temperature does play a small role in coat growth, our horses just don’t grow coats like the others.

And yes, living outside full time will, all else equal, grow more hair if for no other reason than being in even an unheated barn, is a bit warmer, so the skin gets a bit warmer…

[Scribbler]

Ah yes daylight hours never thought of that! My mare starts shedding a bit after New Years, as soon as the days start getting longer.

[JB]

Yep, they all start shedding/growing the new coat a few weeks after each of the Summer/Winter Solstice, when the daylight hour decrease/increase, respectively, starts becoming noticeable enough.

I have seen more shedding, earlier, if Jan is warmer, than if it’s colder. They are basically not shedding much at all right now, it’s been cold to downright frigid (for us, for most of this month, and it’s going to be a cold 7-10 days again. But yeah, mid-Jan-ish that hair starts coming off more noticeably for sure.

[Pico_Banana]

@Scribbler

But I feel like most unclipped horses, even with skimpy hair, can be fine with lighter blankets that block wind and precipitation.

That’s what I’ve been experimenting with this year. The method that is working for me is that I assume the blanket counterbalances wind and wet, so I base my blanketing decisions primarily on air temp. And I’ve found that a little bit of fill goes a long way, at least with my two (who admittedly run warm - double trouble chestnut mares). I’ve found that a 100g keeps them toasty down to the high 20s even. And I check on them multiple times a day.

If there’s any kind of precipitation, I do make sure that they have full neck covers on, although all of mind are zero fill until I break out the heavyweights. If it’s just a bit windy but not crazy windy, I’m good with Wugs.

[atr]

This begs a question… do you think different color horses feel the cold differently?

[Scribbler]

I think different breeds do feel cold differently on average.

I would think a pink skinned white horse would be most vulnerable to everything but my childhood horse was minimal pinto basically white with a brown head and a few belly spots. She was born feral and grew a pony winter coat and lived out on a field in rain and snow through years of retirement with no problems.

[JB]

@atr

do you think different color horses feel the cold differently?

Since the darker the color, the more sunlight is absorbed and heat retained, yes. All else equal, I do think a black horse would fair better in colder weather than hot, vs a horse with all white hair.

[atr]

You’d certainly think that would be true, but my big black warmblood wuss feels the cold terribly and demands his warm clothing, and my dear departed leopard appy with a lot of white and pink robustly preferred to be blanketless (of course he grew a coat like a yak, but the warmblood doesn’t do too badly.) My new chestnut horse seems to run really hot and has barely grown a winter coat.

So, it probably has more to do with breeding. Mr Appy probably had some draft blood back in the far distant past, I’m sure, as he was the opposite of refined, whereas Mr Warmblood is a TB in all but name. Mr Chestnut is an Arab Sporthorse, so he’s got a mix of all worlds!

[lenapesadie]

Right. My horses don’t have a coat to puff. Mine are already shedding what fluff they did have though not super hard yet.

I mean they would probably be survive the upcoming 23 degrees and freezing rain and snow m, but horses will survive a lot of things.

[lenapesadie]

@Scribbler

Nevertheless, an unclipped horse is not a human toddler and generally needs only a bit of help, not a full wardrobe of layers.

Ehhh. The vet up the road from me has full wardrobes for her mustangs. Mustangs! I’ve for sure seen the pinto one in at least 3 outfits. They aren’t clipped. No need, her horses look like mine. Slick and shiny. Good thing too bc if they had “winter” coats they’d all have melted Wednesday when it was 70 and sunny.

[Scribbler]

Yeah Ive never kept horses in a warm climate.

[Pico_Banana]

In the three horses I’ve had myself, all have been chestnut so I don’t have any other colors to compare them to. One OTTB, one Oldenburg, one paint (solid chestnut). )

[Sarah616]

I can’t speak to how they react to cold, but I will definitely say that I’ve almost always found white hair on pink skin to be thicker and courser when clipping. My assumption has been that they grow thicker white hair to protect the pink skin. Grey horses who have black skin don’t seem to grow their white hair as thick, but those paints or appys… there’s a definite difference in how the clippers feel going through the white versus dark hair.

[eightpondfarm]

Just two days before this cold-snap i tore my glutes! Never knew it could happen actually, guess this time-off yoga has taken it’s toll. I was dragging a water-logged fence corner post up a hill to my truck to take to the dump… Truck was running and i was in a big hurrry, so i moved fast dragging it up a muddy slope then squatted and hfffted it up into the bed. And got the most serious butthurt! Have not seen a dr but i will if it doens’t continue getting better. Anyway, i cannot blanket horses. It hurts to walk, hurts to stand up straight…And especially hurts to lift stuff. Well, i pushed through the pain and blanketed two older mares, but they are now used to it and stood nice and still. The five other blankets are sitting here in my living room, in their nice plastic bags, all clean and wonderful and it’s been 4 degrees at night. So…if i improve by next cold snap, i have new blankets and virgin horses to look forward to.

[quietann]

This is one of the reasons I love the Rambo Supreme turnouts for my mare: they are all dark-colored and absorb heat.

[Renn_aissance]

@JB

Just be careful adding physically heavier blankets on top of physically heavier blankets, especially if they have "normal’ necks where the blanket lies right on/around their withers.

This is a great point. And one of the reasons that blankets should be taken off and reset daily, and we should ideally take our gloves off and feel what’s going on underneath of them. Another point is that if we’re going to stack rugs… we should make sure our horses can move freely in them! Get up, get down, roll, buck, fart, and go on a galloping tear to warm back up.

Mine went out last night in a midweight and a heavy with a hood on top. The temperature was borderline and I considered going down to his 100gm under the heavy, but he’s been in that one a few days in a row (including as his inside layer) and the midweight sits a little differently.

@eightpondfarm OUCH! I’ve got a torn hip flexor right now and it does NOT like the cold, but I think a glute would be worse! Thermacare hot packs strapped to your body might help you feel better in the moment. And as horse people we have good access to robaxin and Surpass…

[Texarkana]

@eightpondfarm

Just two days before this cold-snap i tore my glutes! Never knew it could happen actually, guess this time-off yoga has taken it’s toll. I was dragging a water-logged fence corner post up a hill to my truck to take to the dump… Truck was running and i was in a big hurrry, so i moved fast dragging it up a muddy slope then squatted and hfffted it up into the bed. And got the most serious butthurt! Have not seen a dr but i will if it doens’t continue getting better. Anyway, i cannot blanket horses. It hurts to walk, hurts to stand up straight…And especially hurts to lift stuff. Well, i pushed through the pain and blanketed two older mares, but they are now used to it and stood nice and still. The five other blankets are sitting here in my living room, in their nice plastic bags, all clean and wonderful and it’s been 4 degrees at night. So…if i improve by next cold snap, i have new blankets and virgin horses to look forward to.

Oh no. Feel better! How miserable to be dealing with that on top of nasty winter cold snaps.

[Texarkana]

@Sarah616

I can’t speak to how they react to cold, but I will definitely say that I’ve almost always found white hair on pink skin to be thicker and courser when clipping. My assumption has been that they grow thicker white hair to protect the pink skin. Grey horses who have black skin don’t seem to grow their white hair as thick, but those paints or appys… there’s a definite difference in how the clippers feel going through the white versus dark hair.

I’ve noticed this, too.

I’m sure someone is going to call me out for posting lore v. the most recent science on the topic, but I’ve always heard arctic animals are white not only for camouflage, but because the white hair has a mirror/fiber optic effect to direct the limited reflected sunlight to their black skin. That claim seems a bit dubious to me, but then again, the tundra is not always the snowy place most of us mistake it for. Many of these white animals live in locations that are so dry there is no appreciable snowfall to blend into. Anyone know off hand or have the interest in googling the truth?

In people, the number of hairs and the thickness varies by hair color. I can only imagine that is true for most mammals and I also imagine it would affect the function of the hair coat.