Actually, there is a Surpass for humans available OTC now. Same active ingredient. It’s called Voltaren. Full disclosure, I tried it on my trigger finger and it did nothing. Of course, I was unable to use it 4x a day like you are supposed to. I always manage to administer meds appropriately to my animals but tend to fall down on the job when it comes to myself.
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Right - “all else equal”. That doesn’t mean all black horses are warm in Winter and all white horses are cold. If means, if you took the “same” horse and compared a black one with a white one, the black would be warmer.
I used to us a white Rambo Flybuster on my black WB. His hair/body under it was significantly cooler to the touch than his unsheeted bay pasturemates.
Yeah, survival isn’t what we should aim for - let’s help them thrive 
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My current Overo Paint is about 25 to 30 per cent white and her white winter hair is poofier for a 3D effect. It also sheds first. She’s a Paint/appendix cross and I think born on the coast. My childhood horse was a near maximum white pinto with a brown head. She grew an insane pony coat and blew it all out in the spring. She was a feral horse out of Alberta near Edmonton which can have brutal winters. They both thrive on pastures.
I think breed has more influence on coat than color. The buckskin dun Lusitano TB cross project horse is a special petunia that shivers when everyone else is fine and doesn’t have much coat. The dun Fjord across the aisle is a yak. They are visually the same color excerpt the Fjord has that really cute excessive expression dun factor skunk mane.
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It was -41c here this morning… neither human nor horse are thriving!! 
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Why is it that pink skin white hair always sheds first? If it’s thicker for extra protection, one would think they would hang on to it just as long, if not longer. I’ve asked myself if it’s just more noticeable that it’s shedding than the darker coat, but I truly think it begins earlier.
I definitely agree breeding has a degree of influence, though I think we have all had horses of the same breed (or color for that matter) grow different coats and have different reactions to the cold.
Key word in your post is “acclimated”. That’s the issue people are facing. Horses take approximately two weeks to acclimate to colder temperatures. -30C to 0C to -35C in five days is not something that horses acclimate to when it’s been only -15C for the preceding month.
This is my situation this week. However, because they were acclimated to the -15C I don’t need to go crazy with blankets. Adding 100g to their usual 200g is enough. My older horse got a neck rug as well because the wind is going to make the wind chill temperature around -36C. Younger horse wears a 200g neck as standard winter wear. He tucks his ears under it too! 
I no longer own heavyweight blankets because their bulk takes up too much storage space for the few days. they might be needed.
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I used to not even own heavyweights. Well, once upon a time (not even all that long ago since I’m not that old), blankets didn’t even have “weights.” I mean some brands or models were warmer than others, and we had blanket v. sheet, but the whole multiple weights thing is a construct of the last 20-25 years or so. I think Horsewear Ireland was the first to mainstream the idea when they introduced their navy blue Rambo.
Anyway, my gosh have I been getting use out of them the past few weeks. I ordered the donkey a new one at the beginning of the month- she is a size 60”, which can be tough to find. And I’m so livid it hasn’t arrived yet!!! I got one tracking update around the 10th, but the trail has gone cold. I’m hoping it either shows up on my doorstep or I can get a refund quickly so I can order her another.
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Omg! That’s horrid.
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Even if it means horses have to wear mismatched clothes. My oldie is out there wearing 3 pieces, a medium, a sheet and a 100 gram hood. None match. It’s ugly, but he was cozy and in good spirits a moment ago when I took them some extra PP hay.
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I’ve been worrying myself sick over this. Layering the rugs I mean. Trying different combos on to see how they wear for the horses. It would be a lot easier if I had heavyweights. Thankfully the horses don’t seem offended by playing dress up.
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Ouch! That’s awful. Hope it eases up soon
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Hoping our deep freeze lets up a bit here soon…. Actual temp -10°F (-23°C) this morning, windchill of -25°F (-32°C). It’s so cold here that there ice crystals forming on the horses’ eyelashes
It was 40°F 48 hours ago. My guy is back in his 360g heavy and hood with a 100g ceramic liner underneath for turnout.
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Here in Central Texas we typically have a lot of see-saw temperatures, and it can be stressful trying to figure out how to best help the horses cope with rapid drops. The last few mornings were predicted to be hard freezes (for us that’s the mid to low 20’s and yes, you can laugh at that) after a week of temps nearly in the 80’s. I have blankets for all three of mine, two older QH who have good winter coats, and then the coming three year old filly who doesn’t have much hair at all.
I went back and forth on should I blanket or not, but since the days warm up quickly and were only really cold for a few hours right at daybreak, I opted to let them handle it without blankets. With my work schedule, the timing would have been way off for keeping them on while cold and removing after temps rose. They have shelter and good windbreaks, and I can tell if they’re chilly or not by where they choose to rest. Most of the time they are out grazing.
It turned out we barely got below freezing both mornings, and they fared just fine. I did put out a lot more hay, and I also picked up some alfalfa cubes and have been giving them warm mashes twice daily. I worried, like we all do, about water intake, but when I saw the thin coated filly take a big drink AFTER eating her mash, I decided they were adapting just fine. And all three are quite fluffy, the filly poofed her short hair just fine.
Should we get a really bad cold front that stays cold for longer than a few hours, or is miserable with wet stuff in whatever form, then I will probably stall and blanket them. It’s just really tricky knowing what’s best, especially when the weather changes so much from day to day. They may not be “thriving” those few hours, but they’re definitely surviving. Should I see any signs that they are too cold though, blankets will be on.
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I truly can’t even comprehend what that would feel like or how anyone even survives that!
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It hurts the face and your soul…My outdoor horse had frosticles on his ear hairs and ice on his eye lashes. But he still planted his feet and Absolutely. Did. Not want to come in the barn.
This morning was showing -26 and I did debate hacking although when I felt the wind I nixed that idea! Luckily our indoor is insulated so it was nice and toasty. Tomorrow, unless the wind is nasty I will go for a tootle outside- It should be a balmy -13c. This week we got 40cm of snow so that should be fun!
Just going to leap in to this discussion.
I live in NC and we had frigid temps and precipitation last night and last week.
Horses generally live out 24/7 in small groups or their own pasture. All have run-ins. All have a dedicated stall for inclement weather. My horse typically has not been a great stall occupant although he was raised 12/12 in and out. He “walks” his stall and is usually always moving inside. He’s gotten better but will move less in his beloved run-in shed. BTW, he hates “weather” and will gallop to the run-in in the first signs of precipitation. He shares the run-in across the fence with a buddy. His last two buddies also hate weather. In his otherside adjacent pasture, the “old married couple” are out grazing in all kinds of weather.
My horse is a warmblood that gets a mid-weight blanket in the winter. He doesn’t grow a large coat and these days, his winter experience helps him shed lbs from his summer experience. When he was younger and burning a boatload of calories, his life was different.
I think his sturdy and roomy run-in makes all of the difference for him in the winter and summer (with the fans). He prefers this to being in. We bring horses in when it is unsafe for them outside. He’s shod and can slip on ice. I boarded at a place in Pgh where a friend’s shod horse slipped on a patch of ice and broke his hip being led to the barn from turnout and had to be put down where he fell. I am now always cognizant of ice, treatment of horse paths and shod horses.
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OMG the skunk mane… The first time my mare saw a Fjord her eyes nearly popped out of her head!
Anyway… I got to the barn around 1, it was 21 F outside and she was turned out in that super heavy Rambo Supreme, and a bit too warm. But it was 10 F when she was turned out this morning, so makes sense.
I put her in her heavyish stable blanket for tonight as it won’t be that cold. She may get to go nekkid for part of tomorrow’s turnout, because highs in the 30s are expected.
It is 25 F this am. That’s pretty dang cold for my area. Thankfully the wind died down yesterday afternoon and it only rained Thursday and half of Friday. Horses were comfy temp wise in their sheets over mediums at breakfast, though I think single heavies would have been more comfortable wear wise perhaps or a purpose designed blanket liner system.
I broke ice in the waterers. There was frost on the sheets. Frost everywhere actually.
I expect I’ll buy more blankets this year and then next winter will be very mild.
My DIY waterproofing using spray cans held up
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There was a stat I came across for the Baltimore region that I’m going to badly misquote since I didn’t save it:
Average number of days between below 20F temps for the region: 340 something (because it usually gets down below 20F several times in the deep of winter)
Until this winter, we were at 1000+ days since last experiencing below 20F temps.
The winters of 2019 and 2020 were so unseasonably warm that this January just feels extra cruel. We have a few days respite this week with normal daytime highs in the upper 30s/low 40s, but then we will be right back down to highs below freezing by the end of the week.
Ugh.
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