Not trying to derail the thread, but an increasingly hairy coat as the horse ages is often an early sign of PPID, especially if the hair turns curly. It wouldn’t hurt to keep this on your radar.
I had a horse 2 hours away for 3 years and I did blanketing. I pretty much put a 100 gm on at the start of the season, and when it got consistently cold enough, I changed to medium. This horse did not overheat and if your mare runs cold, I still think it’s more worthwhile to blanket than leave her naked.
I tried to see him about every 4 weeks during winter but honestly, I’m not not one to change blankets often unless they are soaked through.
You could befriend another border to assist in cases where the weather does swing wildly.
