To blanket or not to blanket in this situation?

[KiraSophia]

The weather is about to get really weird later in the week, with rain all day and a high in the low 60’s on Friday and snow on Saturday with a low of 10. If the rain is going to start on Friday morning we would likely put the pasture-kept horses’ turnout blankets on Thursday evening so we weren’t putting blankets on over wet coats when the temperature starts to dip Friday night. Is there another solution I’m not seeing? I really don’t like them having thick turnout blankets on in 60 degree weather but I don’t want them going without in the snow, either. (For the record I only use blankets when it’s both cold and wet, typically).

Thoughts?

[2DogsFarm]

I rarely blanket, but often, when I do it is over backs that are wet to the skin from rain or heavy snowfall.
No blanket if water is still sluicing off or snow has not melted & bellies are dry along with backs beneath the haircoat.

I find a few hours blanketed - using medium-weight (under 200g fill) waterrproof turnouts - they dry out nicely.
Then blankets come off so they can re-fluff.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

You must be close to where I am… only that’s our Saturday forecast - rain and 61° dipping down to 30° overnight. Thursday night our low is 43°. My senior won’t have his turn-out on. Will blanket him at dinner Saturday afternoon (unless its still above 45° - them we’ll wait until temp drops and blanket using headlamps later). But my horses are at home and I have the luxury of adding/removing sheets and blankets whenever I need to.

I think an unclipped horse is going to really get warm at 60° with a turn-out blanket on with fill. I am fine putting a nice dry blanket on a damp horse. The hair dries quickly and if the blanket is breathing properly, the moisture will wick away and they’ll be nice and toasty in no time. We’ve had sssoooooo much rain here and my guy lives outside and is frequently wet when his sheet or blanket is put on for overnight temps that dip below 36°. Then it comes off if the daytime temp gets around 40°. But my horse isn’t clipped at all and has a thick, long, heavy coat, so that is another factor to consider.

[Milocalwinnings]

Is there a reason you can’t put a sheet on them Thursday night to keep them dry, and then switch it out with a heavier blanket on Friday night in preparation for cold temperatures?

Otherwise, I would rather put a blanket on a damp horse than have them be overheating in a blanket in warm temps.

[JB]

I agree that I would use a sheet, or 80-100gm fill “sheet”, for Thursday night and Friday.

But if you don’t have that option, then the options depend on how heavy the blankets are. If they are heavyweight, then no, not suitable for 60s and unclipped horses for that many hours.

What will the temps be Thursday night, and when is it expected to be in the 60’s Friday? If 40s overnight, and getting to 60 by early afternoon before starting to dip, then things are a bit different.

If the blankets are medium weight, that’s a lot more suitable for a quiet horse, even unclipped. But the details of how active the horses are, and the temperature journey overnight and into Friday will still matter.

And no, it’s not the end of the world to put a blanket on a wet horse, as long as it’s nicely breathable, so if that’s what it will take, then put those on later in the day Friday. They will dry, no harm done.

[seabreeze]

The weather is causing me the same headaches. Mine aren’t clipped, but they don’t have much coat and it’s very damp here. High in the mid-50’s Sunday morning, heavy rain, followed by a sharp drop to low 30’s by afternoon and then low teens Sunday night, accompanied by 30-40 mph winds.

My plan is sheets Saturday night into Sunday, then heavier blankets later in the day Sunday.

[JB]

@seabreeze in your situation, I would have no problem throwing medium weight blankets on Saturday night, and then I would be adding sheets on top of the blankets for the afternoon on.

[KiraSophia]

@Milocalwinnings

Is there a reason you can’t put a sheet on them Thursday night to keep them dry, and then switch it out with a heavier blanket on Friday night in preparation for cold temperatures?

Otherwise, I would rather put a blanket on a damp horse than have them be overheating in a blanket in warm temps.

None of them have sheets, we only put anything on them when the weather gets really cold and wet.

[Pennywell_Bay]

We are having some crazy weather, too. My 3 that are 24/7 outside will be naked through the warm wet we have coming (40s), then it is going to drop to -4 and 10 Sunday. Mine have a run out and will have a brandy new round bale. If I can’t stand it- I’ll throw a blanket on once it gets cold. However, my naked ones have done fine as long as they have shelter and a round bale (or plenty of hay). It actually drives me nuts when it is negative temps and there they stand- not using their beautiful run out

Last year the only one I worried about was the old mare (now gone). So the younger crew ( healthy, happy, with lots of hay) will soldier through- preferably blanketless.

[JB]

What weight are their blankets?

[seabreeze]

@JB

@seabreeze in your situation, I would have no problem throwing medium weight blankets on Saturday night, and then I would be adding sheets on top of the blankets for the afternoon on.

I might very well do that. I’ll probably wait around to see how it feels out before I make a decision. Depending on the wind/rain, I might even bring them in Sunday morning for the worst of the rain.

Winter…grumble, grumble…

[JB]

Winter in the Southern areas can be a total game of the Blanket Hokey Pokey. Put the lightweight on, take the lightweight off, put the medium weight on, then shake off all the mud… Between unseasonably high temps followed by hard rains followed by the tail of the cold front with 30* temp drops and howling winds, horses cannot acclimate and often need help.

[Montanas_Girl]

@JB

Winter in the Southern areas can be a total game of the Blanket Hokey Pokey. Put the lightweight on, take the lightweight off, put the medium weight on, then shake off all the mud… Between unseasonably high temps followed by hard rains followed by the tail of the cold front with 30* temp drops and howling winds, horses cannot acclimate and often need help.

That is the truth! I had a midweight and sheet on my co-boarder’s hard keeping older TB last night and a medium weight on my young filly and her easier keeping Paint. Everyone went out naked this morning (in 27 degree dawn temps!) because it’s now over 60 degrees and sunny…Midweights will go back on the TB and my filly tonight for an upper 30s low. Ugh. At least the (now) yearling is already well accustomed to velcro, a belly band, and having something on her back after all this nonsense. When it comes time to introduce a saddle, that should be a non-event…

[MustangSavvy]

Personally I would blanket with either a sheet or 100g. There is nothing worse than a wet horse and then snow on top. Ice is impossible to get off…

[RMJacobs]

When I lived in Colorado, the huge temperature swings made blanketing decisions very challenging, especially when rain turned to ice then to snow. If I blanketed when it was still warm but raining, my horses got sweaty and were definitely too warm. So I went to waiting until the temperature dropped, then toweling them off and putting blankets on damp horses. They always seemed to dry out just fine, and I never saw them shiver with their blankets on even when they were wet.

Rebecca