Hi everyone,
I have a 4-year-old that I have not blanketed before - she’s in good flesh, thick winter coat, free-choice hay while turned out all day, brought into a stall at night, etc.
I would like to leave her unblanketed as much as possible, but in reading some of the ‘literature’ online now I’m wondering if I should blanket her when the temps get down to around 10 degrees F and lower. We’re in upstate NY and it can get very, very cold here for extended periods. She’s never really shown much discomfort in cold temps, but I’m wondering if it has more to do with her stoicism than actual comfort. This is my second winter with her.
One other question that I do have regarding off-and-on blanketing is, does it flatten the natural haircoat out and make it less efficient in keeping the horse warm? I haven’t actually seen that question answered in the forums.
So, assuming I should blanket at least when it’s really frigid, what brands of turnout blankets do you all like the most?
Does she have a run-in shed while she is out where she can get out of the elements if she chooses to? If so, since you have said she is in good weight and has a thick winter coat, I wouldn’t blanket but I would have one on hand and keep an eye on her and if she starts the drop weight or if you see her shiver I would then blanket.
I haven’t found that blanketing flattens the natural coat. I have two in my heard that I only blanket when it is cold and wet because they are on the bottom of the pecking order and tend to get kicked out of the run-in sometimes even though there is plenty of room for everyone. When it is just cold they do not wear a blanket at all. Normally their coat fluffs back up after about an hour after the blanket is removed.
The paddock she is in now has a shelter, but the other one she’s put in does not have one at the moment (I board). She’s top of the pecking order, so I don’t really worry about her getting kicked out of the run-in. She did not lose much weight last winter, but we were in a different barn then and she did not get turned out nearly as much as she gets now.
The major concern is not temperature but rain and wind , both of which prevent the horse’s coat from providing insulation.
A rain sheet will protect from rain and wind without squashing the hair.
Agreed, I blanket my horse only when it is extremely cold (single digits in North Carolina) and of course his coat is flat under the blanket but it has never stayed that way permanently, he always fluffs black up once the blanket is removed.
Your horse will also show you when she’s cold. Shivering is an involuntary response. If she’s seriously cold, she’ll shiver. The only time I have ever seen my horse shiver is when he stands out in a cold spring rain when he’s already started shedding out his winter coat. And those times were when he was in pasture where they didn’t have access to their run in.
With what you described and as long as she has access to shelter? I wouldn’t blanket unless you see her shivering. I have an Arab mare who stays naked under very similar circumstances - I do blanket if the actual temperature goes below 0 degrees Fahrenheit or wind chills drop into the negative teens for an extended period of time. I also blanket if I catch her shivering - only when it’s 30-something, raining and she’s still growing in her winter coat.
There is no valid literature that says when a horse should be blanketed by default. There are too many horses in CN and northern US states who are outside all Winter with snow piled on their back and when it’s negative double digits for that to be true.
We’re in upstate NY and it can get very, very cold here for extended periods. She’s never really shown much discomfort in cold temps, but I’m wondering if it has more to do with her stoicism than actual comfort. This is my second winter with her.
Given the description of last Winter (different barn, less turnout), I would say you just have to treat this Winter and this barn as a new learning setup. A 4yo with a great coat who isn’t wet, and isn’t standing on top of a hill with 40mph NW winds can easily be very warm in your climate if there’s enough hay. But that same horse might be shivering if it’s 35* and raining for hours.
One other question that I do have regarding off-and-on blanketing is, does it flatten the natural haircoat out and make it less efficient in keeping the horse warm? I haven’t actually seen that question answered in the forums.
There are absolutely people who tell you if you start blanketing you have to keep doing it all Winter. They tell you that even a few days of blanketing ruins the coat’s ability to fluff…
They are ALL WRONG. All of them :lol:
I have had medium weight blankets on for a week or 10 days at a time, sometimes with a sheet on top of that for some of that period, and I can show you proof that within a short time of taking those blankets off, POOF the coats go if it’s cold enough.
So, assuming I should blanket at least when it’s really frigid, what brands of turnout blankets do you all like the most?
I’m very partial to Schneiders, especially the Nordlund, but also the Stormshield. I have gravitated to the Nordlund because of the high neck - not a full neck cover, just high neck. I’ve liked the V-free feature of the Stormshield to not pull on withers, but the Nordlund is even better for all that. I have medium weight blankets and sheets. But the Stormshield also has (or used to), an 80gm “sheet”, which is fantastically versatile.
Here in north central NC, we obviously don’t have weather like yours. Our horses aren’t haired up like Northern horses. BUT, every Winter, we get a couple of days, to a week or so, or really awful weather - single digits to occasionally a couple below 0, and when that happens, it’s also windy, 25-30mph winds because it’s a nasty cold front blowing through. Even in those conditions, my medium weight, with a sheet on top, especially when they’re both high necks, keeps all the horses very comfortable.
Watch your INDIVIDUAL horse on each INDIVIDUAL day. I only blanket if the horse needs it - no shivering, no agitation, no blanket necessary.
My QH gelding was shivering the other day in 40°F, despite being dry in a wind-free shelter and munching on hay, so he got a light blanket. A few days later he was perfectly fine grazing naked on a much windier, 28°F day.
My senior mare has never needed a blanket in her 4 years with me, but I keep one on hand just in case.
i have 10 equines, all of them quite different breeds…(actually two are mules) on large pasture with big barn access 24/7. Their ages vary from 2 to 22. We live in mid Missouri. I’ve never blanketed. My equines are all a little bit chubby going into winter.
My friends live out west (bitter cold, snowy, windy) on a huge cattle ranch. Their horses work for a living and live out in pastures that are hundreds of acres. They do make sure the horses have access to unfrozen water, hay and sparse grazing in the deepest winter temps. Really no access to shelter other than a rare stand of trees or gully by a river bed to get out of the wind. Besides being caught to ride and check on cattle in the winter months, these horses fend for themselves and rarely colic or have the issues our eastern horses seem to. They laugh when they hear we won’t ride if it’s below 20F or fretting over which blanket or clip to put on Poopsie 
I have never once blanketed my welsh pony before this year and its only to make myself feel better lol. He is on an open pasture w no shelter if his stall isnt open so if its sleeting n raining n below 25 i toss just a light no fill turnout sheet on him. He is 10 now. I don’t have a ton of time to do much with him except brush him every once in awhile and pick out his feet so they don’t get thrushie. My farrier said he has one of the best looking coats he has ever seen I told him up until this year he has basically lived outside with his friends at other Barns and I have not really done much with him ever only be because he has a weird back hoof and cannot be Rode anyway so he gets to just hang out and live the life.
OP, it doesn’t matter what all the literature says, or what your horse says, or what your barnmates say. This is because some darn horses will never make it clear what they want anyway, so whatever decision you make, it is wrong or it is right, depending on your mindset. :lol: I struggled with whether to blanket my stocky plushy-coated senior Morgan, who has never shivered in his life but, after all, he is getting older. I finally put a blanket on him during a freezing cold windy downpour, and he went gooey with happiness. However, that is the only time he has expressed any opinion, even if it is in the single digits. (he has an in/out stall and enough, but not free choice, hay). And, when said blanket was taken off, horse could barely wait to go for a good long roll in the snow. I now stand in front of him holding up different blankets and singing to him, “I’m too sexy for my midweight, too sexy for my Rambo, too sexy for my sheets” while he basically rolls his eyes at me. I am totally inconsistent in my blanketing. It was in the single digits the last two nights but despite carrying his light heavyweight and his middle-heavy heavyweight around in two separate cars with the goal of going out to the barn, I couldn’t get out to change him out of his lightweight midweight from the previous night. As far as I know, he is still alive. Both cars now smell like muddy horse blanket. The fella probably smells like warm sweet horse.
Non-horsey husband asked, “Why do you have so many blankets for a horse that is never wearing one?”
I told him I didn’t understand the question.
