Winter Ear Covering

[Moss]

I think this is the way to go. People at my barn clip their horse’s ears, but they keep their horses inside in an unheated, but still relatively warm barn. They put slinkies on under the rugs (with fill), so the horse’s ears aren’t covered, but their faces are fully covered.

When it’s really cold out (I’m talking -40/-50 with the windchill), I check my horse’s ears to make sure she is insulating heat properly. She is basically a yak because she gets so woolly, though.

[greenviewfarms_md]

Maybe something like this would work? I’ve never tried it, just seen the ads.

Turn Out Horse Hood / Stops ALL Stable Stains - Snuggy Hoods

[beau159]

@circus_peanuts

My mare is body clipped because we do show throughout the winter. She is well blanketed but she can’t go outside as much because we are worried about ear frostbite. Is there anything anyone uses to cover the horse’s ears while they’re outside during the winter? I found some Etsy shops that do coverings for donkeys and llamas but did not have horses listed. I sent them a message about doing one for a horse but never heard back.

Thanks for any ideas!

In your area, what temperatures is she being turned out in?
And how long is she turned out?
I think that’s the biggest deciding factor if she needs something for her ears to avoid frostbite.

For example, for bare human skin, when the temperature is below zero degrees Fahrenheit, it takes about 30 minutes for frostbite to occur. Logic would say that even though your horse is clipped, she does still have a small amount of hair protection and you’d think that she’d have larger than a 30 minute window.

For all those saying horses’s ear cannot get frostbite, YES THEY CAN and yes the tips of their ears usually fall off from the damage. Typically this is going to happen more often to newborn foals born into winter conditions, but that’s not to say a fully clipped horse couldn’t/wouldn’t have the same thing happen without natural hair protection on the ears.