Whether you live in the balmy south or frigid northern slopes, you may wonder when, or if, you should provide your horse with equine clothing. Pasture horses with easy access to shelter from wind and precipitation, whether liquid or frozen, seldom need a wardrobe to keep them comfortable and healthy. Many horses do need a little help, especially when you try to keep their winter hair coat to a minimum. Here are blanketing tips that cover most of the basics.
For horses with adequate shelter let nature handle the matter. Be sure to provide a place your horse can stay dry and out of the wind. If you have a horse that has not wintered with you before, make sure they grow an adequate hair coat. Sometimes it takes a year for a horse to get acclimated to a drastic change in climate - or from the show barn to the pasture.
Why blanket a horse?
The first thing to understand is how a horse stays warm in cold weather. The long hairs of a winter coat create an air layer providing insulation against the cold. The only reason to put a blanket on your horse is if they do not have an adequate hair coat to properly insulate. So, we blanket horses because they do not have winter coats.
Blanketing itself does little to retard hair growth. The amount of continual light the horse is under each day determines whether or not they grow a winter coat. For horses stalled under lights, blankets are necessary because the horse is prevented from growing their own insulating layer.
Don't blanket a horse with a good winter coat
Putting a blanket on a horse with a good winter coat is actually counter-productive. The weight of the blanket lays the hair down, eliminating the loft, the air layer of natural insulation. If you know what "hat hair" is, where your hair is pasted down by the weight of your hat, that is what a blanket does to a longhaired horse. If you put a blanket on you have to leave it on until it gets warm enough for the horse to get their own coat fluffy again.
When should the blanket come off?
You must balance the amount of hair your horse has with the temperature to determine how heavy a blanket to use and when to take if off daily. For horses with thin hair coats, you may need to remove the blanket and put on a sheet to keep them comfortable during the day if it warms up. The test is to have a heavy enough cover to keep the horse warm but never hot.
When in doubt, put your hand under the blanket at the horse's shoulder. If your horse feels warm you need to get the blanket off! Never, never let a horse sweat under a sheet or blanket.
Piling on the blankets for warmth on chilly winter nights can create unwanted bulk on the bed. Rather than using excessive comforters, electric blankets are a better option for creating the insulation you need. Buy Blanket Online
