Question on blanketing horses?

Question

ive never blanketed my horse, he has a run-in all day during the winter and a stall at night. but im wondering, if we get a really cold night..like under 30.. should i blanket him? another thing i worry about is that if i put it on for the night and he gets nice and toasty, when i put him out in the morning and take it off he will be twice as cold. Also, what about rain sheets? If i have his hair slicked down with a sheet wont he just get colder than if he never had it on at all?

if i put a fleece sheet on him to dry him and keep him warm if he does get wet...again wont he just get colder when i take it off?

and finally... fly sheets. are they pointless? do they make the horse sweaty and uncomfortable under it? i feel like they dont cover the most vulnerable areas...

So complicated!lol thanks in advance for putting up with my neurotic-ness lol i just want the best for my horse

Answer 1

I've had horses for 21 years and we never blanket our horses. They do fine. If they develop a cold or something then we do it but only if it is severe. you just have to remember that when they are in the wild there aren't humans around to put fleece blankets on them and they survive.

Answer 2

It all depends on his natural coat thickness....if he has been outside this long w/o a blanket, his coat should grow in thick enough to keep him warm. I dont think fly sheets are worth it...just put fly spray on and the horse can deal with them...they dont cover their legs or bellies anyways & thats where the flies go to bite them!  

Answer 3

well, in the winter, if you keep a blanket on him, he will not grow the right winter fur that he is sopposed to, so if you take it off, he will be twice as cold because the blanket prevented him from growing the right hair he needed to keep him warm during the winter, so you either blanket him all winter, or let him do it naturally. All winter blankets do, is give the horses the same amount of warmth as they would naturally form their winter coat. Never blanket your horse for just a little while in the winter. also, horses often get blanket rub, and that hurts. It also wont look to great, if you plan on showing him in the spring.

good luck!

Ride safe

Answer 4

I live in Northern New England.  It gets COLD here (-30 F).

For us, we let winter coats grow in and do not clip anyone unless absolutely necessary (for a show).

If it gets below freezing (32 degrees), we put on midweight blankets.  If it gets below zero, we put filled nylon liners under their midweights.  

During the day, if it gets above freezing, we take EVERYTHING off but it goes back on at night according to the temp expected.  Underneath those liners, even in 20 below weather, they are very warm.

We also give them ALL the grass hay they want in the winter.  This is VERY important!  They need that hay to keep them warm.

If they have to be clipped... heavy weight everything and liners underneath.  They also don't go out in the snow.

We use rain turnouts when it's a cold rain - say 45 and under.  Otherwise, they are out in the rain without (like right now and it's in the 60s).

We do have a flysheet for one horse that is prone to sunburn.  They are mesh, so they don't make him sweat but they do block UV rays so he doesn't burn.  We also keep a mesh hood on him as well.

I recommend Schneiders for their easily layered blanketing system.  We use them on all our ponies and our horse.

www.sstack.com

Answer 5

I blanket my thin skinned TB if it get below 50 and if it goes below 30 then he gets his winter blanket with a lighter one over it. I would probably blanket your horse but he might not need it.

I put a rain sheet on my horse if it rains and is a little cold outside. He gets chilled and stands shivering without one. Again I would put a light one on your horse but thats just me. Jazz is the only horse at my barn that gets a rain sheet cause the rest of them dont need it.

I dont have a fleece sheet but I have a knit rug thing that is sort of the same. I left my blankets at home and had to buy this one while we were at a show (out of town). Its pretty but I dont really see the point. They dont seem to provide all that much warmth but the blankets do keep them clean in the stall. I still use it on occasion to travel or overnight if it gets cool enough that I want a jacket.

I hate fly sheets. All the horses that I know that wear them suffer through the summer and still get bit by flies. The blanket makes them sweaty and they just look uncomfortable. I thought about getting Jazz one because the flies bug him and he bleaches out really bad but I decided I didnt want him miserable.

If your worried about them being colder when you take if off then wait till it warms up a bit. If you have to take it off to ride then try grooming him as best as you can while keeping him covered (legs, neck, face, hindquarters, belly). Then pull the blanket off and get what you missed and get tacked up real fast. Then throw the blanket onover the saddle untill you are ready to ride. If its really cold in your area you might want to consider a quarter sheet.

http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp...

I would go ahead and get a winter sheet. If your horse gets chilled than get a rain sheet as well. I bought my rain sheet a size bigger than my winter one so I could put it over the winter one at night. I would hold off on the fleece and fly sheet though.

EDIT: I have never had any problem with blanket rubs. Just be sure to get the correct size. I like the weatherbeeta brand.

You also might want to let the winter coat grow in, then supplement with the blankets. My barn shows so we start with blankets early and keep them on all winter so the horses dont get a huge winter coat.

Answer 6

My horses are 21 and 22 years old, and both have metabolic syndrome (formerly called cushings syndrome).  They are kept out with a run-in shed.  They are never blanketed.  We had 30 degrees below 0 F windchills last winter...they both stood outside, in the wind and blowing snow, rather than stay in the shed.  Neither shivered or had a problem.  No runny noses, no illness at all.  

I use Endure fly repellant and they wear fly masks in summer.  Their shed is at the back of my barn, and has a wall fan up high, and I run an industrial fan that blows from inside the barn through a gate into the shed.  If the bugs bother them, they stand in front of the fan...the other oscillating fan keeps most bugs out of the shed.

Air spaces form between hairs on a horse's coat in winter that effectively insulate the horse.  Blankets flatten that out and can actually make a horse colder. My horses also stand out in the rain often, and never wear a rain sheet, and on one occasion when the temperature dropped 20 degrees while my gelding was still wet, I had to put a cooler on him (like fishnet) to warm him up while he dried out....less than a half hour.  My gelding is an Arab...thinner skinned type.