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| its hard for me to decide when to blanket my horse.. when do you? |
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 Underestimated Underdog
Posts: 3971
  
Location: Minnesota | My old mare gets a blanket when its consistently under 40. She's had a blanket on since November. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 503
| Kinda depends on where you live. I'm in the upper Midwest and once the temps hit 10 degrees or less I through a lightweight blanket on. This past week the temps have been in the -20's plus a nasty wind so I put a heavyweight blanket on. If your horse grows a good winter coat I wouldn't worry about blanketing unless it was pretty cold with a windchill. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 306
| I personally don't blanket my horses unless I find them shaking. They have a 3 1/2 sided shelter and a round bale 24/7.
But here is what the U of M says:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/to-blanket-or-n...
or more on winter care
http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/equine-winter-c... |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | I live on the Gulf Coast and like to keep my horses nice and slick year around. Last night it was 28 degrees here, that is COLD for us, pretty much as cold as it gets, highs in the low 40's today. Mine have a med weight blanket on with a sleazy right now.
I like to keep the ones that I'm riding slick because, 1) I think they look nice and 2) today it's low 40's but just a few days ago it was like low-mid 70's so in that weather with big furry coats on they sweat like crazy during workouts and then it takes longer to cool them out and get them dry.
So I start doing light blanketing as soon as temps start dropping into 50's at night to prevent them from ever growing hair. Horses that aren't getting rode, don't get blankets. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 222
Location: Texas | I HATE to body clip so this is how we do it. We are in central Texas so the weather can be swimsuit one day and carharts the next. I keep our good horses show slick. With this method. They get a sleezy and a sheet when it's in the mid to low 60s 50s get a med turn out if they are out side or a stable blanket and hood 40s get a sheet under which ever blanket. And 30s and below get a sleazy stable blanket hood and med turn out over that. I can do this bc I'm home all day so as the temp warms up I can swap and change blankets. The horses that aren't being used hard get a med turn out if it's in the 40s or below. The kids pony and colts don't get anything as the pony could double as a stuffed toy and the colts aren't being worked. And have nice fluffy coats. All of our horses have a way out of weather as it's not the cold as it's the wind and rain/sleet that bother them. This works well for us and when we go places our horses look great with short coats. Now I will say this. The horses I keep short are kept in coolers when they warm up and cool down. It's a huge pet peeve of mine to see (hot sweaty horses with long or) short coats cooling out in cold weather without one. It's asking for a vet bill in my opinion. I start doing all this blanketing when the weather changes in the fall. I wouldn't start this routine with a horse we get in the middle of winter that has a huge thick coat. Unless I body clip. Which I avoid at all costs. I'm sure you will get a wide varity of responses on this find what works best for your horse. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1066
| Up here in Alberta we kind of go based on how heavy of a coat we need to be outside. If we're wearing out winter coat, our horses are in their heavy winter blankets. If we're wearing winter coats with 18 layers underneath (aka its SUPER cold) our horses wear their heavy blankets, and go in the barn overnight (no heat, but protects them from the elements).
As for the article posted above about not blanketing your horses, I dont think that applies to those of us who ride all winter. Our horses are ridden as often as weather will allow all winter, and if they weren't blanketed they'd be wooly mammoths... that would be no problem if we had a heated arena or barn for them to cool out in, but waiting 2.5 hours for them to get completely dry after roping practice so that we can load them up and go home just isn't feasable. Loading them up while they're still damp and risking them getting sick isn't an option either, thus the blankets. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I keep it simple. When it starts getting chilly (below 40) in the early winter/late fall, I start blanketing. If it's sunny and above 35-40 during the day, we take blankets off. By the time November/December rolls around, the blankets stay on pretty much 24/7 unless there's an abnormally warm day. Where I live it's between 0 and 40 with snow and ice. As we roll into spring we will take blankets off during the day. Just have to feel it out. |
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 Dr. Ruth
Posts: 9891
Location: Blissfully happy Giants fan!!! | 3Kis**** - 2014-01-03 11:38 AM I personally don't blanket my horses unless I find them shaking. They have a 3 1/2 sided shelter and a round bale 24/7. But here is what the U of M says: http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/to-blanket-or-n... or more on winter care http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/equine-winter-c... You do know that Colorado State NEVER actually did these studies and they have been debunked this year (I am sure in prior years too) right?
At any rate, all of mine are blanketed when it makes me feel better. lol! The one mare has layers on. She is the slickest and fattest I have ever had her in the winter and that was the goal!!
Rule of thumb, is usually blankets come on when it will be below 50, unless humidity drives something feeling different, which has happened.
Also, I don't have stalls-that would probably play a part in my decision making if I did.
eta: I found three of my horses shaking at 40 degrees one day so I know they are big babies. haha!Edited by sassy&tessa 2014-01-03 1:01 PM
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | Tys-ol-lady - 2014-01-03 12:32 PM Up here in Alberta we kind of go based on how heavy of a coat we need to be outside. If we're wearing out winter coat, our horses are in their heavy winter blankets. If we're wearing winter coats with 18 layers underneath (aka its SUPER cold) our horses wear their heavy blankets, and go in the barn overnight (no heat, but protects them from the elements). As for the article posted above about not blanketing your horses, I dont think that applies to those of us who ride all winter. Our horses are ridden as often as weather will allow all winter, and if they weren't blanketed they'd be wooly mammoths... that would be no problem if we had a heated arena or barn for them to cool out in, but waiting 2.5 hours for them to get completely dry after roping practice so that we can load them up and go home just isn't feasable. Loading them up while they're still damp and risking them getting sick isn't an option either, thus the blankets.
Yep. If mama needs coveralls and a heavy coat then my babies get them which means in about November I put them on and they come off......Whenever Mother Nature makes it warm enough. Mine also go in the barn at night when it gets flat out miserable.
Huge huge huge note.....if your going to blanket make sure the blanket is heavy enough. There's nothing worse than when you put too light of blanket on, it lays the hair down and then there's not enough insulation to keep them warm. |
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SHOOT IT
Posts: 1170
Location: TEXAS | I don't blanket unless it's an older horse (and I'm talking oder as in oder than 20). I live in Texas and I can count on one hand how many times it's gotten cold enough to put a blanket on my horses (and I've lived here over 30 years). In many cases, if it's not cold enough and the horse has a blanket on, it's going to do more harm than good.
When their winter hair is fluffed up, that doesn't mean they are cold, it means their insulation mechanism is working. |
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 The Color Specialist
Posts: 7530
Location: Washington. (The DRY side.) | When do I blanket my horses? Never. They are able to handle MUCH colder temps than a human. It has been as cold as -3 (not including wind chill) here already this winter and they are all just fine. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1035
Location: TN | hammer_time - 2014-01-03 12:54 PM I keep it simple. When it starts getting chilly (below 40) in the early winter/late fall, I start blanketing. If it's sunny and above 35-40 during the day, we take blankets off. By the time November/December rolls around, the blankets stay on pretty much 24/7 unless there's an abnormally warm day. Where I live it's between 0 and 40 with snow and ice. As we roll into spring we will take blankets off during the day. Just have to feel it out.
This is what we do too. When temps drop to 40s or below we start using blankets. If it gets sunny during the day and warms up we'll take them off, but otherwise they're on all the time when the temp is below 40. We want them to stay slick so they don't get so hot when we ride. The only horse who doesn't regularly get a blanket is one we don't ride much and he grows so much winter hair he looks like a buffalo! He gets a light blanket when the temp is in the teens or single digits. |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Blanket under 40.. sheets if its wet and chilly under 50..
I think horses acclimate to their enviroment.. some horses do well that have been born to deal with the elements.. so can handle no blankets.. its what their body is acclimated to.mine like blankets and sheets .and also it goes from 75 to 30 overnight.. .. also elderly horses need blanketing to save on their calories being burned up ..but its up to owners either way.. we all know our horses pretty well..
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| thanks for all the great responses. on another hand what do you do when you have a horse on stall rest 24/7 when it gets 15 and below! she doesn't have much of a winter coat but she is under the barn |
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