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 Elite Veteran
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Location: White Mountains of AZ | How many of you blanket during the colder months? How cold does it have to get for you to start blanketing? Just at night? Daytime? |
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  Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
 
Location: ND | I have 3 older horses (22+) who I blanket over the winter, I don't start blanketing until it gets into the 30's at night. I also blanket some others if it's below 0 & stormy for more than a day or two. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | Do you blanket younger horses if it gets into the 30s? |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | the ones we use get blankets but nothing else (young or old) and we get -30, -40 up here...........i gave mine a bit of time off, they will be coming in next week and stalled at night with the lights on and i keep blankets on inside and heavy turnouts on outside.....
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| SaraJean - 2014-12-10 2:19 PM I have 3 older horses (22+) who I blanket over the winter, I don't start blanketing until it gets into the 30's at night. I also blanket some others if it's below 0 & stormy for more than a day or two.
Ditto ^^ but also to add ... my two are in a pasture with only a minimal windbreak, so I keep them blanketed like Sara does her older horses. |
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Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | No, I don't. Other than the sr citizens nobody see's a blanket until it's below 0 & then it's only the group that doesn't have good shelter. Last winter I did blanket my foal, she was a fall baby born mid Sept, and we had a brutally cold winter. But other than that I've never blanketed my younsters. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | I blanket Bert because his hair is ridiculous and he enjoys wallowing in the mud and I can never get it all out of his hair. I should find a picture of him last winter and post it, you literally can't see his hair at all for the mud, and I usually have to scrape it out of his ears every day.
So back to the topic, he gets a blanket starting when the weather turns wet, I have a light weight sheet style water proof turnout for him that he can wear when it's wet but warmish and I have a heavier winter blanket that he wears once it gets below freezing. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | SaraJean - 2014-12-10 5:55 PM
No, I don't. Other than the sr citizens nobody see's a blanket until it's below 0 & then it's only the group that doesn't have good shelter. Last winter I did blanket my foal, she was a fall baby born mid Sept, and we had a brutally cold winter. But other than that I've never blanketed my younsters.
Yeah.. but your horses are used to cold... like... when their butts itch, they scratch them on the nearest glacier..  |
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
If it gets below 32, I typically blanket them. Mine are 9, 15, 19, and I have a weanling as well. Age isnt a factor. Its going to be 30 tonight so they will all have their blankets on. People can say all they want about horses not needing blankets...I say bull. If it was me out there, I would want to be covered up so I do the same for them. |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I do a lot of layering... when its gets to low 50s at night and its still show season ill put a sheet on at night. When it gets to the 40s ill start putting a sheet w/stable blanket underneath. When it gets 30s or below I put a midweight on. When it gets to below zero or single digits, I put the heavy weights on. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | When I lived in the cold, we'd typically blanket below 40. If it's nice out though (sunny) we'd take blankets off during the day. I usually only blanketed the horse if I'm riding during the winter. My horse went 3 winters without a blanket when was away and he survived. In our climate, it was usually snowy, still, and anywhere from 10-30. Usually mid-20s. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 927
Location: Iowa | If I need a coat, so does he. |
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Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | memory - 2014-12-10 10:18 PM
If I need a coat, so does he.
He was born with a fur coat.. :/ |
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 Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Posts: 2411
Location: Wisconsin | The one I run has been blanketed for over a month. He is on break now, but im leaving to go south for a few weeks, and its such a change compared to here in Frozen Tundra (Wisc)...All my others are not blanketed, they all have nice lean to buildings, and are all brought in stalls at night |
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Too busy outside!
Posts: 5417
| komet. - 2014-12-10 5:12 PM SaraJean - 2014-12-10 5:55 PM No, I don't. Other than the sr citizens nobody see's a blanket until it's below 0 & then it's only the group that doesn't have good shelter. Last winter I did blanket my foal, she was a fall baby born mid Sept, and we had a brutally cold winter. But other than that I've never blanketed my younsters. Yeah.. but your horses are used to cold... like... when their butts itch, they scratch them on the nearest glacier..
Now that was funny right there!! |
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Too busy outside!
Posts: 5417
| When I lived in the northern states I hardly ever blanketed my horses. Now that I have moved south, the temp differences can be so radical that I have been blanketing at night. When it gets to 70+ degrees every day through the winter months, a winter coat doesn't serve a purpose- so I do whatever I can to keep their hair from growing! If I were still up north- I'd do whatever I could to get their hair to grow- |
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 Expert
Posts: 1273
Location: South Dakota | trickster j - 2014-12-11 12:22 AM When I lived in the northern states I hardly ever blanketed my horses. Now that I have moved south, the temp differences can be so radical that I have been blanketing at night. When it gets to 70+ degrees every day through the winter months, a winter coat doesn't serve a purpose- so I do whatever I can to keep their hair from growing! If I were still up north- I'd do whatever I could to get their hair to grow-
Always living in the north I never really thought about that before but that makes a lot of sense. I do have to laugh at my southern friends on facebook though when they talk about blanketing when it gets down into the 40's. Or that their dogs don't want to go out cause it's cold. This morning I was running late so as I was dropping my kids off at school I looked at the temperature on my car. It said 20 so I told my daughter it was warm out today so she could walk from where I drop my son off and I wouldn't have to go around to her school on the other side. Of course she's not my horse lol! |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Coming from a show world... it's hard for me to not blanket. I only blanket the ones we ride. Broodies don't get blanketed. My coming 2 year old has worn it a couple nights just so it isn't a big deal. My boys get their's on at feeding time and pulled before I go to work unless it stays below 35 for the day, then they keep them on. It really helps with the length of hair and keeps in nice in the winter. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 639
Location: God's country...aka TEXAS | I don't like them hairing up, so mine are kept under lights- so therefore yes I blanket. Under 60 they get sheets. Under 50 they get blankets. Young or old, doesnt matter. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | I have a 6 yr old, a 12 yr old and 25+ year old. It's been getting down in the 20's at night then a thick heavy 40 degree fog during the day. |
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