To Blanket or Not To Blanket??

[New2Minis]

OK, I have been blanketing my big horses forever! I am in South Florida and I have ALWAYS blanketed my horses if the temperature got below 55 degrees. AND if it gets below 40 degrees then I put the sleeky hoods on them also. Some people do like I do and some people dont and think I am crazy! Now that I have Mini's I do the same with them. Am I crazy or do you guys do the same???

 

[Riverdance]

I live in Minnesota, where it is going to be below 0 tonight, way below!!

:arg!

Anyway, I do not blanket my horses, nor do I have the horses inside the barn. I used to breed Morgans for 10 years and never blanketed them either. As long as a horse has shelter to get into when they want to get away from the wind, rain or snow; they do not need to be blanketed, and the vets say it is healthier for them too.

A horses winter coat is made to stand out and look fluffy. This gives them the insulation they need to withstand the cold. When you put a blanket on them, it flattens the coat, thus flattening the insulation. I have seen many a shivering horse with a blanket on.

If you want to keep their coats shorter, then yes they need to be blanketed. When I had hunter jumpers years ago, we clipped them to keep their coats short and then we blanketed them. since we road and trained all year, the winter coats would get too sweaty and took hours to dry out, thus clipping and blankets.

I have over 40 horses here, from yearlings to 20 years and they are all doing well and not one has a blanket on. Just make sure that they get extra hay in the colder months to help fuel the inferno inside their tummies.

 

[Barbie]

[SIZE=12pt]I live in SW Florida. My horses are up at night. All but my fat girls have been blanketed (they have not been clipped for quite a while). The only one with anything more than a blanket is Dawn (she's in my avatar) and she has on a slinky, sheet and blanket as she was clipped only a couple of weeks ago and has very little hair. Guess I pamper my babies - oh well, that's just how I am. It's supposed to be 28 here in the morning.[/SIZE]

Hope everyone weathers the cold well - whether blanketed or not, in a barn or not.

Barbie

 

[dgrminis]

I live in Kansas and it has been VERY cold here and we do not blanket unless we have a sick one or very young / very old one that may need it for some reason -- but we have only ever had to blanket once or twice that I can remember -- And only then if it is well below freezing. Ours have access to get in and out of the sheds whenever they want and they generally know what is best for them

They all have very thick coats and are all healthy and bright eyed even though we have had many cold days in a row now

 

[keely2682]

also in florida and my horses have hoods and blankets

(tonight even my shrubbery outside has blankets)

i do keep my horses in short coats yearrround though, as i like to drive

the problem with florida weather is that its 90 one day and 30 the next

much easier to clip and blanket then overheat my horses on hot days

 

[New2Minis]

I guess our Florida horses are just not use to the cold so we spoil them. I know when it gets in the 50's I am freezing myself. I also keep their coats pretty short. My "Biggies" have sleeky hoods on with their blankets too, I call it their Jammies!

 

[targetsmom]

I live in CT where it is also going to be bitter cold tonight - <10 degrees. In general I don't blanket for the reasons stated but sometimes there are exceptions. Before they grow winter coats after they are clipped for the last fall show, they need blankets. Ditto in the spring. My big horse is 21 and has had half his small intestines removed; he wears a blanket when it gets this cold (but only then). We had one mini off her feed last night - maybe from standing out in the snowstorm all day yesterday and getting cold and wet. We dried her off and put a dryer-warmed blanket on her (ever hear a mini purr???). She is naked again tonight though, at least until I check her at 10PM. Our "Princess" also has a blanket on tonight as she never grows a really heavy coat, and she is spoiled. Also, if she doesn't think she needs it, she will let you know! But the rest should all be just fine with their normal coats and shelter, with extra hay and bedding - even the ones who aren't in stalls.

 

[Brandi*]

When I first got Melody I had to blanket her because she had just been clipped. I hadn't received her blanket in the mail the first night she was here and the darn temp dropped a whole lot

When I went out to check on her the next morning at 7am she was shivering. I felt so bad. I had to run in the house, grab a blanket, run back out, drape it over her and start rubbing. She stopped shivering within 10 minutes but I felt awful

Anyways, as her coat grew in she would just get annoyed at her blanket and even rip it off most nights (it had velcro straps). So I listened to her and stopped putting it on her. She seems very content and most mornings when I go out to feed she is standing outside munching on the dead grass....in the fog, in the rain...it doesn't matter OH! She has so much hair and I truly believe they are naturally equipped to handle the weather as long as we don't mess with their coat. Of course there are always horses that need the extra help

 

[Sandee]

We are in Wisconsin where it's supposed to drop below 0 F. tonight. Our minis are in the barn but I decided to blanket tonight and will remove them when it goes above 20. They might be ok without but this morning the "old guy" (mini not my hubby) was moving very slow when I was feeding. Thought he might be about to have problems so best to err on the safe side and just blanket them all.

Oh, "all" being only three so they don't "heat up" the barn too much.

 

[Minimor]

That's funny, you all down there in the warm are blanketing your horses, and up here where it's colder than Nome in December we generally don't blanket.

It was -30 here last night, and no doubt we will have -40 or -45 before the winter is over (we almost always get some of that cold, cold weather every winter) and our horses are outside with loose housing sheds, and we do not blanket.

There are exceptions--young foals were blankets when the temperature drops to or below freezing, and currently we have one lame gelding that is not able to move around much & so is happy to have his blanket to keep him warm, and if by chance we were to have a horse get sick that one might need blankets to avoid a chill.

Otherwise, though, the horses stay unblanketed & don't seem to have any trouble staying warm.

 

[dmkrieg]

I live in Missouri we have weather that changes so drastically that I feel and my vet feels that it is fine to blanket them. I blanket my horses when temps drop below 30 degrees also during show season I blanket at night during drastic temp drops. Last year I went all year and only blanketed 2 nights. Tonight its 5 degrees and all horses and my lil donkey are in their blankets tucked in there stalls.

 

[mgranch]

Here in Oregon it is very cold too I never blanket. They have shelter and lots of hair so they do great!! I do blanket fall and spring when they are clipped for shows.

 

[Marty]

I'm from SW Florida too and we always blanketed our big horses. I was pretty much on the ocean and we got that very wet damp cold that chilled you to the bone so yes, we double blanketed and hooded the quarter horses and our ponies as well.

I'm in the mountains now and it's dropped again to single digits tonite with stupid snow and iced all over the place. All the minis are hairy and in the barn with no blankets.

My quarter horse does have his on.

If your minis are really very thick coated and hairy, I would say no blanket.

 

[Cedar Ridge Farm]

It's about 30 degrees now and supposed to drop down even more. Unless I have a horse that was clipped late in the year for a show, I don't blanket mine. The exception being a new born or ill/older horse. I open up one side of the barn and they have a wind break if needed.

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

It is going to be in the 20s here tonight.. no blankets on mine. Just some extra hay. Wish I could talk hubby into letting me bring them in the house

 

[Warpony]

Michigan here checking in, it is currently 6 degrees F and none of mine are in stalls or in blankets. Of course they aren't clipped, either. If they were that would be different.

My horses would think I was nutty if I blanketed them when it hit 55. About the only time they wouldn't have a blanket on at night would be July and August, lol.

They get extra hay, and unless it is freezing rain they stay toasty warm. I haven't had anyone shiver since... well, I can't remember the last time I had someone shiver, so it has been a while!

That is my guide for when to blanket. If they don't shiver=no blanket. If they aren't shivering they are not cold enough to need it, IMO.

 

[HorseMom]

I have a turnout on my little guy. I'm in Upstate New York and we've been getting nothing but snow since winter started. The only reason I have a blanket on Jay is because of the nasty sleet and rain that comes in between our snow fall. He's out 24/7 with a nice little shed that blocks out the wind.

 

[New2Minis]

I think it is the huge temperature drops we have here. 80 one day and 40 the next! I know that every feed/tack store in this town (3 of them) sold out of blankets yesterday because it got down to 30 degrees last night. But the feed/tack store I manage is the only store that has MINI blankets, lol.

 

[Kathy2m]

I'm just north of Tampa its 29 right now, I blanketed mine that were clipped a few months ago because they havent grown enough hair back yet, the one I didnt clip, I didnt blanket. Mine all come into the barn at night but that is a Florida barn, pretty open to allow the breeze in in the summer. Kathy

 

[zoey829]

I normally dont blanket. It was mentioned young foal get blanketed. How young and how cold? My foal is 4 months old and I do blanket but only at 20 or below unless it is windy. He has a coat so thick so I wonder if I need to do that.