Turnout Blankets & Sheets

[misty'smom]

Jill, I am not too far from you in Culpeper. Since both of mine are still young 6 and 7 months by November do you think I will need to buy blankets for them with the kind of winters we have????

 

[Cupcake]

I agree, once you start blanketing you have to continue and that can be very time consuming and in Texas it can be crazy, 30's in the AM and 80's in the afternoon... I already go crazy changing my own clothes several times throughout the day, I'd go insane having to worry about when to put on/take off blankets. When I got my filly she had so much wintercoat that she looked like a little mountain goat. I clipped her to help her cool when the Texas weather started heating up and got a blanket for chilly nights in spring. That 36" (tough1 - great blanket!) is now, 6 months later, tight in all kinds of places, she needs a 40" now. So it's basically like new, she only wore it a couple of times. I'm going to try to sell it and get her a bigger one - if anyone is interested, it's purple, just PM me for pics. So anyway, my APHA gelding doesn't grow much wintercoat and tends to get snotty, plus sometimes when it rains he will stand - not move- in the rain for hours, getting soaked then shivering from head to toe. The good ol saying "You can lead a horse to water..," is very true here as I built him a comfy and warm stall he can enter 24/7. I only blanket him though when it's in the 20s here. Some people in Texas will blanket horses as soon as it drops below 60! You can do more damage than good if they get hot under the blankets. And I've seen horses get blankets not taken off during the day and it warms up to 70+ with full sun and they're standing there hot. I think natural is best but if your horse is uncomfortable, cold, shivering , then temporarily blanketing them is ok. Sorry for the rambling, I'm only on my first cup of coffee and not fully awake yet

 

[Ramsey]

I' am new to owning a miniature horse. who has a very fluffy coat. She is only 5 months old and i have questioned buying her a waterproof sheet for winter, just to keep the wet off. Personally I' am not a fan of blankets unless they need it. We are located in New York with nasty lake effect snow. My riding horse is a appaloosa and he is the only one who owns a winter blanket in my barn, the other guys have waterproof sheets. But being new to the miniature horses, everything is a lot different. After reading the forum I feel she will just be fine.

 

[Ramsey]

Horseloverz.com is the cheepest I have found a decent priced mini blanket for. $32.85 shipping included & sizes available. They are Tough 1's

I only need cheep-o's still she matures. Although, she only measures 37". So I have time to shop for a better quality. I like my appy's Rhino, I wonder if I could find a mini Rhino!! ooo

 

[BriarwoodAcres]

I have a question about this. I have 2 boys that are partial clipped (head and necks) but not the full head just the jawline down. I put a blanket on them because we've had super cold rain lately and i felt bad because they're half shaved. Should I worry about them? I dont want them to lose the loft of their coats but I want them to stay warm as well. I am in Indiana so we get some pretty nasty weather.