When do you blanket your Miniature horses?

[MiniLover2006]

Hello Everyone,

We have been having some wacky weather around here. I think it dropped down to be 44 degrees last night

and I was just wondering when do ya'll start to blanket your Miniatures? I haven't got a blanket yet

for my new mini, but I am going to very soon.

Just wondering....

:

 

[hairicane]

Hey, so u got him home, good! Is he shaved or in winter fuzzies? If he has long winter hair he should be fine with no blanket. But if shaved he could most likely use a blanket on these cool nights. We are in the same general area and it was in the high 30s last night just north of us. And the worst thing is it was 90 degrees 2 days ago!! With the young foals Im sure thats what really gives them the runny nose and colds, especially if it rains and then turns cold. Hope this helps.

 

[MiniLover2006]

hairicane - hey! Yep I got him on Friday. I love him so much! No, he doesn't have his winter fuzzies, they shaved him. I measured him from chest to butt and he is a 34". I am trying to look on ebay but they don't seem to have my size that I am looking for....should I go bigger? Or wait?

Thanks!

 

[HGFarm]

I NEVER blanket mine- unless they are show clipped and it is cool/cold. They have shelters to get under and thick coats and we have no need to blanket here.

Since yours is clipped, I would check him at night and see how he is doing. If he is cool, perhaps blanket him with something then. Man, I hate clipping this late in the season! Blanketing is a pain!

 

[hairicane]

You might want to get him a blanket a couple inches bigger than he is now just so he will have room to grow and the blanket will probably shrink a little when its washed. If he needs it and u have not gotten one yet just take a regular blanket (like the one on your bed) and make a few holes and tie it on him. That will work in a pinch.

Dont feel bad about him being shaved. Two days ago when our driving stallions were totally dripping in sweat after a little drive I was ready to shave them down since it was 90 degrees out and now its cold here.

 

[nootka]

What HGFarm said. I never blanket a horse in a natural coat (I DO slip a warmup on a newborn if they need it during the first day or so, but that is dependent on many factors). I do blanket my clipped horses at night (and during a cold day) if it's uncomfortable for me to stand around outside w/short sleeves, I would think it is uncomfortable for a horse w/out its natural coat to try to stay warm, and so I blanket accordingly.

A clipped horse will need to have a blanket in two weights, if possible. I like a warm, light blanket and then I also add insulated slinky hoods and a winter weight blanket for the really cold weather. I have a different climate than you, however, and we are prone to lengthy cool spells even in late Spring and Summer.

I once read that a horse's comfort zone was in the low 50's (i.e. this is the temp it is the best for them). For sure if they're clipped and it's any cooler than that, add a blanket.

A natural and clean coat will keep them warm better than anything you can buy or make, though. Putting blankets on a naturally-coated horse will cause them problems as the hair is designed to work w/out a blanket squashing it and holding moisture against the skin. I really feel bad for a few horses around here (big ones) that have huge, sopping blankets hanging off of them in all weather (even on the sunny days when you think they'd hang the blanket out to air and clean it) even though they have regular coats (granted, not buffalo wool like many minis) and it rarely gets below 35 degrees overnight in this area.

Good luck with your little guy. Would love to hear more about him and see pics when you can.

Liz M.

 

[MiniLover2006]

hairicane-Well since I measured him at 34", what size would you recomend for him?

Thanks!

HGFarm- Yeah, but I don't mind blanketing....

:

nootka- Thanks! I will update with pictures and more information when I get my second Miniature horse on Friday....Then I will have both horses in one post.....my second one is a secret so I can't say much yet, but I know you guys will be like :new_shocked: Can't wait to show everyone! :lol:

Melissa

 

[shazzyear]

hi, good luck on trying to find one on EBAY in that size. ( i have looked. )

 

[hairicane]

I really do very little blanketing myself so others may know better but for a soon to be 2 year old I think 2 inches bigger than u measure would be fine to allow for some shrinkage when washed and a little more growth.

 

[MiniLover2006]

Do you think a 38" would fit?

 

[HGFarm]

If he measured 34 I think a 38 would be too big. There are some made that are quite adjustable though but I have forgotten who makes them! Perhaps someone here can help with that??

 

[targetsmom]

I have made "emergency" blankets for clipped minis when it turned cold here in CT. I took a polyester "throw" (like sweatshirt material) that we had lying around that was about 5 feet X 6 or 7 feet. I folded the 2 long ends toward the middle so that I then had 2 sections that were double and about 5' X 3'. (Sorry I can't draw a picture). I cut between them to separate the 2 sections so I could make 2 blankets. I then cut out an angled hole for the head, leaving enough material about 4 inches wide to tie at the chest. The blankets fit from the withers to the tail, and just tie in front They work best under a sheet to keep them in place, but you could rig either leg straps or a belly band. These work great after a bath too!

 

[MiniLover2006]

Ok Thank you....I will have to keep looking for a good fitting blanket....

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[Nathan Luszcz]

measure him! From the center of the tail to the center of the chest, about midway along their belly. My 38" boy is a 48".

I always get a kick out of people blanketing in Florida... it was a crisis every time the temp dropped below 40.

40 was HOT for me when I was in NH, lol. We had a heated barn and blanketed everyone when I was down in Ocala, I had to laugh.

 

[HGFarm]

Hey, I am in AZ and it is only in the upper 70's today and I wore my vest to work this morning. You gotta figure that that is a drop of 35-40 degrees from our summer high's and it is down in the 50's at night. During the summer, our over night LOWS are sometimes in the upper 90's!!!! (but it's a dry heat!) LOL

 

[Minimor]

The trouble with buying a blanket that is oversized in order to have the horse grow into it is that until he grows into it, it will probably not fit very well--the neck will likely hang on him.

What I did was buy blankets of every size from Waters Tack--they are very affordable, fit well, & are priced right that buying several isn't cost prohibitive. I don't blanket a lot--only our clipped horses if the weather is cool or if we have a sick horse--normally ours have plenty of fuzzy coat & don't need blanketing even when the temperature is -40. So, for what we need here, the Waters Tack blankets work just perfectly for us.

I don't usually care for the expandable blankets--often the chest portion that overlaps doesn't fasten well & hangs down with the blanket is on a smaller size horse, or else when it's on a bigger horse, lengthening the chest strap to its longest fitting puts the surcingle too far back on the horse's belly. Schneiders, though, has a blanket or two that I think might be worth trying if that's the kind you want to buy.

 

[Barbie]

I live southeast of Tampa. Mine will be blanketed tonight as they were just show clipped a week ago with a 30 blade for Okeechobee. Tomorrow morning the blankets will come off once the sun is up. The weanling I'm leasing will probably wear a sheet during the day as there is less of him - have to watch the weather tonight. My horses are in a barn though and the outside windows and the big doors at the north end will be closed tonight and depending on where the wind is coming from, some might be closed during the day tomorrw.

I know the feeling in Ocala - it's always really cold during Mini-O - hopefully this year will be different as the show is a couple of weeks earlier.

Stay warm where ever you are.

Barbie

 

[love_casper]

i have never had to blanket mine. they get THICK winter fuzzies. but i have one mare (princess) that doesn't seem to want to grow a coat this year....so i have decided if she doesn't start gettin fuzzy by the time it gets cold here, we're getting a blanket. this is california, so it doesn't get that cold, but still.....she's spoiled.

this is Ghost's coat last year.....no need for a blanket! she has a thick one this year too, its Princess that won't grow it in!

Ghost last january:

 

[Black Magic]

Here is Ocala... our minis have a wardrobe that would rival most of the kids in the neighborhood, whose parents don't believe it gets cold. We have rain slickers for them, we have fleeces for them, (I made them myself) we have blankets we purchased from Ozark Mountain (medium weight) and we have the other blankets from Double Diamond, he goes to many shows in the south east. His blankets are $25.00s and they are quilted and very nice... I just love them.

Our house rules are.. below 50.. if there is any chance of rain... they get their slickers. below 40... they get their Ozark Mountain blankets... down around 30.. they get their Double Diamond blankets... and down below 30.. they get a fleece with their Double Diamond blanket on top. I go out around midnight and slip my hand between them and the blankets and feel.. if they are too warm they are gonna sweat. Sweating in the cold is a really bad idea. Also, I can tell if they are cold in the middle of the night, because as we haven't built the barn yet.. (gonna take two years to finance my taj of a barn)... they just have covered areas to run under. If they are doing their version of Thunder Hooves.. I know they are cold. To me.. I could be wrong, but horses run.. to bring up their body temps. So even when we have a barn, as long as it's not wet, I'll allow them to run at night. Our QH thinks they are her babies and she has proved to be more protective then me with a gun. One night she hearded them all to a pen, and blocked the open area of the pen.. if anything was gonna get to her babies.. it had to go through her first!

I purchased fleece at Walmart and placed our Ozark Mountain blanket on the fleece and traced it... by doing that... I just had to use blanket binding tape on the edges... toss on a bit of velcro here and there, and viola.. I had a fleece... I made them all match. After I had that done, I put them on them and marked for a few small darts here and there. I made four fleeces for $17.00s... Hubby was happy.

The Ozark Mountain blankets cost twice of what the Double Diamond did, but they have lots of velcro for lots of adjustments. So.. if I was in doubt.. I'd go with one of theirs.. that uses lots and lots of velcro.

God Bless,

Lynn W

 

[Robin1]

There are reasonably priced blankets on the Last Chance Auction board made by Smooth EZ. I will be ordering a couple soon.

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Robin