Winter Blankets

[normajeanbaker]

I am in search of as heaviest/warmest winter blanket that I can find. I have a mare who gets cold very easily. She has been like this as long as I've known her and I dont see it ever changing. You can try the "she'll grow a winter coat and stay warm if you dont blanket and let nature work", but she shivers and shakes. She is in an insulated stall(even the ceiling has insulation because we know she gets cold easily), has plenty of bedding, heated water bucket, and is a barn with 6 other horses and the stalls never gets all that cold. However, she is a diva I guess and just can not stand the cold. She grows a little bit of a winter coat, but it's nothing huge. Nothing like coats that some of my others have! And to top it off, we are in Maine, so it can get pretty darn cold! Anyone have a really heavy weight blanket that is warm that they can share where they got it? I am thinking maybe if I put her lined hood on her, I can possibly eliminate one of the blankets she has on.

She right now is wearing this blanket: http://www.minitack.com/km533q.htm

And on top of that blanket, she is wearning TWO of these: http://www.fortune3.com/DDTack/Blankets-Mi...ut_Blanket.html

If you eliminate any of the blankets, she gets cold and shivers. If it stays above 30 at night, she can do just 2 blankets. She is out of any drafts, is in a barn that the thermometer reads 30 degrees inside when it is below zero outside right now and also is off a show diet and gets plenty of baled hay. Any idea where I can find a super heavyweight blanket that'll fit half way decent? Right now, she reminds me of the kid in The Christmas Story movie with the big bulky snowsuit who cant get back up when someone pushes him over

Better yet, anyone from down south who has warm weather 365 days a year want to borrow a nice little show mare?

Its funny that she cant stand the cold and gets cold so easily, but her 2005 baby we have here cant deal with the heat and LOVES winter. Go figure!

Thanks in advance

~Jen~

 

[muffntuf]

The only thing I can suggest is a Polar Tec, they are heavy and 600 denier. Runs about $40. Also, try keeping a bit of grass hay in front of her, hay in their gut is their furnace. I know to keep horses in show shape everyone just gives handfuls throughout the day, but it sounds like she will do just fine with 1/2 flake of hay 4 times in a 24 hour period.

Also a trick I learned from someone who has been in the biz for 30 years - if they coat is fluffed a couple times a day, that helps the natural insulation of their coat work better.

 

[DrivinTime]

Well, I was going to suggest that Polar blanket, but she's already wearing TWO? Yikes! Maybe she needs some of those fleece pajamas - with legs - like we got for our chihuahua... No, that'd never work.

Would it be possible to put a heat lamp in her stall, so that she could "strip down" a bit at night and let her hair fluff up? We use them when ours have been cleverly standing out in the rain or snow all day, the heat melts the ice balls so I can comb them out... They dry off much more quickly afterwards. When it gets really cold here, we use the heat lamps and blankets.

Okay, I thought of one other blanket-related possibility: A polar fleece blanket underneath everything else, maybe one that comes down to her knees to keep her underneath parts a bit warmer, and wraps around her neck to keep more of her covered. You could just buy a fleece throw and wrap her up in it - we use blanket pins to hold them on.

Good luck! I hope you all are not getting as much snow as we are here in central VT right now!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Fluffing is good for an unblanketed horse, it sounds like this one would shiver herself to pieces before you finished getting her aired!

Poor little horse.

I don't have too many ideas on the blankets since the ones you've listed are the best I've found but have you tried adding a quilted or polar fleece liner under the blankets? Schneiders has one that goes between the forelegs and velcroes around the barrel, I really like that one for trace-clipped horses with naked chests.

It's good close-fitting insulation without a lot of bulk.

Also, do you have your mare in an insulated hood? That helps as it traps a lot more of the body heat.

Leia

Edited to add: Ha, DrivinTime and I were posting simultaneously. I think a heat lamp is a great idea! In my experience the Polar blankets are some of the lightest ones available, I use those in late spring and even some of the summer just to keep the rain off. The Kensington Roustabout is my warmest blanket, he'll sweat in that one even when clipped if it isn't distinctly chilly out.

 

[MinisOutWest]

use a Kensington winter blanlet, then if she is like in a 40 below climate, add polar tec jammies underneath. PM me if you need. But my boys and I got caught outside practicing in a blizzard snow storm/ pouring down rain. we were soaked, so I took my big blower to them, it was ok, but I got the high powered human hair blow dryer, it was really hot, be careful not to get too close and burn them, but they loved the hot air on thier fuzzy bodies, gave them a lot of lift.

 

[Mona]

I bought a Horses In Black (HIB) Miniature Horse Blanket (CLICK HERE) last winter when I had to bring a stallion up from California in the dead of our EXTREME Canadian winter temperatures! I used it along with a polar fleece hood (CLICK HERE that I bought on the LB Last Chance Auction, because the seller had head and neck clipped him, and he stayed warm and toasty until Summer!

This is what he looked like in his new winter wear.

 

[Relic]

Well the colt we got up here towards the end of Sept straight from Nationals hasn't grown in much of a winter coat yet so to say he was cold is putting it mildly...we have had temps in the high -30C the past few weeks and he was shaking and cold something awful poor guy. The blanket l use on him now is a Double D l love them even though there pricey and he's warm now no more quirvers and cold shakes for him.. at night l add the hoodie it came with and he has been doing much better..l don't know why his hair is taking so long to come in though he still looks almost clipped. We also have a 27 year old mare and she needs to wear a coat most winters now and a regular winter coat along with a heavy thick polar fleeze sheet under that that goes around her belly and back up is working well for her so far..

 

[Taylor Jo]

I JUST bought some blanket LINERS from Star lake tack. THEY'RE WONDERFUL. SO if you get a nice blanket get one of these if you want to put under it. I LOVE THEM. I GOT all 4 of my horses them and they fit perfect under their winter blankets which I got on they're. I got the special order ones that they have to make for you and they're nice but they need the liner under them I feel. The liners are made of NICE felt and they fit perfect under the blankets. Good luck to you I have one that doesn't like to be cold either.

Oh yea the liners come in different colors too. They run depending on the size around 24.99-26.99 WELL worth it and you can use them for after a bath or taking them to a show, that's how nice they are. TJ

 

[nbark]

Have you tried the fleece, I call it a sweatshirt, that Schneider puts out. Both of my minis have them under their blankets. It pulls over the head and then has a nice piece that goes between their legs and attaches to the sides to keep their chest and bellies warm. I also have two blankets on top of that because mine shiver. The top layer is the artic twister that triple L puts out. Very warm with a hood to keep their necks warm, even with a lot of hair, they can get cold.

www.sstack.com is Schneider's web and they do have some mini gear, but this fleece sweatshirt is really warm for them. My friend has a Quarterhorse that also has one.

 

[maestoso]

Do these blankets have wick-away liners? It is possible that she is sweating under the blankets and that she is getting chilled. Also, it's probably too late at this point, but blanketing a horse who doesn't REALLY need it is not a good idea, unless you plan on continuing to blanket. Once you flatten the coat, which happens under the weight of the blanket, you've taken away the horses natural insulation. They are better off with nothing.

If you are not missing something, like maybe the horse is sweating, or the blankets are getting wet somehow . . . . then it sounds like there is another issue than just a cold horse. Most horses should be able to withstand extreme temperatures in their natural coat, even in Maine

. Let alone a horse with 3 blankets on them, ever talk to the vet about this?

 

[normajeanbaker]

Thanks for all the replies. I am getting her a fleece liner to go under her blanket when she needs it. The temps are a bit milder up here right now, so she is back to just 1 blanket and comfy. She is not a fan of cold temps, thats for sure! I think a fleece liner will help her out.

She is not sweating under her blankets. And, she wants/needs for nothing as far as vet care goes. She had a terrible case of allergies and hives a few years back. One of the worst cases my vet has had. It did a number on her skin, and although she hasn't had a problem or hives in almost 2 years(knock on wood!), I have no doubts the damage it did to her skin has something to do with her getting cold quickly. Plus, she doesnt grow the typical thick winter coat that Mini's are known for. Hers is fine and about 1/3rd the length of everyone elses. I have tried the no blanket route with her and she gets no more of a puffy coat and stands and shivers. So, I'd rather blanket and have her comfy then let her stand and shiver and grow nothing bigger of a coat. Everyone but her goes with no blankets for the most part and I do know that no blanket is better, but she is just one who does require one. Even if you dont clip her late in the year, she still doesnt grow a big coat. Even before she had an allergy problem, she never had a big coat. She's had bloodwork done, etc throughout the past few years and she's as healthy as a horse

~Jen~