Blanketing: For the Human or For the Horse?

It's that time of year, the time when horse owners suddenly lose their minds because, gasp, it's getting cold!! The temperature drops to 50 and horses everywhere have blankets on.

I'm not making fun of them. Blanketing is a personal decision for the horse owner. If it works for them, so be it.

I do worry about the horse, though, when the temperatures are NOT STABLE. They drop to 40 one day, 20 overnight, and shoot up to 65 the next day, and the horse is blanketed the same for each temperature. THAT is when the owner really should be paying attention.

I personally do not blanket my horses until the temperature remains steadily under freezing, day and night. While my horses are out 24/7 unless it's dangerous, they have snug shelters to go into if it's windy. I will put them in their stalls if the wind is unbearable overnight, if we're getting a wet snowstorm, or there is freezing rain. Otherwise, I let nature do its job.

I have three different blankets suited for our region. I have rain sheets, lightweights, and mid-weights. All are waterproof and breathable. I wash them in the special detergents and waterproof them again each season.

We also remove blankets and groom regularly. We check for sores and spots that might be getting rubbed. We check the blankets for tears, the buckles for bending, and the leg straps to see if they are adjusted correctly.

The other very important thing that I do is feed more often during colder temperatures. I give them hay all day long anyway, I just increase it when its steadily at or below freezing. I do not increase grain, I increase hay. I also provide every horse with a heated bucket in their stall and every trough outside has a heater on it.

My horses are fine, fluffy, fat, and happy. I must be doing something right.

The following article, courtesy of thehorse.com, goes over suggestions given by a veterinarian about blanketing.

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/32878/to-blanket-or-not-to-blanket-a-good-cold-weather-question