This is my first Pennsylvania winter as a horse owner in 20+ years. I don’t know if I need to blanket my horses. My brother who lives and owns horses in Colorado says that I don’t need to. What do you all think/do?
Asked by:Wendy Jo
This is my first Pennsylvania winter as a horse owner in 20+ years. I don’t know if I need to blanket my horses. My brother who lives and owns horses in Colorado says that I don’t need to. What do you all think/do?
Asked by:Wendy Jo
I wouldn’t use a blanket. Just make sure they have plenty of hay to eat and keep the water unfrozen and at a comfortable temperature. Their natural coats will keep them warm.
What are your winter nighttime temperatures like?
I know i don’t rug my horse, and we get a little bit of snow each year, because i’m not there to check on him every day it’s safer that i don’t. Will you be able to check him every day?
some say don’t rug until the horse is shivering, some say rug if you feel cold.
horses don’t feel the cold quite as much as us, but if you take a guess at their temperature by holding the back of the bottom of their ear, you’ll get a good guess at how warm they are, if this helps.
when i was living with my hroses, i rugged them in winter so that i didn’t need to up their feed to keep them warm. you’ll need to unrug on the warm days too though.
how old are the horses? and what is their weight & condition? find other horsey people in the area and ask them what they do, or talk to the people in the Saddlery and they’ll be able to recommend somehting.
If you’re using your horse for shows during the winter months, you should blanket early to prevent their winter coat from coming in. If you’re not, then its best to hold them off as long as possible. It’s good for them to build up a little bit of a winter coat before blanketing, that way when it gets REALLY cold and they’re out in the field, they’ll have natural protection as well as a blanket to protect them from the ice and snow. I blanket my show horse around mid December and the rest of my horses ( who are all field boarded ) dont get blankets until around Feburary or when the temps drop below 25 at night. That’s a safe guess.
i live in western NY and i do not blanket my horses and my barn is unheated. So I’m pretty sure your horses don’t need them especially because my horses are Arabians and they have very thin skinned and get colder easier.
I personally do not blanket my horses. I have owned horses in Virginia and Texas. I do think it depends on the horse and weather or not they have a place to go to out of the wind and cold.
Once you blanket them you need to continue to blanket them as they will not grow their winter hair.
Unless you want him to stay fairly slick coated for riding and/or showing purposes during the winter, you shouldn’t need to blanket him at all as long as he is healthy and in good flesh. Horses don’t really seem to get cold unless they get soaked to the bone and it’s really cold at the same time – as in driving sleet or a really long, cold, hard rain. That’s about the only time you will ever see them shiver and act obviously uncomfortable from the elements. And in those cases all you have to do is feed them some good quality hay or grain(corn is best for warming them up), and within a few minutes they will stop shaking and be ok. During the coldest, wettest parts of the winter I always feed a little heavier and give them their grain(if I’m graining them), in the evening feed in order to help them stay warm through the night.
I only do it if it’s extremely cold, like 32 fer. or less. I know that they naturally have their winter-coats, and that really helps. but just make sure they have enough to eat, and water at a comfortable temperature. For each horse this may vary, but you get the point.
It might help if you keep them in stalls, and not out to pasture. It tends to be warmer in stalls.
I don’t blanket mine… he’s a 7-yr-old TBX, and he’s out all day and in an unheated barn all night…. and we’re in Western New York, so it gets a little chilly. He’s got a nice, shaggy winter coat going, and even when I’m cold I just cuddle up to him, and he’s always nice and warm – he’s like a portable heater. I just keep a blanket just for bitter, bitter, bitter cold days.
As long as your horse has grown in their winter coat, they should be fine. His previous owner had him blanketed through the winter into Feb. or so, so his winter coat only grew in patches. When we got him, he decided he’d had enough of the blanket, and we couldn’t keep it on him… and then he only had the patchwork winter coat to keep him warm. It wasn’t fun…. I’d say, go natural.
Depends, I still Train and show my horses during winter and I want them to stay dry and have a nice coat,however I do take it off when I stall them. you could always just use a light winter blanket, like a 600.
What you need is a good shelter ,especially against the prevailing winds and a bit of weight on your horse. Make sure he has lots of good feed as they burn lots of calories keeping warm. Our horses in Maryland stayed outdoors with no blankets, when we moved them to Maine they got barns and blanketed at night and in bad weather,Now I’m in Calif and I only blanket the old ones when the weather is very bad.Horses do better in cold weather than hot. Keep an eye on their weight and provide them with dry shelter. Check on them once in a while and if they are shaking, then go ahead and blanket. Otherwise they will probably be fine.
How cold does it get at night in the winter?
I live near the mountains and it got to be around -50C last year at one point for a few days- now thats weather you need your horse blanketed in under most circumstances.
Its just november, I have a rainsheet on my horse that has some padding in it, but the other ponies/horses at my barn just have rain sheets on for now.
well it depends there pretty good wihtout rugs coz there fur are prety water proof but if u clip u will need 2
but if u wont that extra protection yeah go ahead =]
How are your horses winter coats? If they have pretty thick coats you might be fine. I imagine that it’s cold in Pennsylvania which would affect when or if you blanket. I pull the blanket out on really windy/harsh weather days or at freezing point. If you have a loafing shed or some close knit trees you probably won’t need a blanket. It’s all up to you, but remember the more you blanket, the less of a winter coat they’ll have.
i do but you don’t have to but i do at night
When I lived in Ohio, I never blanketed my horses, but then I didn’t show back then either. Now, I live in southwest Florida and own a showhorse, so now I use a light blanket just to keep her winter hair from coming in. It really doesn’t get cold here at all, it’s just to keep that seaonal hair from coming in. Once you blanket, you will always have to blanket, so keep that in mind.
I always blanket when it’s
i don’t blanket my horse, i’ve tried but he just doesn’t like it and somehow takes it off. my trainer said i didn’t need to blanket him anyways but i just wanted to, so it’s really all up to you, if you feel the need to put a blanket on them then go right ahead, but you don’t absolutely need to.
I blanket my horses when it gets into freezing tempatures through all day and night. I try to wait as long as possible to blanket so they get the thickest coat possible. My horses are used to being blanketed and it gets below 0 so I would feel bad to not blanket lol. I also work them all winter so they get clipped once they get blanketed. When we showed all winter, we kept a sheet and heat lamps on them, and we turned out and rode in a heated arena.