It's amazing how blanketing horses causes so much concern in horse owners. Some people balk at the idea of clothing any animal, much less a horse where others are insistent.
Do you have to blanket your horse? No. The horse makes his own blanket - a hair coat that is long enough and thick enough to hold up to the coldest days of winter. It's a blanket that flattens or stands above the skin as the horse grows warmer or cooler. Hair is a great insulator, and it fluffs up to warm the horse. Heat rising from the body warms the air that doesn't go anywhere because it's trapped between the hairs.
Should you blanket your horse? This answer could be yes or no. Special circumstances of each horse help to make up this answer. Clipped horses are not able to create their own blanket of hair so the owner must take the time to blanket the horse and the temperatures of the day change. Older horses whose appetites and digestion may not provide enough fuel to keep their flesh full and their "furnaces" strong require shelter or blanketing during bad weather.
The great debate in our state is between those living in the dryer colder areas vs. those on the wetter slightly warmer areas. Colder temperatures of the east you see significantly less horses in blankets. On the west we see more. The biggest difference to consider, aside from the various differences, is the type of weather the horses is subject too. Cold wind causes horses the greatest discomfort and more rapidly drains their energy because it whips away body heat faster than any other condition. Cold rain is a close second, chilling the skin through conduction and flattening of the hairs' insulating lift. In Washington we get a lot of rain. 35 degrees and rain is much harder on a horse the dry weather that is below zero.
The great debate in our state is between those living in the dryer colder areas vs. those on the wetter slightly warmer areas. Colder temperatures of the east you see significantly less horses in blankets. On the west we see more. The biggest difference to consider, aside from the various differences, is the type of weather the horses is subject too. Cold wind causes horses the greatest discomfort and more rapidly drains their energy because it whips away body heat faster than any other condition. Cold rain is a close second, chilling the skin through conduction and flattening of the hairs' insulating lift. In Washington we get a lot of rain. 35 degrees and rain is much harder on a horse the dry weather that is below zero.
Do you plan to ride your horse during the cold months? If you do, blanketing can help to keep their coat clean and their skin from becoming irritated. Blankets can possibly help to keep your horse from letting their winter coat get too long. A long winter coat will make them warm during exercising. If you don’t have the time to completely cool them out after cold weather riding, blanketing them to keep their winter coat shorter is a possible help. To speed up the drying process you can rub him down with a dry towel. Perhaps cover the cooling horse as you walk him with a cooler that draws moisture away from the horse's hair where it then evaporates.
However, consider the time it takes to blanket your horse. There can be a great time commitment that goes with blanketing and unblanketing, day after day. Who is going to do that work? If your horse is cold, blanketing may be your best option. But you don’t have to start blanketing them too early. Allow them to adjust to the colder weather. Then before the real cold sets in, put them in a sheet or mid-weight blanket that will help them to not find the need to grow a really thick coat. The wise choice is to begin nighttime blanketing with a light cover when overnight temperatures hit 50 degrees or less. Anytime it gets down to the low 40s, especially if you have a major daily temperature fluctuation, it's a good time to start blanketing. However, be certain you have a plan for blanket removal or change when the daily temperature spikes again.
Once you’ve decided to blanket your horse, you still have plenty of decisions to make. Does he need a light blanket or sheet for daytime and a heavier blanket for night? Which brand of blanket can I find that will hold up to the time in the pasture? Or will you turn him out without a blanket, but then groom him before putting it back on? If he rolls in the mud with his blanket, what will he wear while you’re washing the muddy one? As for keeping the blanket clean, most feed stores have options of blanketing cleaning companies which handle repair as well. This likely means you’re going to need a second blanket.
