How to Blanket a Horse in Cold Weather

Whether you live in the balmier south or frigid northern slopes, you may wonder when, or if, you should provide your horse with equine clothing. Pasture horses with easy access to shelter from wind and precipitation, whether liquid or frozen, seldom need a wardrobe to keep them comfortable and healthy. Many horses do need a little help, especially when you try to keep their winter hair coat to a minimum. Here are blanketing tips that cover most of the basics.

For horses with adequate shelter, let nature handle the matter. Be sure to provide a place your horse can stay dry and out of the wind. If you have a horse that has not wintered with you before, make sure they grow an adequate hair coat. Sometimes it takes a year for a horse to get acclimated to a drastic change in climate - or from the show barn to the pasture.

The first thing to understand is how a horse stays warm in cold weather. The long hairs of a winter coat create an air layer providing insulation against the cold. The only reason to put a blanket on your horse is if they do not have an adequate hair coat to properly insulate. So, we blanket horses because they do not have winter coats.

Blanketing itself does little to retard hair growth. The amount of continual light the horse is under each day determines whether or not they grow a winter coat. For horses stalled under lights, blankets are necessary because the horse is prevented from growing their own insulating layer.

Don't blanket a horse with a good winter coat