When to Blanket a Horse
Should you blanket your horse?
The long winter hair coat serves as insulation by reducing the loss of body heat and provides the first line of defense against the cold. Its insulating value is lost when the horse becomes wet andor is covered with mud. So provide a dry sheltered area in cold wet weather. How do you know if you should blanket your horse?
Blanketing a horse is necessary to reduce the effects of cold and inclement weather when
There is no shelter available during turnout periods and the temperatures drop below 5 degrees F or the wind chill is below 5 degrees F.
The horse has had its winter coat clipped for showing.
The horse is very young or very old.
The horse has not been acclimated to the cold i e. recently relocated from a southern climate.
The horse has a body condition score of 3 or less or in poor health.
Blanket Fit
It is important that the blanket fit the horse make sure you have the correct size to fit the horse.
Make sure blankets are kept dry and do not put a blanket on a wet horse wait until the horse is dry before blanketing. Or take a wet blanket off a horse to keep it from becoming chilled.
Days that the temperature becomes warm remove the blanket so the horse does not sweat and become wet under the blanket. Air out the blanket and dry out the horses hair coat.
acts as insulation by trapping air however if the hair is wet or full of mud air is excluded reducing its insulating value and increasing heat loss. As little as 0 1 inch of rain can cause cold stress by making the hair and reducing its insulating value. It is important to keep the horse dry and sheltered from rain. Woolly horses with a thicker hair coat can retain more heat so sometimes it is better not to blanket.
