Horse care information: blanketing

Are you actively riding your horse everyday? Do you find your winters to be cold, and your horses' coats to be very thick? If you decide to actively work your horses all winter, you might want to consider blanketing your horse. Blankets help keep the horse cleaner, though good grooming always keeps the skin healthy and should be done regularly. As the seasons change, you can graduate your horse to several blankets, preventing rain and wind to touch him.

During the summer and depending on the environment your horse is living in, flies are usually a problem. Fly masks and fly sheets are very helpful items; they prevent the horse's skin from the bites. They are breathable and allow the horse to remain cooler than in the hot sun, especially if the horse is a dark color. Look for a blanket that does have a light color, and is durable enough to not tear when a horse rolls. These blankets also prevent "sun bleaching" of their coats. You will find that they stay very shiny, like a horse being stalled during the hot summer days.

A nylon sheet is a good fall sheet; it prevents wind from cooling the body too much. These are not normally waterproof, though. Good fall blankets to use are waterproof and breathable sheets for turnout. You want to find a durable outside liner that will not rip easily. Look for blankets that have shoulder gussets, for free movement. Also, fleece lined wither areas are a great addition to your blanket, as this part normally rubs the hair. When the temperatures drop from high heat to the 50's, this is a good time to use your waterproof sheet.

If you are expecting cold nights below the 30's and above 0 degrees, I would suggest a "medium weight" turnout blanket. These have an inner lining of sorts, and look for a waterproof and windproof blanket. I suggest using this at nights for a while, only. They will be too hot for the horse when the temperature rises during the daytime. You do not want to make your horse uncomfortable by blanketing him, that is why I suggest making sure you are around to change them with the temperature change.

Use your medium blanket for the cold days, and snowy weather. If the temperature does not drop blow 0 degrees, your horse should be fine in this blanket. But, if the weather starts changing to the negatives, I would suggest having a polar fleece under blanket to put on, or have a "heavy weight" blanket available. Again change them as needed with the temperatures. All of your blankets should have wither protection and a shoulder gusset, as I have discussed before.

When you are exercising your horse in a cold arena, you will need an exercise blanket until he is properly warmed up. Otherwise, you risk the chance of pulled and torn muscles because the body is unusually cold and is working too quickly. When cooling your horse from exercise, you can use one of your blankets to put on his hid quarters, preventing stiffening. I suggest wool or a fleece cooler, which actually wicks the sweat away and allows the horse to dry faster. Again, you have changed the horse's natural mechanisms for body heat, so you must be prepared to work with your horse.

Stable blankets have the same system. If your horse is in a stall often, notice the temperature in the barn. Decide what materials are best for what your horse needs. Cotton is very cool, and will not warm a horse. There are good stable blankets available in light, medium, and heavy weights. You will need to watch how the temperature fluctuates in the barn to decide what is best for your blanketing system. Again, please understand this is a time consuming system for your horse, and one blanket is not going to do the trick. You need to help your horse as much as you can if you choose this system. You will need to invest in several blankets to make it work well for him. But, if you are willing to do this, it makes it easier to cool him and groom him.