The Great Blanket Debate!

This time of year can prove difficult to decide whether or not to put a blanket on your horse and how heavy that blanket should be. Below are some tips from Penn State Extension and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to help you make this decision! 

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 and/or 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.
• There is a chance the horse will become wet (not usually a problem with snow, but much more of a problem with rain, ice, and/or freezing rain).
• 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.

• Horses can develop rub marks or sores where the straps securing the blanket fit improperly. If the horse is continuously blanketed the blanket should be removed regularly to inspected for damage and reposition due to twisting.
• 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 horse's hair coat.

The equine 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.

Blanketing Horses in Cold Weather: Is it Necessary? 

Horses are very adaptable to cold weather and can tolerate temperatures as low as 5°F as long as they have a winter hair coat, shelter, and proper nutrition. In fact, blanketing horses that have long winter coats can cause more harm than good. Their winter coat acts as insulation by trapping air. Blankets compress the long hair and reduce the horse’s ability to stay warm.   

When is Cold Weather Blanketing Necessary? 

• Horses that are body clipped
• Wet weather (rain is worse than snow because it saturates the coat)
• Horses that do not have a thick winter coat
• Horses that are not acclimated to cold weather climates
• Extreme drops in temperature when horses aren’t acclimated
• Old horses (may have reduced ability to maintain body temperature compared to healthy adult horses)
• Young horses (horses under 2 years old are still growing which requires more energy; their smaller body surface area will lose heat faster than large horses) 

Tips for Blanketing

• Check horses often to make sure they are not sweating and are dry under the blanket
• Only waterproof and breathable blankets should be used for turnout
• Use appropriate blanket weight for climate (blankets are available in light, medium, and heavy weights)
• For horses that are clipped, the blanket weight will depend on whether they have a full body clip, hunter clip, blanket clip, or trace clip
• Make sure the blanket is the correct size (measure from center of chest to point of rump)
• Check to make sure the blanket isn’t causing rubs
• Never put a blanket on a dirty horse 

The best way to keep horses warm is to feed plenty of good-quality hay and provide shelter from the elements. Good quality hay provides nutrients and calories, while generating body heat through fiber digestion. Horses should be fed around 2% of their body weight in hay per day in the winter (about 20lb for a 1,000 lb horse). Consider that the average cost of a medium weight turnout blanket is $200. Two hundred dollars would buy about 30 square bales of good quality hay! Thirty bales of good quality hay will last about 2 months for one horse in the winter. Unless blanketing is necessary, it’s typically in the best interest of the horse to spend the money on good nutrition rather than a blanket