Blanketing

So as the cold weather finally begins to reach Texas we find that we are beginning the seasonal blanketing of the horses. Although most horses adapt pretty well to cold weather, if they are not blanketed early in the season, we have some unique situations that we deal with here.

One of our horses is an Appaloosa. And as a breed they traditionally do not have a lot of hair. If you were to see our Jasper you would probably wonder what happened to him. His mane is only about 2 inches long and his tail maybe a foot. He has gotten his winter coat.....if you want to call it that.....but it is hardly sufficient to keep him warm when it gets particularly cold.

I love this time of year with horses though as they become all nice a fuzzy with their winter coats but it is important if you have special circumstances that you help them keep warm. We also blanket our old horses because it is sometimes harder for them to keep themselves warm.

Now about a blanket. There are many different kinds and colors. Which one to buy? First you have to measure your horse for the sizing. You measure from the middle of their chest to their tail.

Once you have figured out the size then you need to decide how heavy a blanket you need. This will depend on where you live and how cold it really gets. Here in Texas we do not have the bitter cold that I used to experience in Ohio. So the blanket we use is not the heaviest they make. You do not want to buy too warm of a blanket or the horse will sweat and that will defeat the purpose of the blanket.

ALSO....MAKE SURE IT IS WATERPROOF and not just weatherproof. They are not the same and you really need it to be waterproof.

When to blanket.......well here we start putting a blanket on our horses when it gets to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Sometimes we put it on a little warmer if it is going to be raining or really windy. Do not put it on if your horse is wet. Dry them in the barn before you put the blanket on them.