Weekly Tips Jan 19

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Winter Blanketing

Your horse has an interesting layered effect of "clothing" that keeps him insulated from the elements. There are times when you need to enhance that insulation and times when you don't need to. Here are some tips to help you better understand how the horse's insulating system works, why you might want to blanket him or not, and general information on blanketing.

The Insulating Properties of Hair

Your horse's coat is composed of two types of hair: the fluffy, dense undercoat and a stiffer protective coat called guard hairs. The guard hairs serve to shed rain, keep the undercoat clean and collect moisture that might otherwise dampen the undercoat. During very cold temperatures, this moisture is usually seen in the form of frost. The undercoat provides insulation by trapping air and body heat. It is also dense and soft, like the lining in your jacket.

The hairs are attached to a layer of muscle that moves the hair as needed for additional insulation. Each hair can be stood up or laid down. Each can also be turned in a particular direction. When the hair is standing, it gives your horse a "puffed up" appearance and allows more space to trap and warm the air in. When the hairs lay down, they act more like a cooling device and allow the air warmed by the body to be expelled. The hairs can also be "pointed" in a particular direction to help deflect wind and weather.

Based on these self-insulating properties, there are certain considerations to be made when determining if your horse needs to be blanketed. Horses that are blanketed early during the hair growth period will fail to grow an adequate amount of undercoat for warmth and need to be blanketed during the winter. Additionally, when a horse that has a full growth of hair is blanketed, the hair is flattened, loses its ability to fluff and move, and thus loses some of its insulating properties.

To Blanket or Not to Blanket

There are some common sense guidelines that apply when questioning whether to blanket your horse or not:

Is your horse too warm or too cold?

Not warm enough: Ears cool to touch, exposed hair coat stands on end, body tense, shivering, tail clamped.

Too warm: Restlessness, sweating under blanket. To check, feel under the blanket back to the rib cage area. The shoulder area tends to feel warm even when the rest of his body isn't.

Is the horse clipped? Clipping removes some of the insulating properties of the undercoat. In general, the temperature feels at least 10 degrees colder to a clipped horse.

Is the horse thin? Thin horses are lacking the insulating fat layer that also helps provide warmth.

Is the horse old or does it have a health or metabolic issue? When a horse gets older, is unhealthy or recovering from illness or injury, or has a metabolic issue such as thyroid disorder, it may fail to be able to correctly thermoregulate.

Does the horse have a shelter or wind break? Horses with continuous access to a run-in shelter or brush or woods for a windbreak will be able to take a break from the weather when they need it. Those without protection from the elements may not be able to keep warm under certain conditions.

Has the horse acclimated to the climate? If the horse is newly arrived in a colder climate or has never adapted by growing a denser winter coat, then it may not be able to maintain its warmth in colder weather.

Important: If your horse is blanketed, you should remove and reset his blanket(s) at least once a day, twice is better. This also gives you a chance to check for rubs and sores where dirt and shavings may have gathered. The blanket should not be straightened by tugging at it, but rather by undoing all the straps and fasteners, folding the rear of the blanket forward to the withers, and then lifting it completely off the horse's back and resetting it in the correct position. This helps prevent hair pulling and rubs, and is more comfortable for the horse when the hair lays smooth under the blanket.

For more information about sizing and selecting the right blanket for your horse, check out our Blanketing Guide.

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