"Blanketing Horses"

Howdy Friends,

Coffee Clutch friends and Facebook friends know my position on blanketing our horses is pretty much, guarded. I’ve chatted about horses and blanketing HERE and HERE, and always I say something to the effect, “Understanding there are exceptions, I’m in the anti blanket camp.”

Exceptions. There are always exceptions to and for everything and exceptions are noteworthy, important and viable, my only concern is they can also be used to self justify not making a change. Conversely exceptions can be the reasons folks use to make changes not in the best interest of their horse.

Kessy wears a blanket for the first time in the 5 years we've been together. Unusual weather, temps dropping from 50 to 0 in one day, and she is already shed out a lot ... She wore the blanket evening to mid morning the next day, temps were back up to 30 in 15 hours.

That’s why when I write about blankets and horses I don’t spend a lot of time on the exceptions as to why it’s good to blanket horses, there are valid exceptions, and some horses certainly need and fair better with them, but most would thrive much better without blankets.

My most vehement exception to blanketing horses is how many times it is overdone, improperly done and in far too many instances sloppily managed. We’ve all seen horses standing outside on sunny days of 40, 50 and even 60 degree days blanketed because their caregivers don’t know any better, or worse are simply too lazy or busy to remove them. I’ve personally known horses who have been forced to wear blankets from fall to spring without ever once the blanket being removed. I’ve seen horses with rain rot, sores and bare skin under the blankets. I’ve seen horses gone lame from blankets causing pressure on their shoulder points. On and on this list of bad management and misunderstanding goes on.

However blankets used and managed with the horse’s best care in mind can be extremely helpful. I believe blankets properly managed should be removed daily and the horse brushed. I believe no blanket should be allowed to hang on the horse without removal daily, the horse checked for rubbing and other issues. Temperatures must be watched closely, with the horse’s best interest in mind, not the convenience of the caregiver or owner. Blankets are not easy to manage correctly, and blanketing a horse should not be taken or managed lightly.

Having stated many of my anti-blanket views here it is my hope to give all our friends a chuckle, or at least a smile when I tell you, for the first time ever, I blanketed Kessy this weekend!

Here in Appomattox our average daytime temps this time of year, should be 50+, with nights in the 30’s. And we’d been enjoying them or temps close to that for a while, even with the snow days. Kessy is just about a third or more shed out. Then the other day, as a large chunk of the country, we were visited by that weather they’ve labeled a polar vortex—and temps plummeted. Daytime highs in the teens and clean down to zero overnight!

Kessy’s barn is an open three sided run in, easy to get out of the weather and wind, but it stays about the same air temp as outside. In cold weather she gets all the long stem forage she wants. Some days she’ll eat 35 pounds of hay! However with this huge and sudden swing in temperatures this weekend she needed a little help. I was forced to rummage through my old tack tubs and dig out a blanket I hadn’t seen for a long time. It only had half a dozen mice holes, but was still in good shape.

Kessy’s eyes widened when I introduced her to it, but stood nicely as I adjusted the straps and buckles, and I can’t be sure but I think she liked being swaddled in the overnight zero temps. I removed her blanket the next day when temps rose to near 30 and brushed her. Our weather is not yet settled, but temps in the 30’s or high 20’s are about where we are now, and she is happily au naturel again. And yes, this was one of those things we can call an exception.

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry

"Another Reason I'm Anti-Horse-Blanket"

Howdy Folks,

 

I really wasn't going to blog about the incident which took place yesterday. But this morning, while having coffee with Kessy, it was 35  degrees, and knowing as I sipped my Folgers and listened to her contented hay chomping it was going to reach 60 again today, I got really angry all over again. Yea, ol' Dutch gets downright ornery sometimes … and being a horse advocate first, I always take the horse's side, in any argument, discussion or situation. Just my way.

Kessy & me

You need some background first; I drive a hundred miles one way for Kessy's hay. She being Insulin Resistant, we of course need low sugar hay. Buying and testing after it is home has proven not to work, neither has testing before buying as by the time the test comes in, the hay can be all sold. So last year I learned of a great outfit up in Culpepper, VA who tests everything they bale, and give the results, and you know what you're getting from the get-go. It's a second generation outfit, and they REALLY take care of their customers. They farm over a thousand acres.

So every 3 or 4 months I fire up our geriatric Tahoe, hook up my relic of a 2 horse trailer, and take a delightful drive through some of the most beautiful horse country in our state. Usually Ravishin' Robbie goes along and we work in a fun lunch at a quaint eatery or do a little touristing along the way – But she was away and I had to go alone. Had she been with me, I doubt the incident would have happened.

Bright blue skies and a gorgeous sun saw me off, even if was only in the 30's. I sang along to George Strait, Willie Nelson, and ABBA. From the start, roadside bird watching was great, and I was in high spirits. I truly enjoy this drive.

Of course every pasture with horses, or cows, for that matter dragged my eyes off the road as I admired them. Most of the time I stay on the road. Ravishin' Robbie declares I'm a terrible driver. I'm not really, I just get distracted by beauty.

I couldn't help but notice how many horses had blankets on this fine sunny morning. Halfway to Culpepper it was already in the mid-forties … Sad, I thought. By now I was in the really neat horse country and just about every mile boasted a pretty pasture with horses enjoying the day. Many of them wrapped in blankets. Just as a side note, does anyone ever wonder why cows can be in the same field and not need blankets?

As I drove and saw horse after horse out in the sun dealing with the foolishness of being overdressed, my mood began to deteriorate. I felt so bad for the poor horses. Even ABBA failed to lift my spirits …

I got to my destination and we had a delightful visit as we always do, and loaded 55 bales in the trailer and 8 in the ol' Tahoe … I like to pack my rig full! The old girl squats down a bit, but she still has what it takes. And, for home we set out.

It was after noon when I started home, and 60 degrees. Of course I thought of the blanketed horses and told myself surely I'd see none still being so wrongly treated. Of course I knew better. Forgive me for this, but abuse comes in many different forms.

 Not more than fifteen minutes from the hay outfit I saw blanketed horses. My heart sank, my mood soured, again. I couldn't help it.

As I traveled by the pretty farms I found myself searching for blanketed horses, and sadly there were plenty. Not as many as the trip up, but within half an hour of leaving the hay outfit, I'd counted over 20 horses standing in summer-like warmth, blanketed.

I drove by a bank whose sign said, 64 degrees, and within 5 minutes came upon a beautiful big boarding outfit with pretty board fenced pastures, a long lane back to the buildings and lots of horses turned out. As I drove slowly by, I counted 12 with blankets. I think my head almost exploded.

Unable to stop myself, I looked for a place to turn around, and went back. I knew I was out of line, but could not convince myself to mind my own business. Turning around all loaded down was, well interesting. Driving up the lane I counted 21 horses, 13 with blankets on. I noticed several folks riding, all with helmets on and thought, "Yup, you'll take care of yourself, but what of those poor horses out there in the sun cooking under the blankets."

I turned around before I stopped, wanted to be facing the exit in case they shot at me, and I got a lot of strange looks as I stepped out of my squatted down, paint worn Tahoe and rusty trailer. I remember thinking about that line in "We'll Have The Summer," when Sam is thinking how easy it was to spot his old rig among all the fancy deals at the fair. Well that about summed me up there yesterday.

Two young ladies riding by stopped at my signal. I asked, "Why do all the horses have blankets on?" They shrugged and rode away, I'm certain they thought me a cook. Probably they're correct.

I made another inquiry and was directed to women standing not far from my rig. She was the owner or manager or something. She approached me wearing a pleasant smile; I think my smile had stayed in the Tahoe.

We shook hands, and I pointed to the blanketed horses. "Why are all those horses blanketed?" I admit, I jumped right in, but by golly it had been building all day. I did ask gently though. 

She looked at me with a combination of, who are you, I'm busy and it is none of your business.

Finally she told me they were boarders' horses and they want them blanketed.

"It's 65 degrees!" I blurted. "They're probably well over a hundred under those blankets, it's messing up their thermal regulation and it's going down to the thirties again tonight. Don't you think you should yank the blankets off?"

With a look meant to put me in my place she said, "That's up to the owners." And politely invited me to leave.

I wanted discuss this more, but I was just too angry to be certain I wouldn't get out of line, so I left. 

As I drove out the long lane my heart ached for the horses, and I carried with me the sadness of knowing I'd let them down.

A recurring theme in the long life of the horse is, "It's up to the owner." – Why can't it be up to the horse more often?

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

My Thoughts on Blanketing Horses

Howdy Folks,

 

One of our Coffee Clutch friends asked me to share my thoughts on blanketing horses. Like many things we do for, with, and to our horses, there are mountains of opinions about, "to blanket or not to blanket." I'm mostly in the "no blanket" camp. I reckon few of our Coffee Clutch friends are surprised by that, my, keeping it truly natural practices and beliefs, are not much of a secret.

But what is wrong with blanketing? I think there could be a lot.

Now before we get all excited with the exceptions as to, "yes but you must blanket when – insert any favorite exception here – because …" I understand and agree, sometimes blankets are necessary and important. I also believe wool coolers are very important after a cold winter ride and a nice, thick winter coat is soaked and matted with sweat. Wool coolers wick away sweat and help a horse cool down nicely. Kessy wore one this Sunday after we had a fun romp. Took only about 20 minutes for her to dry, I removed the cooler, brushed her all nice and fluffy, and she went about her way wearing only her smile and her own winter coat.

Kessy sporting her no-blanket look.

I've heard it said that from about 45 degrees  horses burn calories to cool. Yes, to cool – not warm. So what must be going on when a healthy horse has a blanket strapped on its back on a sunny breezy 50 degree day? Sure we want our coat, I know I do, but we're not built to deal with it like horses.

Horses have multiple layers of hair to deal with all sorts of weather, rain, cold and snow. Each layer has its own job and function. Even with snow laying on their backs, those layers do their job admirably. UNLESS their hair is waited down under a blanket. Did you know a horse with a wet blanket, or even a waterproof blanket with snow laying on it is actually colder than a horse without? I've personally demonstrated this by sliding my hand under a wet, not soaked, blanket and the owner was surprised to feel the cold back. And too many times the old waterproof blankets loose their waterproofing and owners, unaware, are thinking they are helping their horse.

Temperatures under a blanket with air temperatures about 40 or 50 can be over 70, sometimes close to 90. If you blanket, check it yourself. I've done it. So if a horse is using calories to cool at 45 degrees, what's going on under a 70 degree blanket? And how often have you seen horses wearing more than one blanket?!

Wearing a blanket impedes normal winter coat growth, they can't grow those very important layers.

Horses with a natural healthy coat can readily, and healthily, regulate their own body temperature, changing with the temperatures of the day. Hairs stand up and lay down as needed. How can we think we can manage that by taking off and on the blankets? And how do we coordinate that?

Horses have several ways to "warm up" on cold days. They can walk around, this goes hand in hand with natural and healthy housing, they need room to roam, or they can stand out of the wind. But I think they do need the ability to walk around when they want to.

What they do need is a way to get out of the precipitation and wind, just a nice run in where they can come and go as they please.

So, my thoughts on blanketing horses? I think most folks do it for their own thoughts of comfort, not the horses.

Kessy is warm and happy in her natural coat ... I needed my heavy insulated coveralls. And Saturday was looking for a warm lap!

 To sum it up, mostly I'm against blanketing. Everyone has their own opionon and circumstances. But I feel bad for the horses standing out in the sun on 50 degree days wearing a blanket because no one had time to remove it ... And I think our common accepted practice appears to be we over-blanket. But that's just my thoughts.

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry