do you blanket your older horse in the winter time?

Question

if it is cold in your area

Answer 1

Yes, we do. Weathabeater turnout blankets rated for the temperature in our area.

Answer 2

Only if the horse is cold or they are not growing a good coat. We have a 21 yr old horse and a 35ish pony and only blanketed them when they were cold-- when it got to 40 below with windchill. Granted, all the other horses were blanketed as well, so it had nothing to do with age.
Our horses are outside 24/7 with a shelter.

Answer 3

Putting a blanket, or rug, on any horse with a natural coat (not clipped) removes the horses ability to regulate it's own temperature effectively. Also, ALL rugs restrict the horses movement in some way (even the best fitting ones). On an older horse, perhaps with reduced mobility, this could cause further discomfort.
As horses age, they tend to grow thicker coats anyway. So long as the older horse has enough fibre food, and adequate shelter from the elements, it is safer and kinder to leave them without a rug.
It is far easier for a horse to warm itself up, by moving around and consuming extra feed, than to cool itself down if it gets too hot whilst rugged up.
The only time I would advocate rugging any horse is if they are losing weight due to the weather, or if they are clipped...

Answer 4

My son has 8 horses and lives in northern Idaho. He does no longer blanket any of his horses, yet his dad who lives close to does placed a blanket on the older skinny horse. So i imagine it truly is a sturdy theory.

Answer 5

I don't own an older horse but know people that do.

If the horse has shelter, it depends on the horse. If the horse keeps weight well they will probably be ok as long as you don't over groom them and remove the protective oils from the coat. If the horse losses weight over winter, a rug can help keep their weight up, because they won't be using so much energy to keep warm, and of course a thin horse will be colder.

Answer 6

no. we don't blanket our horses. it isn't necessary unless you live in a climate area where the temperatures drop near 0 or into the negative numbers...then yes i would blanket your horse. the reason i don't blanket my horse is i live in the southeastern united states and it very very rarely gets cold enough for a horse to need a blanket. oh...one thing i forgot to mention is if your horse is clipped during the winter then he will need a rug even if its not extremely cold.

Answer 7

Horses are comfortable at much lower temperatures than people are, according to two articles I've read in Equus Magazine. They are fine even if the weather gets down to 15 degrees. UNLESS it is windy or rainy out. Wind takes away their ability to stay warm.

My horse lived to be 34 and I only blanketed him when it was windy or wet. If it was sunny and no wind, he was fine. He was sometimes blanketed at night, because without the sun he seemed to feel colder.

Answer 8

Well, yes, but it depends on more than that...You have to know how thick a blanket, depending on how thick the horse's coat, as well as exactly what kind of weather, whether the horse is indoors or out...But in most cases, yes, especially the older horses since they're more prone to the elements and sickness.

Answer 9

Sure! Theres no harm in it=] I always blanket my older horse and my yearling in the Winter. Then they don't get near as bad of a winter coat. Keeps them snug as a bug in a rug too=]

Answer 10

here in minnesota we always blanket our old horses. During the spring/fall we take blankets off during the day and put 'em back on for the night