Blankets are extremely useful - especially in warm climates such as
mine and Lynne's when it turns wet and cold. They are useful in any
climate for a horse that doesn't grow a lot of "fur" in the winter or
for a horse that grows too much "fur" to do rides in the winter so
needs clipped.
When I was competing the mare I had to clip her in the winter or else
she was the woolly mammoth. That meant when the temps dropped below 50
she had on a thin blanket and if the dropped below 40 a heavier
blanket. Contrary to popular belief it can get cold in FL - I get in
the teens and 20's regularly in December and January.
Now I'm not clipping her I still have one I need to deal with. The
Jbird is an Arab bred and born in Florida. His blood was thin from the
get-go. He "ain't real fond of cold weather" as Scarlet O'Hare would
say. He can do 50, but at about 45 he needs some help. If it gets below
45 and I don't give him the help I hear about it the next morning. He's
a very "vocal" horse.
In general it's the wet and cold that is the problem. If it's dry and
cold and they are not confined an can move around and they can keep
warm. If it's wet and warm they can deal with it just fine. But wet and
cold will tax them and some need blankets unless they are the woolly
mammoth.
Truman
Lynne Glazer wrote:
My horses
live outdoors in 24x48' pens with 12x24 roofs. I blanket primarily
under one condition: wet AND cold. Not wet and/or cold. During the
transition zone in fall when they don't have enough hair and there's a
cold snap along with wind, I'll blanket then too. I also blanket at
rides after discussion with my horse--with a portable pen if its set up
full-sized, it's not always necessary, such as in midsummer. After a
winter ride I'll blanket regardless of what they think.
So for wet+cold I use waterproof blankets, one is a Classic Coverups
Storm Cruiser, the other a Kensington Roustabout Jr. The Storm Cruiser
has more insulation, the Roustabout Jr goes down lower on the sides.
They're well fit to the angular, more TB build than some of the
QH/stock brands of blankets out there. Most importantly, both my
adults like them compared to their other blankets (both won as LD BC
awards). Happily, both my adults are the same size (78) so they're
interchangeable. The Roustabout runs one size big. I love the Fastex
buckles on the S.C, makes blanketing really quick.
Has someone invented a gusseted-front-to-back waterproof blanket for
babies, that could be let out in say 6 inch increments? My weanling
has the coat of an Alaskan horse, but it would be nice in wet+cold to
give her some relief. Now I throw Mom in with her, for the big
windblock effect.
Lynne
from where it rains sideways under roofs
On Nov 25, 2004, at 12:07 PM, Alice Yovich wrote:
-- Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for
lunch
Democracy is two
wolves and a
lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb
contesting
the vote!
--Benjamin Franklin
