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RE: [RC] to blanket or not - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.Kathy, you can also feed your guy some increased protein during the first winter, that'll help keep him warmer until he adjusts to a different climate. It doesn't have to be straight alfalfa, but something approaching 50% alfalfa and 50% quality grass hay will raise core temperature by a degree or two, which makes a lot more difference in maintaining a comfy body temp than you'd think. Introduce the extra alfalfa over a few weeks if he's not already used to alfalfa. Next spring when things warm up and you start conditioning again, switch him back to straight grass and you'll lose the extra furnace-stoking that is a potential burden in the summer, but really handy in the winter. FWIW, when we moved our So Cal clan to northern Colorado when I went to vet school, everybody just had a good windbreak out in their paddock, 50/50 alfalfa/grass from October to April, and were brought into an unheated barn during the very worst storms. They got a winter blanket only once during sub-zero temps, and only the first winter when their hair coats were less than woolley. The second winter, they all grew winter coats like polar bears and didn't need additional protection, and all did just fine. JME. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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