ridecamp@endurance.net: Winter Blanketing

Winter Blanketing

Megan Capon (capon@eburg.com)
Wed, 1 Oct 1997 07:25:47 -0700

Lauren- When I was working on the ranch, there simply weren't blankets =
for everyone so they got pretty shaggy. We also never shaved them, as we =
wanted them to retain as much hair as possible to protect them from the =
cold.=20

IMO, you can work your horse just as hard in a full coat if you are =
conscious of the overheating factor on unseasonably warm days, and make =
SURE that you allocate plenty of extra time to make sure they are =
completely dry before turning them out. We always walked home to cool =
them out anywise, but we had heavy blankets to throw over them until =
they were dry. This can take a while (as in an hour), so we tied them up =
where we could keep an eye on them out the window while we got thawed =
out. You can speed up drying the coat by brushing wet spots on one =
portion of the animal while leaving the rest covered.

Of course, tacking up will take longer as well, as they insist on =
rolling in a mud hole with all that long hair!

Megan

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