While riding and horses generally slow down in the chilly late fall and early spring months, taking care of a horse’s health is equally crucial. In general, blankets shield horses from a variety of weather and climate situations. Ensuring optimal fit, protection, and comfort for your equine companion is crucial for their mental well-being. The right blanket will help maintain the health of your horse and regulate its body temperature.
In cold weather, there are benefits to having your horse covered with a fleece horse blanket. If you are inflexibly against blanketing your horse, that’s acceptable, too. But you can read on to find out more about the benefits of having your horse wear a blanket in the wintertime.
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It keeps them warm.
Yes, this is obvious. You can keep your horse warm with a blanket. If you cover him with a thick blanket, like one that has 300 grams of fill, he may overheat as well. It’s a balancing act to determine how thick of a blanket your horse would need.
The right blanket on your horse at the right time will keep him warm and prevent him from expending all of his energy trying to stay warm in the coldest temperatures.
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It keeps them dry.
This matters more than the heating component. If he’s wet, your horse will get cold. So long as you can keep him dry, he’ll stay warmer.
Most horse owners choose to blanket their horses when it’s cold. Here, keeping them dry is the main objective. As long as he can stay dry, a horse can usually stay warm. But if he gets wet and doesn’t have a barrier made of sebum to keep him warm, he’ll get cold.
At this point, the waterproof nature of horse blankets becomes useful. If the horse fly sheets is waterproof, your horse won’t get wet. Without waterproofing, the blanket will get heavier as it absorbs water. Therefore, make sure that you get a high-quality, waterproof horse blanket. If you can keep your horse dry during cold weather, you’ll have an advantage over half the battle in keeping him comfortable.
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To keep the equine clean
This is one of the primary benefits of blanketing your horse: he will stay clean, particularly if he turns into a fluffy monster in the winter. Wintertime is a bad time to bathe a horse because it’s so chilly outside! The horse doesn’t get a bath; therefore, he gets dirty from rolling and resting down.
Keeping a blanket on him keeps him tidy, which makes riding faster and easier. But make sure the appropriate blanket is always on him. You should take off the blanket when the temperature surpasses fifty degrees.
Final Thoughts
The decision to cover your horse with a pony blanket throughout the winter is entirely yours. Furthermore, most horses don’t mind using a blanket or not. However, be sure that your decision is in the best interests of the horse. Avoid having to decide whether or not to blanket. Before you begin, do your homework and create a plan. There are benefits to blanketing, but it’s important to assess if it’s the right decision for your horse.
