If your horse is wet, a polar fleece cooler will help pull the moisture away from his coat while keeping him from getting chilled.

© Amy K. Dragoo

Mother Nature equipped our horses with highly effective “clothing” to keep them warm and comfortable in even the coldest, snowiest winter weather. The long hairs of their winter coats stand on end to create an insulating layer of warm air around their bodies. When a layer of snow accumulates on their backs, their coats’ natural oils and thick hair prevent the moisture from reaching the skin.

Horses even have a built-in wicking system: When their coats get wet, their body heat pushes the moisture out ­toward the tips of the hairs where it then evaporates into the air. When the air temperature is below freezing, this moisture may even form icicles on the tips of the hairs—still a comfortable distance from the skin.

For those of us who choose to work with this incredible system rather than replace it with body clipping and blanketing, one of the biggest challenges we face is drying off our horses when they get too wet. Whether your horse is sweaty from a hard ride or “soaked to the bone” by rain, his wet coat temporarily loses its ability to create a warming air space around him. Throwing him into his stall—or, even worse, turning him out—on a brisk, cold day (temperatures below 40 F and/or windy conditions) without drying him off first may cause him to become chilled and burn extra energy trying to keep warm. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours towel drying him or leaving him under fancy heat lamps. The simple wicking technique I’ll share in this article requires very little time and a minimal budget.

Wicking Coolers
The only essential equipment you’ll need is a wool or polar fleece cooler. Both are excellent wicking materials ­designed to create an air space around your horse. His body heat warms up this air space, which then draws the moisture away from his skin to the ­outer surface of the blanket. When you see moisture droplets beading on the outside of your horse’s cooler, that means it’s working.
Heavyweight wool coolers are handy for extremely cold days but, if you’re on a budget, one lightweight one will do the job for most conditions. In my experience, polar fleece doesn’t wick quite as effectively as wool, but it is more durable and easier to work with because it’s machine washable and moth-resistant. Coolers are also now available in various types of high-tech synthetic wicking materials. These work well, too.

Cotton, on the other hand, is not a good wicking material. It holds moisture against your horse’s skin, making him clammy. (If you know any hikers, you may have heard the saying, “Cotton kills.”) So, although Irish-knit coolers have been used on horses for years, and they’re fine for warm, sunny days, I’d avoid putting one on a damp horse in cooler weather.

Here’s how to use your cooler.

Drying a Warm Horse

You know your cooler is working when you see droplets beading on the outside surface.

© Amy K. Dragoo

After a winter day’s ride, your unclipped horse may be damp with sweat even after he has cooled out—that is, his body temperature has returned to normal. The key to helping him dry is to enhance, rather than interfere with, the coat’s natural wicking process I described above—without making him so warm that he begins to sweat again. It’s very common for riders to pile too many blankets on their horses after a workout, thinking that their mounts are cooling off as quickly as they are themselves. But equine body temperatures don’t drop as quickly as humans’ do. A horse’s just-worked muscles can easily heat up again to the point where he “re-sweats” if you cover him with blankets, particularly if he is unfit or his workout was harder than usual.

To prevent this from happening, end your ride with 5 to 10 minutes of walking, either under saddle or by hand, to bring your horse’s breathing and skin temperature back to normal. Watch his nostrils or sides to monitor his breathing and feel his neck and shoulders with a bare hand to check his temperature. There is usually no need for him to wear a cooler while you walk him under saddle; you can add a rump rug or quarter sheet for the last few minutes of your ride if it’s especially windy or cold. (If you cover your horse before his body temperature returns to normal, he may become too warm and break out in a “second sweat.”)

After you’ve cooled him out, dismounted and untacked, give him a quick brushing to “straighten” any hairs that were matted or mussed by sweat and tack, then dress him in your lightweight cooler. Secure it well enough to keep it from shifting as he moves around in his stall. Some coolers come fitted with chest and belly straps for this purpose. More traditional, square coolers need to be closed in the front with a blanket clip—a large metal utility-type clip—and held in place with an elastic surcingle. (Both are available through tack stores and online catalogs.)

If you plan to turn out your horse after your ride, cover the cooler with a lightweight, water-resistant, breathable turnout sheet. This will protect the cooler from rips and tears and help hold it in place. Things tend to slip around more when horses are turned out, so fitted, secured coolers are best in this case. The turnout sheet also will provide some defense against the elements while your horse’s natural “weatherproofing” system is being restored to normal. But it won’t prevent your horse from drying off thoroughly. (On the other hand, if you put on just a turnout sheet without a cooler underneath, you’ll lose that valuable air space above the skin and slow the wicking substantially. I would only recommend doing this with a horse that is just slightly damp in the flank area, for instance.) Some manufacturers now make breathable, water-resistant turnout sheets with mesh linings that create the air space necessary for wicking moisture. These can be used on damp horses without a cooler underneath.

With this clothing secured in place, you can leave your horse to dry off on his own, so long as you’re sure he’s completely cooled down and not overblanketed. (To check this, slip a hand under his cooler to feel his chest and flank areas. They shouldn’t be any warmer than your own skin. The first few times you use the cooler, you may want to check him again after half an hour or so.) Depending on how wet your horse is, it may take him an hour or more to dry off completely after a ride. I

often go back to work after a midday ride, leaving my horse’s cooler on until I get home in the evening. If you ride late in the day and need to turn out your horse for the night, it’s OK to leave a cooler and turnout sheet on overnight. When you do remove his clothing, “fluff” up any matted or flattened hair with a stiff brush to restore its normal texture. (Like wet hair, matted hair loses its ability to trap warm air around the horse’s body.)

Additional Drying Tips
On most days, the process I described above should dry your horse sufficiently. However, if he’s extremely wet, you may want to do a little manual drying before applying a cooler. I’ve had the best success with a household-cleaning product called ­Micro Fiber™ Miracle Cloth. It is made of super-absorbent fabric that holds many times its weight in moisture. You can rub it over your horse’s dampest ­areas, such as the saddle and girth area, ears and flank, wring it out when it’s ­saturated and rub some more.

In rare cases, an extremely wet horse may saturate a cooler with sweat before he’s completely dry. This will slow down the drying process. You’ll know it has happened when the cooler feels wringing wet. Leaving a saturated wool or polar fleece cooler on your horse is still better than exposing his damp body to wind and cold. However, if you have more than one cooler, replacing the saturated cooler with a dry one will speed things up.

Placing handfuls of hay or straw underneath your horse’s cooler or between two coolers can enhance the wicking even further. Not only does the hay or straw absorb some of the moisture, it adds an extra layer of air space around your horse, helping to draw the water droplets to the outer layer of clothing where it can then evaporate. Be sure to put hay in front of your horse as well, so he’s not tempted to reach around and eat what’s under his cooler. It’s usually not a good idea to try this on horses turned out together, as it encourages them to nibble at each other’s coolers.

Drying a Cold Horse
All of the above techniques also work for drying a horse brought in soaking wet from rain. However, if the weather has chilled your horse, too, he won’t have the added benefit of body heat to drive the moisture away from his skin. So to keep him from getting too cold and to speed up the drying process, you may need to use a heavier cooler or an additional blanket layered over the cooler. A little extra ­rubbing with the Magic Cloth will help, too. As your horse dries, be sure to monitor his temperature carefully, feeling his chest and flanks for overheating and watching for shivering that would indicate he’s too cold. In the latter case, you may need to replace the first cooler with a dry one or add more layers to warm him up again.

Dr. Heather Hoyns is an equine veterinarian with her own practice, Evergreen Equine, in West Windsor, Vermont. She also has competed in trail and endurance riding since the late 1970s. Down-to-earth stable management techniques help her make time for conditioning two horses for 50- and 100-mile rides, in addition to working a full-time job.

She explains, “I’m a fan of the KISS principle—Keep It Simple!” Among other recent successes, she and her 14-year-old partner, Just Bill, won the second day of the 2006 Mustang Memorial 50/50-mile ride in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Suburbia is encroaching on your area’s horse properties and riding trails. Or, you’re ready to cede just a little barn-management responsibility to someone

else.

Or, you’d simply like the sense of community found at a local stable or farm. Whatever the reason, you’re ready to board your horse.

Before you seal the deal, be sure to get a boarding contract for legal reasons, and in case of emergency. Get contract savvy by watching for the following provisions:

Release of liability. These days, many stables include a release of liability within their boarding contracts. Boarding stables do this to protect themselves for injuries or losses that may be caused by their negligence or liability. Because releases can be very powerful under the law in most states, what you sign today, when all seems well, might virtually destroy your legal recourse against the stable if things go bad tomorrow.

Realistically, the boarding stable might insist that you sign its release before you can become a boarder there. Negotiating it out of the contract is, very likely, not an option. If you’re convinced that the stable is a good place to board, you’ll probably feel much more comfortable signing the contract.

Emergencies. Should a veterinary emergency arise, you may not be reachable, even via cell phone. Therefore, insist upon a clause in the boarding contract that gives the stable some sort of direction in the event that you can’t be reached in an emergency.

Several options are possible. The one I most prefer, especially when I represent stables, is a complete authorization for the stable to arrange all veterinary care that it deems necessary.

If you have a policy of mortality insurance and major medical insurance on your horse, it’s in the stable’s best interest to know this. These insurance policies require you to give the company (at its designated 1-800 number for emergencies) immediate notice if the insured horse has become injured or ill.

I’ve personally represented insurance companies — and won — in cases where the company wasn’t given proper notice and properly denied the claim, paying nothing, when the horse died.

Who’s responsible for feed and bedding and how much? These are just the beginning of the questions that should be addressed in a good boarding contract.

Photo by Bestsy Lynch

Side charges. What if your horse is a “hard keeper” who requires extra rations of grain and hay just to stay fit? What if you want your horse pastured during the day in a private paddock instead of the stable’s group pasture? What if your horse breaks down the pasture fencing and chews through the wood in his stall?

Check the boarding contract to see if the stable will impose extra charges on you for these and other services, goods, and repairs. Many of the stables I represent will attach a list of side charges in advance. If the stable doesn’t have this list of fees, ask that the contract include specifics of side charges, if any.

Health requirements. You can make sure that the stable sets reasonable health requirements for horses at the stable, especially those newly arriving. For example, stables can require health certificates before a new horse can enter the facility. Most of my clients simply require the owner to promise that the horse is current on immunizations and deworming.

Red Flags
Watch out for contracts that virtually give the stable full ownership of your horse if you fall behind on payments, with no advance notice to you. The fact is, most states have laws addressing this situation, and these laws require the stable to comply with the most basic and fundamental principles — proper notice before depriving someone of his or her personal property. Those laws were designed to be fair.

Contracts that instantaneously give the stable your horse, without enough advance notice to the boarder and fair procedures for a sale, I believe, are trouble. They might also be illegal.

BIO
Julie I. Fershtman is an accomplished equine law practitioner whose practice crosses virtually all equine breeds and disciplines. She’s written more than 150 articles and is the author of two books, Equine Law & Horse Sense and MORE Equine Law & Horse Sense

You can haul your horse all year long, even in the dead of winter, as long as you do so safely. Here, I’ll first tell you how to ready your rig for winter hauling. Then I’ll go over how to help keep your equine friend comfortable when you haul him in winter conditions. Finally, I’ll give you six ways to ease trailer-loading in snow and ice.

(For my on-the-road hauling guidelines, see “Safe Travels,” The Trail Rider, January/February 2013).

Note: You may wish to sign up for USRider Equestrian Motor Plan, which covers both your towing vehicle and your trailer, and will help you find a safe place for your horse, in an emergency. (USRider is a sister company of The Trail Rider and EquiSearch.com.)

Ready Your Rig

Before you set out with your horse in tow, you need to ready your rig for winter conditions. Here’s how.

Apply reflective decals. Apply extra reflective decals on the back and sides of your trailer, so that other drivers can see your rig in poor conditions. One good source for trailer decals is Caution Horses Safety Products.

Invest in good tires. Invest in quality tires for your entire rig. Check tire pressure before every trip; comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Check all lights. Recruit an assistant to help you check all lights on your towing vehicle and trailer. Replace any nonfunctioning lights.

Carry chains. Keep quality chains handy if snow and ice are significant enough to use them. Check your state’s chain requirements. Generally, if you have to chain up the drive axle of your towing vehicle, you should have chains on the trailer as well.

Top off the fuel tank. And don’t let your fuel tank get below a half-tank. If you’ll be driving in remote areas, carry extra fuel.

Top off the windshield-wiper fluid. And make sure the windshield wipers are working. Place a long-handled windshield scraper in your vehicle.

Comply with local brake laws. Every state has its own laws related to trailer brakes. To find out the laws in your state, consult AAA’s website.

Turn off the Jake brake. Engine brakes are wonderful for towing vehicles — they do a fantastic job slowing the rig to minimize brake wear under dry conditions. But a diesel engine’s compression-release engine brake (also referred to by the brand name Jacob’s brake, or Jake brake) can lead to a jackknife if used in slick road conditions, since they slow your towing vehicle first.

Sync the brakes. Make sure the trailer brakes complement the brakes of your towing vehicle. When you’re on a steep downhill in slick conditions, you might need to slow the trailer with brakes greater than your vehicle’s brakes.

Consult the manufacturer’s instructions. Generally, brakes are best set on dry, flat ground at a slow speed and need to be adjusted for the load. Position the electronic brake so you can manually engage it via the thumb control.

Turn off cruise control. If you get into a slide, the precious second or two that it takes to turn off the cruise control may doom your chances of maintaining control.

Weight your towing vehicle. If you’ll be towing an empty trailer, note that it’ll jackknife more easily than a loaded one. For better control, place concrete blocks or bags of sand into the back of your truck to add weight over the rear axle.

Pack cold-weather gear. For the horses, pack extra hay and at least 10 gallons of water (nonfrozen). For you, carry a cell phone with charger, emergency blankets, jackets, high-energy snack foods, and a thermos of hot drink, in case your towing vehicle or trailer breaks down and you need to wait roadside for help.

In-Trailer Equine Comfort

Here’s how to help keep your horse comfortable while hauling him in the winter.

Invest in quality tires for your entire rig. Check tire pressure before every trip; comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Provide good-quality hay. Even in really cold weather, horses create more heat than you think they do. The best way to keep your horse warm in the trailer is to provide good-quality hay.

Watch over-blanketing. It’s easy to over-blanket your horse. Most trailers are poorly ventilated, so they tend to get very warm with body heat, even in below-freezing temperatures. A light sheet or blanket is sufficient for most horses.

Apply leg protection. Apply leg protection, such as polo wraps or shipping boots. In winter, it’s especially important to protect your horse’s precious lower legs from slips and kicks.

Increase ventilation. Humidity and condensation buildup from your horse’s breath can cause respiratory illness. Improve the indirect ventilation in your trailer to counteract this risk.

Avoid drafts. That said, make sure that there are no direct drafts hitting your horse, especially on his face and eyes. Freezing-cold temperatures with wind can result in damaged corneas from frostbite.

Monitor your horse. On the road, check your horse frequently. If there’s sweat under the blanket, he’s cooking inside. If he’s clipped and lacks natural insulation, carefully monitor him for sweat or shivering.

Trailer-Loading Tips

Here are six ways to ease trailer-loading in snow and ice.

Train your horse. Prior preparation and good training are important to make sure your horse is a good loader; if he rushes in or out, he can easily slip.

Wear good boots. Slipping, falling or breaking a limb is really a downer on your planned trip. Find good-quality boots that will keep your feet warm, protect your feet, and provide good traction.

Lay in supplies. Keep sand/shavings/salt and a broom/shovel in the trailer so that if you must load in icy conditions, you can minimize the chance of injury.

Find traction. Park so that the trailer’s ramp is positioned on the best traction you can find. Dirt is preferred, but snow is better than ice or asphalt.

Check the trailer stalls. Check the inside of the trailer. Frozen urine and manure are slippery. A fall inside the trailer can lead to serious injury and even death.

Create an inviting environment. Put fresh hay in the bags and a little grain in the manger. Open the doors and windows, so there’s plenty of light. The more inviting you make the trailer’s interior, the more likely your horse will feel confident enough to step in.

We all keep a close eye on the weather, particularly at this time of year. Blanketing, turnout times and other management choices often depend on when the next front is coming through and what it may bring with it.

So now’s a good time to brush up on the terms the National Weather Service uses to describe impending winter storms:

• An outlook is issued when there is a chance of a storm in the next two to five days. Tune in to your local TV and radio stations or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio online regularly for updates in your area. Some local or county governments send email alerts and text messages about weather conditions to cell phones. Visit your local government websites to register for such alerts.

• An advisory means weather conditions are expected to be hazardous but are not life threatening. When an advisory is issued, keep an eye on the sky and prepare to adapt your plans if necessary.

• When a watch is issued, a storm is expected within 36 to 48 hours, and it’s a good idea to begin preparations to protect your animals and property. This may include stocking up on feed, ensuring the generator is working and moving horses to a secure field with plenty of shelter. Plan ahead so you can provide water if the power goes out---water is the most important element to your horse’s health in any situation.

• A warning means that severe, hazardous conditions are currently happening or are expected in the next 24 hours. By the time a warning is issued, you’ll want to be fully prepared for the event. If not, take immediate action.

We all keep a close eye on the weather, particularly at this time of year. Blanketing, turnout times and other management choices often depend on when the next front is coming through and what it may bring with it.

So now’s a good time to brush up on the terms the National Weather Service uses to describe impending winter storms:

• An outlook is issued when there is a chance of a storm in the next two to five days. Tune in to your local TV and radio stations or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio online regularly for updates in your area. Some local or county governments send email alerts and text messages about weather conditions to cell phones. Visit your local government websites to register for such alerts.

• An advisory means weather conditions are expected to be hazardous but are not life threatening. When an advisory is issued, keep an eye on the sky and prepare to adapt your plans if necessary.

• When a watch is issued, a storm is expected within 36 to 48 hours, and it’s a good idea to begin preparations to protect your animals and property. This may include stocking up on feed, ensuring the generator is working and moving horses to a secure field with plenty of shelter. Plan ahead so you can provide water if the power goes out---water is the most important element to your horse’s health in any situation.

• A warning means that severe, hazardous conditions are currently happening or are expected in the next 24 hours. By the time a warning is issued, you’ll want to be fully prepared for the event. If not, take immediate action.

Rather than tell you any hard and fast rules (since there are none), we’ll give you some guidelines to help you figure out what’s best for your horse and his situation. You might be surprised to find that, in some cases, not blanketing is actually the best decision.

Equine Thermal Energy

We’ll begin by looking at the horse himself. Horses stay warm much better than people do, and they are quite comfortable even when you and I might be reaching for a jacket. In short, you can’t determine a horse’s need for a blanket by how chilly you feel.

The primary way a horse gets or stays warm is by digesting hay. Digestion is really a fermentation process, and one of the by-products is heat. When your horse is facing a cold night, the first consideration is to provide him with plenty of hay to keep that furnace burning. And in order for that digestion process to work well, he needs water. Ideally it won’t be ice cold.

The horse’s bulk is a great help in keeping warmth in. Think of how thick a horse’s body is, relative to the slender frame of a human. Just as a large block of ice takes longer to thaw than a smaller chunk, a large, warm body stays warmer longer than a thin one.

On top of that, a horse’s winter coat has the ability to fluff up, the hair literally standing on end, thereby creating a warm layer of air around the horse. Long “guard” hairs create an additional layer and fend off light rain or snow.

Even though it’s cold out, an average horse in good condition, eating plenty of roughage, and wearing his own hair coat is probably going to stay warm—as long as he can stay dry and isn’t in direct wind.

When to Blanket

The farther you get from the ideal, the more appropriate it is to consider a blanket. Not every horse has a wooly coat. Some breeds of horses have thinner coats, and others have thin coats from blanketing, being under lights, living in a warm climate or barn, or having been clipped. Even within a barn, you may find one horse who doesn’t need a blanket, another who just needs a sheet at night, and another who seems to require a winter parka.

But a fuzzy coat isn’t the only determining factor. Consider whether the horse is underweight, isn’t eating enough roughage, isn’t able to get out of the wind or wet, or has some health concern that compromises his ability to stay warm. Remember, though, when you put a blanket on your horse, you squash that natural insulating layer of air in his coat. In borderline situations, he may actually be more comfortable wearing his natural blanket than your store-bought one.

It’s usually necessary to blanket a body-clipped horse. You can layer blankets, the way you might wear a light sweater under your coat. And for any horse out in wet weather, keeping him dry is key to keeping him warm.

If the horse isn’t body clipped, you have the dual challenge of cooling the horse down after a workout without allowing him to get chilled. You’ll need to put towels or a wool cooler under a light sheet and remove the towel or cooler as it gets damp.

With any horse, you should periodically reach under the blanket to be sure the horse isn’t hot or sweaty, especially a horse who has been worked, because he can appear cool but then get sweaty again once he is back in the stall.

Though horses adapt to changes in climate, they don’t adapt well to rapid changes. So the horse who was fine when left unblanketed last week might benefit from light blanketing tonight as the leading edge of a cold front comes through. Remember that the big worry during weather changes is that the horse may colic, often due to decreased drinking. So while blanketing is important, having not-too-cold water is critical.

Some owners think they’re doing their horses a favor by closing up a barn to keep their horses warm. But they’re also closing in ammonia fumes and allowing moisture to build up. So instead of heating the barn, it’s better to blanket the horses and allow for plenty of ventilation.

It takes calories to stay warm, and some horses need all the calories they can eat. That’s especially true of older horses who have difficulty chewing or holding weight, and of horses who have been through a health or shipping stress. In those cases, blanketing helps conserve energy and boosts their ability to stay warm.

If blanketing is the best option for your horse, try to avoid having him wear the blanket 24/7. Even a little unblanketed turnout time in the sunlight on a winter day will do most horses good—whether to have a good roll or just to give their skin a breather from the blanket.

Blanket Commitments

Once you’ve decided that your horse might benefit from blanketing, you still have plenty of smaller decisions to make. Does he need a light blanket or sheet for daytime and a heavier blanket for night? Will he be turned out, necessitating a waterproof blanket, or does he just need a stable blanket for time indoors? Will he be turned out with other horses who will run and play? If so, he needs a blanket that will survive that.

Or will you turn him out blanketless, but then groom him before re-blanketing? If he rolls in the mud with his blanket, what will he wear while you’re washing the muddy one?

And aside from the cost of buying a blanket or two, there’s the time commitment that goes with blanketing and unblanketing, day after day. Who is going to do that work? If your horse is cold, blanketing may be your best option. But if you have choices, such as whether to body clip him or not, other time and nuisance factors come into play.

There’s the matter of keeping the blanket clean. Depending on the blanket materials, that may mean brushing the underside of it daily—or at least checking it—to remove any hay, hair, or stickers that could potentially rub against your horse’s coat. It may mean washing the blanket, which also means drying it thoroughly before putting it back on your horse. This likely means you’re going to need a second blanket. Don’t forget that it’s inevitable that you’ll have to do some repairs—even if it’s only to reattach a buckle.

Even with a blanket, which will help keep your horse clean, you should groom your horse every day. He’ll get itchy wearing a blanket, just as you would if you wore the same sweater day in and day out.

If your horse is turned out with his blanket, you have to make sure that the fabric doesn’t absorb and hold water when it gets soaked. A wet blanket will get a horse cold very quickly. Read the labels carefully. “Water-resistant” may be fine in a light mist, but you need “waterproof” if your horse is to stay out in the weather. And that means you’ll have to re-weatherproof it after cleaning.

Of course, you’ll have to be sure that the blanket fits well and doesn’t rub your horse’s coat. Even if it seems to fit, keep an eye out for the telltale hairs that seem as though they’ve been shortened, as if newly clipped or roughed up. This often happens over the hips, on the shoulders, or around the neck opening or withers after the horse has been wearing the blanket for a while.

When the hair gets rubbed, the skin will become tender also. For some horses, even a good-fitting blanket will eventually rub, so he may need an undergarment that will allow the blanket to slip along his shoulders more easily.

And even when everything works perfectly, you can still come home to find your horse naked and your blanket investment shredded by a naughty pasture mate.

As in most things, getting by as nature intended is generally your best option. But when blanketing is the right choice, you get to enjoy the warm feeling of knowing you’ve done your best for your buddy.

One of the first things on everyone’s mind when it comes to winter is whether or not their horse is cold. Click here for for our chart and guidelines for blanketing, but much of this topic is common sense. Consider that:

• Very young and very old horses have more trouble regulating their temperatures.
• Horses with little body fat and/or a thin coat have less insulation.
• A horse that is shivering is cold.

OUTSIDE HORSES. Many horses that spend a good bit of their time outside will grow a nice, thick winter coat that serves them well without blanketing. An exception is when they get soaked through to the skin.

If the horse is going to be outside most of the time, you’ll need to have a shelter that protects him from the prevailing winds and from precipitation. Horses with access to a shelter will lose 20 to 30% less body heat than those without protection. You can also keep a blow dryer and several heavy towels stocked for times when they don’t come in out of the rain and cold until it’s too late.

If this is a group situation, pay close attention to the herd dynamics to make sure all horses have access to the shelter. A horse low in the pecking order is both most likely to be chased out and most likely to need the shelter. Equip your shed with hay racks even if you have a separate hay bunker, for times when the weather and/or ground conditions are particularly severe.

It’s important that the shed have good drainage and be accessible for mucking. Sheds should be bedded to encourage horses to lie down. A horse that is lying down loses less body heat. Click here for additional information on respiratory problems, cold hardiness, feeding and winter laminitis.

STABLED HORSES. While you wouldn’t call most barns warm in the winter, compared to living outside, horses in barns are considerably less challenged. The temperatures are at least more consistent and adapting is much easier. And there’s usually no wind-chill factor inside the barn.

However, their coats usually aren’t as full as a horse living outside, and they will be less tolerant of severe weather so don’t be surprised if you need to blanket for turnout or possibly even one while they’re stabled, if the temperature dips down far enough. Allow enough air circulation to avoid extreme differences between in-barn and outside temperatures so that horses can adapt, but remember it’s harder to keep warm if you’re standing still. Blanket as needed.

FEEDING. There are two times when you need to increase the food/calorie intake of horses: 1) When there is a sudden cold snap, and 2) When temperatures are consistently below 5° F.

A variety of formulas are used to determine when the horse needs more feed and how much to give them. However, this can be greatly simplified by feeding hay free choice. The horse will regulate intake according to needs. Hay isn’t a very concentrated calorie source but is the preferred food for winter because the bacterial fermentation of the hay in the horse’s colon generates heat.

ANSWER: Poor blanket fit is certainly one of the most common causes of rubs on the shoulders as well as the withers and the backs of the hind legs. But there are several other possibilities you should rule out before investing in a new blanket.

Belly straps should be snug enough that you can fit just the width of one hand between the strap and your horse’s body to prevent him from getting his feet caught.

First, the rubs could result from a skin condition that is aggravated by the blanket. If you notice hair loss or sores on other places of your horse’s body that aren’t in contact with the blanket, this is a surefire sign. Consult your veterinarian to rule out a skin condition.

Second, your horse may be sweating under his blanket, which causes more friction and irritation. This can result either from using a blanket that’s too heavy for the temperature or from blanketing too soon after exercise. Always monitor the weather carefully when your horse is blanketed, and ­undress him as soon as temperatures rise to a potentially uncomfortable level. Also be sure to cool him out thoroughly before putting on his blanket after a workout.

To check that his blanket fits properly, put it on (always securing the front chest closure first, then working your way back to the belly ­surcingles and leg straps) and evaluate these areas:
1. The edges of the front of the blanket should overlap slightly at the chest. You should not need to pull or tug the blanket against the points of the shoulders to close it.

2. The front edge of the blanket should completely cover the withers and shoulders. It should not gap around the neck or shoulders, as this allows the blanket to slip back behind the withers and potentially get stuck there, putting pressure on both the withers and shoulders.

3. Each belly strap should be snug enough that you can slide only one hand width between it and your horse’s body. This helps to prevent a hoof from ­becoming stuck during play or when your horse lies down.

4. The bottom edge of the blanket should hang a few inches below your horse’s elbow, but it shouldn’t hang so low that extra material bunches up ­between the belly surcingle and his front legs. (This is less of a problem with ­angled belly straps than with vertical ones.)

5. The leg straps should not hang as low as your horse’s hocks. Instead of crossing the leg straps, attach the left strap to the left side of the blanket, then loop the right strap through the left strap before attaching it to the right side of the blanket. This helps keep the blanket in place and reduces contact ­between the straps and legs.

6. The back edge of the blanket should reach your horse’s tail. This will provide protection from bad weather and will also ensure that it doesn’t pull the leg straps—if your blanket has them—forward against the sensitive skin on the backs of his hind legs.

Once you’ve evaluated the blanket fit while your horse is standing still, walk him around and observe how he moves in it. He may change his natural gait (taking mincing steps, for example) if he feels the blanket restricting his movement. You may also notice places where the blanket binds tightly against his body. Even if this is a strictly indoor blanket, it still needs to move freely enough to allow the wide range of ­motion his legs need for lying down and standing up again.

Most of today’s blankets have a ­nylon inner lining, which creates less rubs than more textured materials. If yours doesn’t, stitch a piece of nylon or felt on the inside where it touches his shoulders to reduce friction and rubs.

If your blanket seems to fit well and has a good lining, your horse may just have especially sensitive skin. To protect it, consider buying a nylon undergarment designed to minimize rubs. The slipperiness of the nylon will help the blanket slide more easily over his body. Buy one that’s neck edge lies in front of the blanket’s neck edge, thus preventing overlapping edges, which might chafe along the withers and shoulders.

If you decide to buy a new blanket, take the time to shop around and find one that fits your horse’s particular size and body type. Different brands tend to suit different horse shapes—and sizes vary quite a bit from brand to brand. (I have a horse who has fit in everything from size 80 to 86.) Ask friends to let you try their blankets on your horse to get an idea of what brands work best for him.
I am a big fan of blankets with gussets—extra panels of material that allow more freedom of movement. The higher the gusset begins on the blanket, the more freedom it provides. More turnout blankets seem to have gussets than stable blankets, but the former have such light, breathable materials now that they work fine for indoor use as well.

When shopping for blankets with gussets, you will find that some are placed low and close to the shoulders, and some start higher and farther back, close to the withers. Do some experimenting to determine what works best for your horse.

Some blankets also have a new type of chest closure that wraps around the front of the horse and attaches on the sides. This seems to reduce the incidence of shoulder rubs.

If your horse does develop rubs again, try to stop them before they get out of control. Apply a heavy coat of diaper-rash ointment to the rubs. It will get all over the blanket and require extra cleaning later, but it will help save his skin while you work on solving the problem.

A former groom for several Olympians, Liv Gude is the visionary behind the ­Professional Equine Grooms website (www.proequinegrooms.com), which brings ­professional grooms of all disciplines ­together in a supportive, informative community. The website provides everything from grooming tips to job listings and blogs. It hosts weekly contests for the best tips, tricks and tools submitted by website guests. Liv now works full-time on www.­proequinegrooms.com and enjoys her Grand Prix dressage horse, Miguel, and hunter, Comet. Both horses earn their keep by posing as models for the website.

Senior horses—those in their midteens and older—can continue to live healthy, productive lives if given the special care they need. We asked Barb Crabbe, DVM, Horse&Rider magazine’s consulting veterinarian and author of The Comprehensive Guide to Equine Veterinary Medicine (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.) for her advice. She stressed that older equines need all the same basic care other horses do, including regular vaccinations and deworming, plus routine hoof care. Beyond that, here’s what she recommends you do to keep your senior horse going strong.

Keep him moving.
As with humans, exercise benefits an aging horse in multiple ways, including keeping muscles strong and joints operative (which preserves his ability to rise from the ground after resting). Full-time turnout (with appropriate pasture mates that won’t haze or injure him) is ideal. With under-saddle exercise, keep expectations realistic. A 25-year-old horse is roughly comparable to a 75- to 100-year-old human. And while there are some 80-year-old humans running marathons, many others are already in wheelchairs. So stay aware of your own senior horse’s changing capabilities and energy levels as you continue to ride him.

Mind those teeth.
Tooth problems, common in older horses, can contribute to malnutrition, weight loss, and colic. Periodontal disease is also a hazard as horses age. Schedule once- or twice-a-year checks by an equine dentist or veterinarian, and watch for trouble signs: difficulty chewing, dropping food, a bad smell from the mouth.

Feed with care.
The simplest way to achieve good nutrition for your older horse is by providing a commercial feed specially formulated for senior horses. Feed such pellets in addition to forage (grass or hay); or, if the horse has severe dental problems, use the product as a complete feed, moistening with water as necessary.

Get him vet-checked.
Your vet can watch for conditions and diseases common to older horses, including digestive difficulties, Cushing’s disease, insulin resistance, melanomas, and kidney or liver problems. Schedule vet visits once or, even better, twice a year.

Watch for vulnerabilities.
Older horses have decreased reserves and increased susceptibility to serious infections and colic caused by dehydration or impaction. They’re also more attractive to biting insects, and may be more sensitive to temperature extremes (though you needn’t necessarily blanket your senior horse except in the most extreme cold— see below). Watch for signs of illness, and act promptly; provide adequate pest protection; and make sure your oldster has accessible shelter (where other horses won’t drive him away).

Ease the joint pain.
Work with your vet to address arthritis and other bone/joint difficulties. Joint-health supplements (containing glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM) and judicious use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory bute at your vet’s discretion may be helpful. (Note that the overuse of bute can cause kidney and gastrointestinal problems.)

Groom him.
A daily grooming promotes circulation, helps head off skin problems, and enables you to catch the start of small troubles before they become problematic. Especially during the winter, run your hand over your senior horse’s barrel regularly to check for ribbiness that might not show under a long haircoat.

A word about blankets:
If severe weather dictates that you blanket your older horse, be sure to remove and replace the blanket once a day to check for trouble. In my practice in the Northwest, I see more problems from older horses wearing blankets that never get removed— resulting in injuries and bad blanket rubs or sometimes severe undetected weight loss. Many older horses living in pastures with good shelters and plenty of fiber (the digestion of which helps generate warmth) don’t need blanketing. If you’re in doubt, ask your vet.

When determining whether your horse needs a blanket this winter, you'll need to consider many factors.

©EQUUS Magazine.

Question: My two burros and a mustang, all adopted from the Bureau of Land Management, live at an elevation of 5,600 feet, where winter snow and wind are common. All three have access to run-in sheds and are fed only grass hay and vitamin supplements. They have heavy winter coats and usually aren’t blanketed. I know the animals’ coats “loft” to trap a layer of air that is warmed by the body. When I use a blanket that is wind- and water-repellent but not insulated, are the animals actually colder because the blanket prevents the natural lofting from occurring? When I put my hand under these blankets, there is no warmth. Am I doing my creatures a disservice by using them?

Answer: There is no simple answer as to whether any equid needs blanketing in winter. Just because you might consider it unbearably cold outside does not necessarily mean that your horse or burro does. Remember, horses evolved without our help, and they do develop a natural fur coat.

So blanketing is not always necessary, even in the harshest of winter conditions, but you need to consider several factors to make the best decision for your horse.

• How well is he adapted to the cold? Seasons change gradually in many parts of the United States, so horses have time to adjust to dropping temperatures. However, in some areas abrupt changes occur that don’t allow the horse time to completely adapt. In those conditions, you may need to change blankets daily in response to day-and-night temperature fluctuations during the spring and fall.

• Is he staying dry? Whether from rain or sweat, too much moisture will weigh down a horse’s winter coat, destroying the loft effect you mentioned. When this happens, the horse begins losing heat and is at risk for getting too cold. (Do not, however, put a blanket on a horse with a wet coat. You will only trap the moisture against his skin. Instead, put on a cooler, which will keep him warm while wicking dampness away. Once he is dry, then you can blanket him.)

• Is he clipped? Oddly enough, clipping your horse can prevent chills if you work him routinely in the winter and his coat gets wet with sweat. Studies in beef cattle showed that an animal with a full, dry winter coat can stay comfortable in environmental temperatures as low as 18 degrees Fahrenheit; however, this temperature is only 59 degrees if the animal is wet, has been clipped or has a summer coat. It is likely that these numbers are similar in horses. If your horse/burro is clipped, consider blanketing him when temperatures start dropping into the 50s or lower.

• Does he have trouble maintaining weight? Overweight horses have an extra layer of fat under their skin that adds to their insulation and helps keep them warm; these particular horses might not need blanketing as soon as others in the herd. On the other hand, if a horse is underweight, that extra layer of insulation is not present, so he may be one of the first in the herd to need blanketing. In answer to your specific question, you are right: Wearing blankets and sheets all the time tends to “flatten” the  coat, causing it to lose insulating ability. But to determine whether your animals are better off with or without their winter clothing, I would suggest simply monitoring their condition. As long as they are not shivering, their coats are dry and they are not losing weight, they are probably doing well without the blankets---despite any frozen whiskers or ice balls on the fetlocks you might notice. In fact, horses like your mustang and burros are especially hearty and will probably fare better in winter weather without help than some of the light horse breeds.

Whether a horse is blanketed or not, he needs some kind of shelter from the elements, such as a stall or run-in shed. Horses in a shelter conserve up to 20 percent more body heat than if they are completely exposed to the elements.

Carey Williams, PhD
Equine Extension Specialist
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Winter Care for Older Horses | EQUUS Magazine