How you decide when to blanket—or not blanket—your horse can depend on many factors, including climate, coat length, access to shelter, his individual internal thermostat, health, age, and weight.

Understanding A Horse’s Coat

You’ve probably noticed that blanketing can be a controversial topic.

“Everybody has an opinion, but nobody seemed to have the science to back it up,” says Michelle DeBoer, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin River Falls with a research interest in horse blanketing. She began her research with the goal of improving horse welfare and reducing stress for owners making blanketing decisions.

To understand how to blanket horses, we must understand how their natural coats work. According to DeBoer, a horse’s coat provides warmth using piloerection. Piloerection, which occurs in many kinds of animals, works when the hair stands up on end. When you see your horse’s coat “puff up,” it is actually creating air pockets underneath the hair follicles, which traps warmth.

Weather conditions may impact your horse’s ability to fluff up. For example, a wet coat cannot use piloerection, which creates a risk that your horse can become cold. According to the website for Mid-Rivers Equine Centre in Wentzville, Mo., snow can often be kept at bay by a thick coat. Heat can stay trapped within, resulting in snow simply sitting on top of the coat.

If the snow begins to melt, it may indicate that your horse’s coat is not insulating properly. On the other hand, heavy rain that breaks through the top layer of a horse’s coat and soaks down to the skin poses a risk in cold weather.

“Flattening the Coat”

Many owners are concerned about blanketing because they fear it may damage a horse’s natural coat and insulating ability.

A blanket should not have a significant negative impact on the natural coat’s insulation. According to Fernando Camargo, DVM, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Kentucky and Sarah Coleman, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Council, there is no research that indicates that putting a blanket on a horse will make them colder by flattening their coat.

If you’re concerned that blanketing today means your horse will need to be blanketed more in the future, there is little need for concern, according to DeBoer. It takes approximately five to 12 weeks to see a change in a horse’s coat due to blanketing, and the changes don’t seem to have long-term effects.

In other words, if you decide to blanket one winter, it does not doom you to blanket the same way next year and beyond.

Thermoneutral Zone

At what temperature should you start blanketing? This depends on the individual equine and weather conditions. However, DeBoer states that horses have a “thermoneutral” zone where they don’t use any extra energy to stay warm (or cool).

This temperature varies greatly depending on the horse’s climate. DeBoer says that horses adjusted to colder areas don’t start burning additional calories until it is 5 to 18 degrees Fahrenheit, while horses that are accustomed to warmer regions need to produce extra heat at around 41 degrees Fahrenheit. If wet, horses begin producing extra heat at around 59 degrees.

Similarly, Rutgers University’s Netti R. Liburt, Ph.D., and equine extension specialist Carey Williams, Ph.D., state that 59 degrees Fahrenheit is also the approximate bottom of the thermoneutral zone for a body-clipped horse or one with a summer coat.

Weight and Health

A heavier horse has a bigger insulating layer of fat, which will keep him warmer when the temperatures drop. An underweight horse, on the other hand, may feel colder sooner than other horses in the same weather conditions.

An overweight or healthy weight horse could perhaps stand to burn some of the extra calories it takes to stay warm in cold conditions, while a horse that is underweight, a hard keeper, or in poor health may not be able to spare the same calories.    

Hay Use

A horse’s digestive system creates significant amounts of heat while breaking down fiber in the hindgut, kind of like an internal wood stove, so forage is an important part of keeping a horse warm.

According to DeBoer, this also means that blanketing can help reduce hay use during the winter. In her study on horse’s dry matter intake and condition, she found that “blanketed horses had a reduced hay intake compared to non-blanketed horses.”

If barns and owners are experiencing a winter hay shortage, or don’t have good access to places to put lots of forage in their fields, this may be an option to consider. It also can be important for horses who are stalled overnight, and therefore may go longer periods without forage.

Shivering and Ear Check

Sometimes an owner may worry that they can’t tell if their horse is too cold. DeBoer says that shivering is her No. 1 way to check.

“If a horse is shivering, he is too cold,” she says. “While they can shiver for short periods of time and be OK, if they are required to shiver for a long period of time as a way to stay warm, it can lead to weight loss and health problems for the horse. I most often see shivering when it is wet and windy.”

DeBoer also suggests that a more subjective way of gauging your horse’s temperature is checking the base of his ears.

“This can be an indicator of your horse’s condition, as a cold horse will reduce blood flow to extremities in an attempt to conserve heat by keeping the majority of blood within the core of the animal,” she says.

DeBoer notes, however, that this is not an “end-all, be-all” method.

All of these factors can feel like a lot to consider, so it’s important to observe your horse for yourself. Is his weight dropping, is he shivering, or is he sweating and hot in his blanket? When it rains, does his undercoat remain dry, or is he immediately soaked through?

When you take the time to observe your horse, you will eventually develop an idea of how he reacts to different weather conditions.

“If you choose to blanket, you need to be more vigilant in managing your horse, but if you don’t, you want to make sure he has the resources to stay warm on his own, primarily adequate or extra hay and a shelter,” says DeBoer.

Blanket Away! (Mindfully)

Blankets are useful tools, and you may use them for a variety of reasons. In real-world situations, it may not be possible to constantly micromanage your horse’s warmth. Most unclipped horses that are a healthy weight can manage winter on their own, especially with good shelter access.

Throwing a heavy blanket on a horse and then leaving it on when the temperature rises again could potentially be just as harmful as a horse being cold.

“When we over-blanket, it can trap too much heat underneath the blanket,” says DeBoer. “Besides the obvious concern of making the horse uncomfortable, if he gets so warm he begins to sweat, this can create an environment that fosters skin infections or rain rot.”

When blanketing, always consider when you will next be able to check on your horse and switch his blankets. Consider your resources and time when deciding how to blanket.

Further Reading
◆ Best Horse Blanketing Practices
◆ Feeding Your Horse in the Winter
◆ Winter Horse Care FAQs
◆ Keeping a Horse Blanket Clean

This article about the science behind blanketing horses appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post The Science Behind Blanketing Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Professional equine grooms Cat Hill and Emma Ford believe there are no hard and fast rules about blanketing. The lifelong horsewomen have managed barns and horses for top riders in all disciplines, including Olympians. Together they run World-Class Grooming and share their expertise through clinics and books, including the top-selling equine title World-Class Grooming.

“The biggest rule is that you have to remember that horses are individuals just like people,” says Hill. “There are many horses that grow great coats and are really comfortable being unblanketed in many climates, all the way up to Alaska. But there are also horses that really struggle without being covered in some way.”

How Horses Stay Warm

Horses can weather winter quite well in most situations.

“Horses are well equipped to handle the cold, provided they are able to acclimate and stay dry enough to fluff the hair,” says Karen L. Waite, Ph.D., who serves as coordinator of the Michigan State University (MSU) Horse Management Program in East Lansing, Mich. She is also the director of undergraduate education in the MSU Department of Animal Science. “Horses stay warm in several ways: through the digestion of forages like hay, which produces body heat; by growing a thick winter haircoat, which starts to develop around August or September as day length starts to shorten; and by fluffing up their hair coat as the need arises.”

That “fluff factor” traps warm air against the skin, allowing the horse’s hair coat to provide natural insulation, much like a cozy down comforter. However, if the horse gets wet, that ability diminishes.

“A wet horse in 45-degree weather may be more uncomfortable than a dry horse with a full winter coat would be in sub-zero temperatures,” says Waite.

Additionally, a horse that moves from Florida to Minnesota in the middle of winter may not have a hair coat extensive enough to handle that level of cold.

“Most horses don’t actually need blankets to stay warm if they are allowed to develop a winter coat suitable to conditions,” says Waite. “The exception would be horses without adequate body condition or hair coat development, and occasionally older horses.”

Hill emphasizes the need to keep a close eye on senior horses.

“Just like older people, horses lose the ability to thermoregulate,” she says. “A horse who has lived without a blanket his entire life may suddenly need blanketing to retain condition when he gets into his 20s. He may not necessarily look cold. He may grow a huge, thick, heavy coat. But [some horses] really start to drop weight in the wintertime, and that’s because their body is burning energy to keep them warm.”

Hill recalls the story of an Arabian mare who lived at her family’s farm in upstate New York.

“Until she was in her mid-20s, she’d never worn a blanket and had always been very comfortable, happy, and hardy living out 24/7 with a run-in shed,” she says. “And then she got to a certain age where we really struggled with her weight in the winters. We bought her a heavyweight blanket that we put on her once it was consistently below freezing, and we had another 10 years of happy, healthy life with her. So as your horse ages, you may need to re-evaluate his blanketing needs.”

Why You May Consider Blanketing Your Horse

In addition to the weather and your horse’s age, coat and health status, there are a variety of other factors to consider in your blanketing decision.

An extreme temperature swing may warrant blanketing even for horses that normally go au naturel because they are not acclimated to that level of cold.

“If the horse has a full haircoat and is generally healthy, I would only blanket if temperatures were extreme, and outside the normal ranges for the area, unless he was old or had issues with body condition,” says Waite.

Access to shelter from wind and rain is another deciding factor in a horse’s blanketing needs.

“Rain is one of the hardest things for horses to handle without adequate shelter, because that squishes down the hair,” explains Hill. Even a healthy horse struggles when he can’t get away from the wet, she says.

Standing in wet or muddy conditions can also increase the need for blanketing, says Hill.

“When horses’ legs get wet, they struggle to bring their body temperature back up,” she says. “If a horse is standing out in a muddy field, you may need to put a warm blanket on him. Not just something to protect his back from the rain, but something with insulation as well.”

Horses that have been fully or partially body clipped will require blanketing. Hill and Ford firmly believe that if you have done any sort of partial clip, you still need to blanket. As Hill points out, the reason we clip particular areas such as the neck and chest is because they have underlying large veins, which help to cool the horse.

“When you get a cold wind over those veins, you’re putting a lot of stress on the horse’s body. So even if you just clipped up his neck, you really need to put some sort of protection back over the horse to help keep him at a [warm] base temperature,” says Hill.

Another reason you might want to blanket in winter is cleanliness. There’s nothing wrong with blanketing for the convenience of keeping a horse tidy, say Hill and Ford. If you have limited time and you live in an area where mud is a real issue in the winter, blanketing can make things easier on both you and your horse.

“Your horse is going to have a healthier and happier winter if you blanket him so that you can groom the areas that are exposed, but you’re not having to spend an enormous amount of time getting the mud or dirt out of his coat,” says Hill.

However, blanketing must be managed appropriately, which requires time and commitment. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the weather forecast, consider temperature fluctuations, and blanket accordingly.

“The biggest factor that people need to consider is that blankets need to be checked daily and changed as needed,” notes Waite.

Considering the Denier and Fill of Blankets

Blankets come in a mind-boggling variety. The first step is to select the right blanket type for your horse’s lifestyle. Any blanket that will be worn outdoors must be waterproof; wearing a soggy blanket is uncomfortable and will make your horse cold.

Turnout blankets are waterproof, durable and can be worn inside the barn or out in the elements. Stable blankets are not fully waterproof, and are meant to be worn indoors only.

When it comes to blanket shopping, the technical terminology can get complicated, but to help clarify the basics, Lauren Donohue, assistant merchant and horse clothing product expert with Dover Saddlery headquartered in Littleton, Mass., says to start by understanding what denier, fill and material you need.

“Denier” refers to the toughness of the fabric, while “fill” refers to the weight and warmth a blanket offers, measured in grams (g).

“The highest standard denier we typically see on the market is 1680d, and that’s meant for horses that are really rough on their blanket; the higher the denier, the tougher the outer material is,” says Donohue. “Sheets with 0g fill won’t offer any insulation—it’s just like putting on a raincoat. The more fill a blanket has, the warmer it is.”

Outer material also affects the durability of the blanket, which can be made of polyester, polypropylene, or ballistic nylon.

When building a blanket wardrobe, horse owners should look for versatility that will keep most horses comfortable in most situations. Donohue recommends starting out with a turnout blanket, noting that the two most popular fill weights are 50g (lightweight) and 200g (medium or midweight).

“The 50g can be worn when it’s a little warmer, [such as if] you get a summer rain, and it can be nice for those fall days when a horse might be feeling excited in turnout,” she says. “The 200g can be worn in a lot of scenarios. I keep my horse’s 200g blanket on until deep winter in New England comes around.”

Because a blanket and even a sheet has weight to it, Hill points out that it can flatten the horse’s haircoat. For this reason, she is a fan of using a 150g turnout versus a turnout sheet with no insulation.

“Sometimes it can be counterintuitive that adding a lightweight rain sheet or blanket can actually make a horse colder because they can no longer ‘poof up’ their coat,” she says. “We’re huge fans of the 150g-weights as rain sheets, because the light insulation does a great job of keeping the horse warm and dry and reversing the effects of the flattening of the hair. That really hits the sweet spot for those horses that need just a little bit of blanketing.”

Hill and Donohue both recommend having a neck cover as well. For colder climates, adding a heavyweight blanket (300g-plus) should build a basic wardrobe.

Too Hot, Too Cold, Just Right

Knowing which blanket to put on your horse can be tricky. World-Class Grooming has a blanketing chart (see below) that goes from below 30 degrees Fahrenheit to above 60, for wet or dry conditions, from full body clip to hairy beast and everything in between. Still, it’s important to know your own horse and consider each horse’s needs individually to blanket appropriately.

How do you know if your horse is comfortable in his blanket? Shivering or sweating can be obvious signs that something is amiss. Putting your hand under the blanket can help tell you if a horse is overly warm (if you detect tackiness or sweat). However, a method Hill prefers to assess if a horse is warm enough is to feel his extremities: legs, ears and face.

“If those areas on his skin feel cool, then your horse is cold,” she says. “If the tips of his ears are cold under the hair, he’s cold. The tips of their ears and their legs should feel the same temperature as the rest of the horse if they are properly blanketed.”

If you’re unsure of the appropriate weight blanket for the weather conditions, Waite advises that you may want to err on the side of less, given that overheating and dehydration can also cause significant problems.

Healthy Blanketing for Your Horse

Improper blanketing can lead to a variety of health problems.

If blankets get wet, they need to be removed, as hypothermia or skin infections (such as rain rot) may develop, notes Waite.

“If horses or blankets get wet, that causes more issues than anything else,” she says.

Waite also emphasizes the importance of proper blanket fit, as sores may result from blankets rubbing. A blanket that is too small may result in the horse being unable to move about or rise normally, while a blanket that is too big can also cause injuries if the horse becomes tangled in it.

Because the constant weight of wearing a blanket can cause rubs and pressure points, Hill and Ford like to do what they call a daily reset. They take the blanket off and put it back on to make sure it’s sitting in the right place, while at the same time checking underneath for any sore spots, swelling or rubs.

“The most problematic areas are the withers, points of the hip, and points of the shoulders,” says Ford.

If you’re not careful, it’s possible to cause more harm than good with blankets.

“If you can let the horse grow a full haircoat and shed naturally, that causes the fewest issues in the long run,” says Waite.

If you opt to blanket your horse, she agrees that it’s critical to check underneath blankets daily, and to check body condition regularly. Consistent grooming is also needed to keep horses healthy.

While the main reason for blanketing should be for the horse’s health and wellbeing, Hill acknowledges that it can also be a horsekeeping issue—to keep the horse clean and make grooming and riding easier—and that’s OK if it’s done mindfully.

Safe Blanketing Procedure

Getting your horse properly dressed for winter weather requires some small but important details that are often overlooked.

There’s a correct “order of operations” to putting a blanket on and off safely. According to Cat Hill and Emma Ford, authors of World-Class Grooming, you should always secure a blanket from front to back: first chest straps, then belly straps, and finally leg straps. If there is a neck cover, secure this last.

When removing the blanket, reverse the process: neck cover; leg straps, if any, should be undone and hooked back up while not around the leg; then belly straps; and finally, chest fasteners.

“If the horse spooks or runs forward, you don’t want the belly or leg straps still on while the chest is undone, because the blanket can slide back and cause a panic situation,” says Hill. “A horse can get seriously injured from getting tangled in a blanket that way.”

Remember, too, that you must train a horse to wear a blanket, just like any other piece of equipment. Go slow, says Hill. If you don’t know that a horse has been blanketed before, having a helper halter him and hold the lead rope is beneficial.

One of Ford’s biggest safety concerns is leaving a blanket’s leg straps undone during the blanketing process. She emphasizes that you should always hook them back up so that they’re not dangling down when you’re putting the blanket on or off a horse.

“They basically turn into flying weapons,” she says. “Many of them are on elastic; when you go to put the blanket over the top of the horse they get caught on stuff, the horse can step on them, they can whack into the horse’s legs, and all sorts of things. They should always be connected to both rings, and the only time they come off is when you’re unclipping them and putting them around the leg and hooking them back on.”

Since horses like to itch and rub themselves against things, Hill and Ford warn that any snap on a blanket that is facing away from the horse has the potential to be caught on something. When the blanket is on, it’s important that the “trigger,” or opening part of the snap, should face inward toward the horse.

Best Blanket Fit

Fitting blankets is like buying jeans—every brand has its own fit and shape. Brands that work for some won’t work for others, says Lauren Donohue, assistant merchant and horse clothing product expert with Dover Saddlery. Here is her best advice on fitting a blanket.

The two major measurements to consider are the length and drop of the blanket. Horse blankets are usually sized based on the length of the horse’s side measurement, listed in inches or sometimes centimeters. To measure the length, start with a fabric tape measure from the middle of your horse’s chest. Go across the shoulder to the middle of the tail.

The drop on a blanket is measured from the middle of the spine to the bottom of the blanket (on one side).

“Each brand will have their own drop measurement for the blanket, and this will differ by brand. If your horse is [round and] well-sprung in the ribs, you will want to ensure the drop length of the blanket is sufficient coverage for your horse,” she says.

If your horse is on the line between sizes, Donohue says to consider whether you will be layering underneath the blanket at all, and if your horse is prone to rubs. If the answer is yes to either of these, she recommends sizing up.

It may take some trial and error to find the blanket that fits your horse the best.

“All of these tips for fit are helpful, but my biggest secret is to buy from a retailer with a return policy!” shares Donohue.

Blanketing Horses at Home vs. Boarding Barns

Hill and Ford have worked in barns large and small, with blanketing recommendations for each scenario. Blanketing options vary when it comes to keeping horses at home or at boarding barns, and for the policies a boarding barn may offer.

For people who care for their own horses and are not blanket-changing multiple times throughout the day, they recommend one of the interchangeable blanketing systems as a good cost-effective option. These typically include a waterproof outer layer with liners that clip in. The liners are usually less expensive than a blanket, and you can swap them out to keep them clean and dry.

“A clean blanket is really important to keep a horse warm, because if the polyfill absorbs oil from the horse’s coat and packs down, it no longer has air pockets and is no longer is warm,” explains Hill. “I always talk about ‘clean underpants’—we like to keep a sheet on the horse next to the skin. I keep two cheap cotton sheets that I can wash easily because then I don’t have to wash my big, heavy blankets as often.”

If barn staff are the ones blanketing and unblanketing your horse, it’s important to be considerate.

“If you keep your horse at a large boarding barn where somebody other than you is in charge of changing 20 horse blankets in a day, the blanketing systems are a pain for them because they have to take the whole thing off, change the layers, and put it back on,” says Ford.

In that situation, she recommends having a lightweight (100g or 150g fill weight), a medium, and a heavy because you can layer between those three. The barn worker can put these on or off as needed, and they can go in whatever order.

“At the end of the day, what is most convenient for the staff is going to mean your horse is blanketed appropriately if you’re not the one in charge of it,” says Ford. Ask them what they prefer and works best for them.

Key Takeaway

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to blanketing, understanding your horse’s individual needs is key. Blanketing can be beneficial, but it certainly requires attention to detail. By following these best practices, blanketing can be a useful tool to help your horse thrive during the winter months.

This article about horse blanketing practices appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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We worry about our horses being too hot or too cold or exposed to sudden weather fluctuations. We stand in stores reading fly spray labels to determine which might work best and fret about whether a rain sheet, mid-weight, or heavy turnout rug is necessary, only to then worry about our horse sweating or shivering under it if we pick the wrong one.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that our overworked minds might miss something. Problems pop up like pasture weeds. Here are 10 potentially problematic horse care mistakes to keep on your radar.

1. Over-Blanketing

Opinions about blanketing horses are as fraught with emotion as those about keeping newborn babies warm. Is the baby cold? Too warm? Is the blanket too tight, too loose? When should it be removed? The decision to blanket depends primarily upon weather conditions, temperature, available shelter, and your horse’s hair coat.

If your horse lives outdoors and wears a turnout rug, it should be removed daily for grooming while his skin is checked for rubs and his overall body condition is noted. Clipped horses have their natural protection removed, and need heavier blankets than horses with natural coats. Rain sheets and mid-weights are often enough for unclipped horses, while heavy rugs and neck covers are usually needed if the horse is clipped, thin, or used to a warmer climate.

Many healthy animals with a natural coat don’t need blanketing in winter as long as they have access to shelter from wind and precipitation. Blankets should always be removed if your horse is sweating underneath. It’s easier and far worse for a horse to overheat than be uncomfortable from cold or breezy weather, so err on the side of under-blanketing instead of over-blanketing.

2. Moldy Hay

Buying hay is always a challenge and has become more so in the last decade. Small square bales have given way to large ones, and round bales are practically impossible to assess for quality.

Drought conditions have made the supply smaller, with farmers baling fewer cuttings every year. Prices are high, requiring long searches for good hay in a tough market. Too often, when hay prices get high, horse owners are tempted to lower their standards and feed bales they would typically reject. This is risky, since bad hay causes respiratory problems and can be fatal if it is contaminated with blister beetles or toxic plants.

Never mistake tight, heavy bales or a green tint for quality, as weight can indicate that the hay was baled damp and the green color can be sprayed on like a faux lawn. There’s no substitute for your eyes and nose.

Learn what good hay looks and smells like and always inspect a few bales before you purchase. Even if you board your horse, always keep a close eye on what he is eating and insist on quality hay.

3. Dusty Bedding

Dusty bedding, hay, and arena footing can trigger equine asthma, a respiratory disease that is much harder to treat than to prevent. When buying pine shavings, check the wrapper to make sure you are buying the dust-free option. The cheaper products can become very expensive if your horse ends up with a persistent cough.

Shredded newspaper is the lowest-dust bedding available, although it may not be feasible to find in all areas. Straw bedding is the highest in dust.

4. Cluttered Barn Aisles

Your barn aisle is ground zero for your horse activities. It should be de-cluttered periodically and assessed for safety.

A horse may have gone in and out of his stall without incident for years, but it only takes one mistake for a door handle to slice his flank enough to require stitches. Protruding tack hooks and slippery footing are other avoidable accidents waiting to happen.

Cross-ties should always have breakaway hardware fastened closest to the wall so if you need to unfasten it in an emergency, you aren’t as close to a panicking horse. A loop of baling twine between the hardware and the wall hook is another breakaway point that will hold everyday forces but gives in case of a panicked pull-back.

Another potential hazard is the placement of feed containers in the aisle in front of stalls. Many horses are escape artists, and nothing tempts them like available food they know is just inches away.

5. No Pre-Purchase Vet Check

Both experienced and novice horse buyers often skip a pre-purchase exam for a variety of reasons: cost, inconvenience of scheduling, not knowing a local veterinarian where the horse is located, and believing they have the skills to detect conformation flaws or signs of looming disease.

A pre-purchase exam is not a health guarantee because the vet is only examining what exists the day of the exam, but any major issues will be a red flag to a professional who treats horses on a regular basis.

Laminitis has a lingering imprint in the ridges on a horse’s hooves; a heart murmur declares its presence through a stethoscope; and lameness is often subtle and difficult to detect—all are best assessed by a veterinarian. The fee for this service is tiny compared to owning a horse that you can’t sell in good fait.

6. Contracts for Horse Sales or Lease Agreements

The era of closing a horse sale with a handshake is long gone, yet many purchase agreements today have an abysmal paper trail. We live in a world that requires documentation as protection against lawsuits and disputes between parties who can’t remember the details of the original transaction.

7. Failing to Pre-Check Your Trailer

You’ve probably been there before: You’re in such a hurry to get on the road to the horse show or late for that trail ride that you skip the checklist of pre-departure truck, hitch and trailer inspections before starting the engine.

Owning a new trailer does not preclude a safety check on door and window latches, air vents, butt bars (if you have them), tire inflation, trailer lights, hitch connections, and electric wiring. Trailer windows should be open (with grills closed) based on weather and predicted inside temperature once underway. Most of the time, the temperature inside the trailer is much hotter than outside.

8. Buying and Keeping an Unsuitable Horse

Far too many people fall in love with a horse at first sight (or photo), throw caution to the wind and buy it, only to soon discover he’s not suited to their skills or needs. Disappointed new owners may resist selling because they are already emotionally committed. This situation typically ends with the horse as a pasture pet or the owner hiring a costly trainer to fix what usually can’t be fixed—an unhappy owner paired with an unsuitable horse.

Buy a horse for what you want to do with him, not because he’s a fashionable breed or has a flashy coat. Buyers should remember the adage, “A good horse is never a bad color.”

9. Trying New Things While Your Horse is Distracted

Don’t set yourself up for failure by ignoring obvious warning signs when teaching your horse something new. Cold, windy weather is not the best time to introduce sidepassing or trail riding. Impending storms often usher in erratic behavior in horses and cause problems under saddle.

Avoid trying to train when the arena is filled with distractions like jumping ponies and galloping reiners. Your horse learns better when he can focus. Likewise, don’t expect concentration when it’s feeding time and all of the other horses are happily digging into their meal.

10. Spoiling Your Horse

Horses are like children in that they will take advantage of weak leadership, and they occasionally need correction. Failing to assert yourself as the leader of your “herd of two” usually ends in disappointment, if not injury.

If you can’t assert yourself enough to do this, your horse will step right into the role. Watch two horses turned out together and you’ll see they settle who is in charge within minutes, and every breach of that agreement will be challenged. Horse owners should never fall for the myth that horses love those who placate and spoil them. Horses respect clear leadership, not pushover love.

Every horse owner has made one of these mistakes in horse care and horsemanship, and probably asked themselves later why they didn’t listen to their inner voice telling them another day would be better to try something new. There is no need to learn a lesson the hard way!

This article about common horse care mistakes appeared in the November/December 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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“One of the best things owners can do both for maintaining their turnouts and their horses’ coats and manes is regularly removing blankets and practicing good grooming,” says Clare Silke, product innovation manager for Horseware Ireland. However, taking additional steps to maintain the interior of your horse’s clothing and blanket and keep them clean can, in turn, help keep your horse clean. Follow Silke’s advice below for a shiny, happy horse all winter long.

Silke recommends regularly wiping down the lining of blankets and hoods using warm water and a mild or non-biological detergent to remove grease and particle buildup. Once the lining is dirt free, she applies coat polish spray to these areas, creating a glossy film along the surface to help to repel dirt. This also allows the lining to move freely with the horse.

If static is a problem, a clever way to help prevent static buildup is to rub down the inside of your blankets with a dryer sheet to help remove any static clinging to the fabric.

Keeping your horse’s mane clean is a great way to prevent rubbing, says Silke. In addition to regular grooming, she likes to use mane and tail sprays to keep the mane glossy and smooth. If weather permits, she suggests a hot towel rinse along the crest to help reduce dandruff or skin particles transferring to the blanket’s interior.

“If this grooming and cleaning is done regularly while your horse is blanketed, you’ll achieve the best possible results,” says Silke.

This article about cleaning horse blankets appeared in the January/February 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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We’re so confident in the toughness of our SmartPak™ Ultimate Turnout Blanket (#20621, starting at $199.99) for your horse that we’ve backed it with a 10-Year Indestructible Guarantee. This turnout blanket including its guarantee has you and your horse covered—no matter what!

Thumbs down: Buying yet another blanket

There’s nothing worse than discovering that your horse has destroyed yet another pricey turnout blanket. Instead of buying a new blanket every time, choose one with a high denier that’s backed by a guarantee.

Further Reading

• The Ultimate Guide for Blanketing and Clipping
• Horse Blanketing at a Glance
• Horse Blanketing Guide
• The Near Side: I’m Probably Going to Keep Blanketing My Horse
• Horse Health in Winter: Blanketing
• Winter Survival Guide: How to Get Your Horse Through Winter
• How Cold is Too Cold to Ride Horses?

The post December 2018 SmartTip of the Month Presented by SmartPak: Blanketing Your Horse with SmartPak Ultimate Turnout Blanket appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.