To Blanket or Not to Blanket...

With the sudden appearance of cold weather, the age old question returns "To blanket or not to blanket....?" and the answer is: "It depends"..... nope no easy answers here. Certainly blanketing can help your horse feel a little warmer (and make you feel better knowing they are warmer), but it may retard the growth of a nice winter coat that they will need later in the year. A general rule of thumb is that if you are committed to blanketing for the entire winter during cold weather and also commited to removing the blanket on warmer days, it would be a good idea to start now. For those who plan to ride and/or show during the winter, blanketing will help to keep a shorter haircoat resulting in less sweating, easier cool outs, and a more "show-ready" appearance. However, for those that won't be riding much during the winter or who aren't committed to blanketing all season, it is better not to blanket now. Your horse will be fine without a blanket... and shivering is just way for them to generate body heat. However, they will burn more calories staying warm, so older horses or horses who have difficulty maintaining weight will do better and need less feed if blanketed. For the rest of the healthy horses in good weight, a little extra grass hay on cold nights will warm them from the inside. (Resist the temptation to feed extra grain as this causes more problems than not). So please share with us... Are you a "blanket" or a "no blanket" and why?