Should I blanket Champ???

The only time my horses are blanketed is in the trailer (just a habit I've gotten into, not too sure why.) and the occasional time when I have them in the cow barn paddock, since my uncle likes to lock them out of the barn and leave them standing with no shelter whatsoever.
I ride occasionally during winter, and all I do is rub them down with a towel if they get real sweaty and brush their fur the opposite way, to help it dry. It takes a little longer, but I don't have to worry about them getting caught up with a blanket.

Hello, I am so confused I have a winter blanket its older but quite breathable and a little rain sheet for yucky days. Maybe I should or maybe I shouldn't.???

Tasia

depends on if there are ppl there to check ur horse or if u go every day to the barn- if so i would def blanket--- its easy for me coz my horses are at home i see them 2-3 times a day or more--- so while ur horse has a winter coat i would just put on the rainsheet... then next winter if u get on top of it earlier he could have a medium or heavy on and hi coat will stay shorter - thus making it easier for u to groom/ ride etc

Our vet had a great cheat sheet for blanketing. Wish I still had it. Maybe yours does. To make it simple: A rain sheet if the temps are over 30 degrees, a lightweight blanket 20-30 degrees and the heavy weight blanket under 20 degrees. However, every horse is an individual and you can start with that but check your horse at the warmest part of the day. If your horse feels too warm or any sweat then you have blanketed too heavy. If in doubt go for the lighter weight blanket. Since I let my horses grow some winter coat they still have only rain sheets on. They are happy and the temps are 20- 30 here right now. I make sure they have plenty of grass hay to munch on at night when it gets the coldest though. You will know if your horse is too cold because he will shiver or look all hunched up and miserable, then blanket heavier at that temperature. My husband is not a big fan of blanketing the horses because it is not "natural" and they are range animals meant to be out in the weather. But, lets face it, they are no longer wild, being the over bred Quarter Horses they are, and they do not live in a natural environment. He is a fan of how clean they stay and easy to cool out. I check the weather forecast every day to give me an idea if I might need to switch out their blankets. You need to remember that you will have to launder the blankets with special water proofing detergent and then re-spray them with a can of Camp Dry (from Walmart) to keep up the water proof quality. Nothing worse than a blanket that leaks and holds the wet against a horses body! So, blanketing makes your life more pleasant if you ride often in the winter but it is an extra expense and you must manage it correctly. Not hard at all once you get accustomed to the habit of it though. Also, once you start blanketing you must stick with it through the winter.

I would just like to comment, because I feel that you can go one of two ways.
Horses have a natural defense against cold - their coat. In order for it to work properly, it has to be able to stand up and not get matted down. The heat gets trapped by the big wooly coat, and stays closer to the skin. My understanding is that you kind of want to go one of two ways with colder weather:
1) Leave the horse unblanketed, and let the horse's coat ward off the cold. In this instance you do want to groom the horse on a regular basis (I'm not talking everyday) to keep the hair fluffy so it has maximum heat retention.
2) Blanket the horse with insulated blankets according to the weather. So you have on hand at least a mid-weight and heavy-weight blanket, and possible a light-weight, and you put these blankets on according to their temperature rating.
If your horse has a winter coat, you will be hindering the natural heat properties if you squash it down, even with a rainsheet. Rain sheets have their place, absolutely, but when you're talking about cold temperatures, you kind of want to go one way or the other with blanketing - you either want to leave the horse be, or blanket fairly heavily. A rainsheet will squash the hair down, so the horse's natural defenses (its fluffy hair) are pushed down, but the sheet itself offers very little warmth, so you're kind of defeating the point.
Does that make sense? I have this question all the time at my tack store, I hope I've explained myself well.. I haven't had my coffee this morning!!

Correct, the hair fluffs and insulates. But my chunky Quarter Horses seem to hold their heat even with just a rain sheet and flattened hair until the temps really drop. Put anything thicker on and they sweat. The rain sheet does cut the wind and keeps the hair coat from getting saturated with steady rain. The thin skinned Thoroughbred at our barn is another story, he needs insulation in his blanket already. So you have to watch your individual horse and have different weights of blankets if you are going that route is what I am saying.

Yes, that's very true Juniper. I guess what I was trying to get at is that putting a rainsheet (with no insulation) on a horse in very cold temperatures can make a horse colder rather than helping. Experimenting is the best way to figure out what works best.

Yes, absolutely, I agree.

Hi everyone thank you for your help but I have decided not to blanket due to time issues... So I decided to try a small hand vac.

Just be sure that his hair is not matted down and he is completely dry when you turn him out and he should be ok.