I live in SC, near the mountains, where the climate is pretty mild. We experience only a couple of months of "real winter". My horses stay out in the pasture 24/7 with the exception of feeding time. They grow out big furry coats and they have never seemed uncomfortable in the past (last winter).
I had to move my mares to a new boarding facility after my friends farm was sold. It is a beautiful facility and they take great care of my horses. The only problem is that the pastures does not contain run in sheds, shelters or even trees for a little cover. Last winter, when my horses were kept at my friend's farm, they didn't have shelters either, but they had about 15 acres of forest they could run into for relief from the wind and rain.
It rained all day yesterday. Today it is still raining and a cold front has moved in. It is 40 degrees today and will be 33 degrees tonight. I have been grooming my girls everyday (up until yesterday) and they have begun to grow heavier coats, because it has been getting into the 30's and 40's at night. I am concerned that they are not ready for the cold mixed with rain with no where to go for relief.
I have been told that I shouldn't blanket them, b/c it will stop them from growing the heavy coats they will need for winter pasture life.
Am I being uptight about this? I know they are animals that are adaptable to these types of conditions, but in the wild they can at least try to stand under a tree.
What do you think?
***Please note that I am looking for responses that will make me feel better and not freak me out. :wink:
You don't have access to stalls when the weather's cold and wet?
I don't blanket my horses, even my 'delicate' TB, and the only time they're in during the winter is when it's cold and raining. Cold and snowing, they stay out. Cold and dry, they stay out. Warm and dry, they stay out. Raining and warm, they stay out.
They can get cold if they get soaking wet, so unless you have a way to get them out of a cold rain, you probably need to buy them at least waterproof sheets. They don't necessarily need blankets, just some way to keep their coats dry.
I would be concerned that they have no shelter. Do they have hills or anything for a wind break? On a colder day more hay would help keep them warm.
I also wouldn't groom every day. Their coat fluffs up and adds insulation and grooming makes the hair flatter and less insulation. I also wouldn't blanket as I would rather they have a good coat for protection
OMG! Thank you everyone for telling me not to groom everyday. I had no idea that this wasn't a benefit!!! Uhg. I was under the impression that grooming them everyday would keep their coat healthy, which would benefit them during the ultra cold times. I will put the brushes down!
To answer speedracer's question...They do currently have 3 stalls available, but I cannot afford what they charge for using them.
Cherumbeque...Yes there is 1 a hill. It is small, but wide, so hopefully it does the trick.
I don't know if my horses are soaking wet...it is still raining. Wouldn't they eventually get soaking wet with no cover?
What is their access to hay like? Do they have unlimited hay?
Have you noticed them acting cold when you are there?
With plenty of long stem fuel to keep their guts moving which keeps their body warm I am guessing they will do fine.
MFM will stand out in a winter rain storm (when it is in the low 30s and the falling rain is making ice every where) when she has access to a stall and shelter.
I'm in the Greenville area of SC; so about the same weather as you. My girls are out 24/7 in all weather - in fact they are out there as I type this (and it's a wet, drizzly, cold day). They have the choice of going into the barn but simply don't.
Your horse will be fine. Bonnie had a little shiver this morning since her coat isn't as heavy as the others, but she warned up and she'll be OK.
Well, they aren't freezing. The trees didn't help them much during the winter, especially from the rain, they were probably in a low lying area that provided shelter from the wind. I wouldn't worry too much since they have always been out. Here it gets down in the teens and sometimes lower and I've had horses out in the elements without cover, they did fine with plenty of round bales to provide a wind break and forage without having to move around and graze. It wasn't ideal, but it's what they had at the time.
Now, how old are your horses? If they are older I would insist on a rain sheet, it gets hard for the older guys to keep up their BT and stay healthy in rain. It's not ideal for any horse to maintain weight and condition in the cooler temps combined with being wet but it's especially hard on them.
You could talk with the facility owners and maybe do an exchange/partial exchange. Build a shelter in leu of board for a few months. An average horse shelter around here runs around $2,500 or less if you do it yourself.
Don't groom? I think a clean horse is a warm horse. Yes it flattens the hair but being clean also allows the hair to pop right back up again. Dirt & crud will flatten the hairs down & keep them down therefore not allowing the air pockets to form. Clean also helps avoid rain rot.
Yeah, I'd say the no-grooming thing is a myth. Also a myth is that blanketing a horse will prevent them from growing a coat: it's based on daylight, not body warmth.
In cold, rainy weather....they won't die, but they'll sure be uncomfortable without good shelter or a waterproof blanket.
Daylight hours tell the body that winter is coming and it is time to grow a winter coat.
Climate tells the horse who much winter coat to grow.
My old man used to be well blanketed when I showed all winter. Layers that started as soon as it got even slightly long sleeve weather. He would shed his summer coat and grow a winter coat but his winter coat was never thick or long. Shiny and short. Perfect. Same climate and he does not get blanketed anymore. He now grows a thick winter coat.
If it was just day light hours then all those horses down in Florida would have big thick winter coats just like the horses up north.
There don't appear to be many studies with control blanketed versus nonblanketed horses, but the little I have read suggests that the unblanketed ones have a coat that "appears" thicker simply because it's not compressed by the blanket itself. I know mine look very slick when their blankets are first taken off, but after a day or too, they're back to looking like wooly bears.
There don't appear to be many studies with control blanketed versus nonblanketed horses, but the little I have read suggests that the unblanketed ones have a coat that "appears" thicker simply because it's not compressed by the blanket itself. I know mine look very slick when their blankets are first taken off, but after a day or too, they're back to looking like wooly bears.
That would make sense if during the winter my horse truly had thickness to his winter coat before and it only looked flat. It was something the kid who leased commented on frequently how nice it was to ride a horse who did not get all sweaty and take forever to cool out. He did not have a thick winter coat at all. He was cold with out his clothes. With the coat he has now he would for sure get sweaty and take forever to dry and cool out.
I can feel the difference in his coat. Even laying down (when he has his rain sheet on) I can bury my hand into the depth of coat. When he was blanketed there was nothing there.
There is a pretty large contingency of people who show all winter around here. Yes some have to clip but many do not, just by blanketing well.
And yes, I realize the days are slightly longer down south. Not longer enough to justify wooly mammoth vs sleek and hairless. I have heard about and read some of those studies. I do not disagree that day length is totally what makes the coat grow or not grow. Volume of growth is clearly dependent on need though. (Excluding medical conditions that affect hair growth.)
On the not grooming note. I am guessing MLS means that if your horse is outside and will be outside and it is cold and wet you should not be grooming them then. You do not want to risk disturbing their bodies system of insulation and protection at that point. Sure, if you are bringing them in and they will dry groom away.
My horses are rugged/blanketed through winter for the same reason - they have no shelter. I know lots of horses will choose not to use shelter, but mine don't have a choice. Therefore I rug to keep them dry.
I'm with bubba - my horses are rugged through winter and they still grow their winter coats. If I take their rugs of on a cold day they fluff right up. The rugs only keep the hair smooth and flat. Posted via Mobile Device
My mare and gelding are both out 24/7 with free access to a big run in and lots o' trees. They both grow nice and woolly coats for the winter.
However, my mare is a mud ***** (if I may say it like this). 2 minutes after a thorough grooming, she is covered again. Clearly this takes away the fluffy insulating qualities of her woolly coat. But...does the mud act as an insulator?
I am just wondering if I should buy her a rain sheet or something to keep her from grinding the mud in as it is nigh on impossible to keep up with. But then will that rain sheet take away from her natural insulation?
She hasn't shown any signs of being cold, but it is pretty warm here in NE NJ at the moment. She does get plenty of hay morning and evening.
So I'm not sure if I should just leave well enough alone, groom her more often or get her a 'jacket'.
I hope I haven't hijacked this thread but it did seem to be a good time to ask this question given the discussion on grooming in winter and blanketing.
We groom him because when the mud dries, the hair becomes hard and stiff.....which, in my own sense of logic, would mean that his ability to "fluff up", [or if u know it better by it's technical term - piloerection ] is compromised...because dried mud produces hard clumps of hair. I.E> his hair cannot then stand up or fluff out(thereby trapping his body heat), and his ability to stay warm is compromised.
So, plainly said: I believe a horse covered in dry mud cannot keep himself warm as well as one who isnt because the hair is stiff and hard and cannot fluff up and trap his body heat next to his skin.
Well since there is a over abundance of it & I highly doubt you could brush enough of it off, there is a thing called scurf on the horse, a waxy gray coating that essentially waterproofs the horse. I read about this years ago in Horse & Rider magazine, never knew what that was called until I read about it, always thought it was gray horse dandruff. Anyways, the article said to be careful about brushing this stuff off the horse, but you'd have to be brushing like a mad person everyday to make a dent in it. Only way I found to remove this scurf is to bathe the horse. It will even coat your hands & nails when you rub them on the horse's coat. This is for outdoor living, non-purse dog horses, I dunno about stabled pansies.
Having lived in the north, and now in the south, I will say that in my personal experience, the days down here are MUCH significantly longer! It is fantastic and I love it! It's plenty enough to result in southern horses growing less coat than the same horse up north.
Even given that though, my boy has a waterproof turnout blanket coming in the mail. It's not too cold here really, but it does get windy and wet and so far even with no blanket ever, my boy doesn't have a winter coat at all get. While a DRY horse likely stays plenty warm even in sub-freezing weather with a steady hay supply, once they get all wet, that's out the window. I also think it's poppycock not to groom a horse during winter. Though, by 'groom' I mostly mean 'get as much of the gross muddy chunks out as I have the patience for that day.'
My horse doesn't have a run in in his pen ): I just got him a light blanket with NO fill in it. I only put it on him when it's raining, like the situation you described. Another thing you could do, is give them extra hay. Hay keeps them warm, as does a blanket. Even though his doesn't have any fill, it keeps the rain off, so it keeps him warm. Don't freak out, horses were built for cold climates!
SOME horses were built for cold climates. I doubt you could sell that line to my OTTB. He's a hothouse flower, stall pansie, whatever else you can think of to describe a horse that loves being outside ONLY when the weather is to his liking.....unfortunately, he doesn't like much. He won't stay out if the flies are bad, if it's hot and sunny, if it's raining, if it's snowing OR if it's windy. He will stand by the barn door and wait for someone to come bring him in. He hates rain most of all....
He was free to go outside at any time in this video, the barn door was wide open with no aisle guard, AND the gate at the bottom of the paddock hill was open to the green, grassy pasture......but it was raining.....so he refused to step foot outside of the barn.
I don't know WHAT he was "built for", but it sure wasn't flies, cold, hot sun, wind, rain or snow.......:lol:
I would ask the people if you can use the stalls if you bought shavings, and did all the work yourself. Its worth a shot, no way would my horse not have a shelter of some sort
Grooming the winter coat can remove the waxy dander that helps protect the skin from getting wet. A light grooming is good. Rain, with a cold wind can chill a horse. Even a two sided shelter without a roof will break the wind.
My girl does prefer to be outside even in rain and snow. Only in the depths of winter when there are sub-freezing temps for consecutive weeks will the mud not be an issue.
She does get plenty of hay...I'll just have to step up the frequency of brushing the mud off until it's no longer an issue and keep an eye on her to make sure she's not cold.
Beauseant I wouldn't leave your barn either! It's lovely!
I'd look into one of those $675 aluminum carports, if you have a couple horses blankets would cost almost as much. Around here it's 65 one day, 20 and freezing rain the next so it's hard to keep a blanket or rain sheet on for the appropriate temp. You could have the hay bales set up next to it to provide a wind break. They'd also like it in the summer for needed shade.
I'd really only worry about them if they get to shivering, that's when you know they are really cold and too wet. I have a QH mare that does not put on a coat and the fatty will be out in the icy rain grazing when the other woolies are in the barn! It just all depends on the horse.
Flygap, you are so right....it depends on the horse. Our big, fat, Belgian mare doesn't care at all about the rain...and she adores snow....she DOES hate the flies, and she can't take the hot sun ..probably due to her weight and her hairyness....but otherwise she would prefer to be out.
So, we have one horse who prefers to be in, and one who prefers to be out.....so which horse do we cater to???:-|
Also, thanks for the compliment on the barn...this place is horse heaven, especially with all the pastures, 23 acres worth....and the owners always wanted to have horses on their property, but they have severe back issues, especially the husband who was in a horrific car crash and had to have a good portion of his back fused together......so they couldn't take care of them. so when we stumbled upon this place, we thought we died and gone to heaven. They are not a boarding facility, and we like that because we have the place all to ourselves. We also have a dry lot, which we need for our fat Belgian....And having irritable bowel syndrome, I surely do appreciate the stable building having a HEATED bathroom with hot and cold running water year round!!!
The only downside to this horse Utopia is that it isn't MINE!!!
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