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Shelter

4K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  usandpets 
#1 ·
Not really sure where to put this, and yes, I know it's not really the right time of year for my question, however I thought I'd ask:)

I've got a lean to (like the one shown in the picture, but much smaller... a little over 1/4 the length total)...

The temperature may get to -20 and there will be wind and snow as it's winter.

My question is, is would that be okay shelter for a weanling and older mare (approx. 23) over the winter.

They will have free choice hay, but that's it. What would you say?

Just that I've always had 3 sided shelters.
 

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#2 ·
As long as horses have a wind break of some sort in the Winter they should be okay. Watch them to see if they shivering. If they show signs of stress from the cold you'll probably need to blanket them. The weanling and the older horse may need more supplementing than just hay. Even if it is free choice.
 
#3 ·
Is it just the 2 horses? In winter, the more the merrier, lol. Especially for the young horse I would at least take some tarps or sheets of plywood and try to enclose part of your leanto or make it three sided.
 
#4 ·
My barn has a similar 10' over hang.

The biggest problem I have is that some times the direction of the wind does not follow the rules and it whips snow and ice directly into the over hang.

It works fine 90% of the time. The other 10% seemed to be during some of the nastiest storms so I had to provide other shelter (in my case simply opening up their stalls).
 
#5 ·
I have three horses and they do not have shelter in their corrals and there is no wind break either. I do have a barn thats inclosed and has stalls but i never bring them in winter. I put turnout blankets on them they all wear heavy weight blankets. They do just fine even in ice storms, blizzards and wind chills in the 40 below zero. They also have round bales out to eat 24/7 plus a water trough with a tank heater. I dont give any grain either and one horse is 24 years old she comes out of winter just fine.
 
#7 ·
Our state does have a humane laws that requires shelter but i dont have to have separate shelters in my corrals. I have a barn and that is considerd shelter. Plus these so called laws are never inforced there are horses standing in open feilds with no shelter. You can turn someone in for not feeding their horses and nothing gets done till the horses are half dead.

So i dont know what good it does to have a humane law for shelter if its never enfoced. At least my horses wear turnout blankets and are well fed these other horses in open feilds have no blankets on and iv seen them hunched up on real cold days.
 
#8 ·
I do not know (meaning it does not truly pertain to the topic) where you live but just because they do not enforce the humane laws in your neck of the woods does not mean we (forum) should not let people know that such laws are something to think about when suggesting horses do not need any shelter.

:wink:

And they do enforce the laws from time to time. Like all laws, they can not spend the time enforcing every little infraction.
 
#10 ·
If they have free choice hay, I wouldn't worry too much. There are no 'supplements' designed to keep horses warm, just hay 24/7. Do they generally have any weight issues? If they don't, they will probably be fine but if they do...that could cause problems. Do you blanket them?
 
#12 ·
Paint mom if you do decide to get blankets for your horses make sure they are turnout blankets. They are water proof and wind proof DO NOT buy stable blankets they are not water proof and will soak through. My horses wear turnouts and i never have a need to bring them in the winter. The blankets keep them warm and dry.
 
#13 ·
Now, If I were to use blankets on the cold/wet/windy days, and take the blankets off for most of the winter would their winter coat still work?

When would you draw the line... blanket or no blanket. -10 and only at night?

or just for the few weeks that are really cold leave it on 24/7?

And when buying a blanket (a turnout one - thanks :)) what type do i get, and what's the best brand?

My biggest thing with blankets is I don't want to take away my horses natural ability to stay warm.
 
#14 ·
This last winter i put blankets on in early december we had a blizzard coming with rain ice first then heavy snow. I usally let them grow a full winter coat first but that didnt happen this last winter. I leave my blankets on all winter only take them off to groom once a week. And make sure there are no rubs from blankets.

As far as kind of blanket i use the storm sheilds from schneiders they seem to hold up good. Mine have all been in use for four to five winters only one ripped got snagged on a peice of wire. I buy the 1200 denier blankets they hold up better then the 600 denier. Blanketing really depends on how cold and wet your winters are we have long cold snowy winters.

Once a blanket has been put on it does flatten the coat so it can make them get cold if taken off. Thats why i leave my horses blanketed all winter.
 
#15 ·
Now, If I were to use blankets on the cold/wet/windy days, and take the blankets off for most of the winter would their winter coat still work? Once you blanket a horse you should keep them blanketed, I would rather blanket all the time and only take them off on nice, sunny days or not blanket at all because the blanket makes their fuzzy winter coat lay down and they can't warm themselves up.

When would you draw the line... blanket or no blanket. -10 and only at night?
or just for the few weeks that are really cold leave it on 24/7?
Some people use a sheet when it gets below 50-40 to keep their coat short so they won't have the full winter coat under their blanket, then a medium-heavy weight for below 30 degrees. I personally don't want to buy a sheet (they can be just as expensive as blankets) so I'll blanket at night if needed but take off during the day instead until it's consistently cold during the day too.

And when buying a blanket (a turnout one - thanks :)) what type do i get, and what's the best brand?
You should look for a turnout blanket that's WATERPROOF, companies use lots of different words (ie. weather proof, etc) but look for WATERPROOF and nothing else. I perfer Saxon blankets but everyone likes different brands. Make sure to get at least a medium weight blanket. Not sure what the temps get like by you but a lightweight doesn't usually cut it...heavyweights IMO are usually way too much for most average winter days. If it's going to be THAT cold your horse should have tons of hay available to them so they don't need a heavy weight blanket.

My biggest thing with blankets is I don't want to take away my horses natural ability to stay warm.
Then don't blanket :D There is no absolute need to, if your horses aren't skinny. The only time I think blankets can be really beneficial is with a rescue/old or any hard to keep weight on horse. Otherwise they really just make us feel better. I made the decision to keep my girls unblanketed this past winter because blankets can be alot of hassle, making sure they are on when it's below certain degrees, off when the suns out & it's warm, etc. you don't have to get all OCD about them like I do but...yeah. My girls will be spending another nekkid winter like last. They were happy and probably the fattest coming out of winter they ever have been because they had free choice hay.
 
#16 ·
OK, here come some newbie questions. What is free choice hay? Last winter my neighbor blanketed all of her horses, young and old. She keeps them in their stalls at night with the blankets on. The horses are fed morning and night in their stalls, getting full 4 or 5 pound coffee cans of Nutrena Triumph 10/10 sweet grain and two flakes of hay (each meal). Even now the horses are rarely worked or ridden as she doesn't have the time to devote to that. Now Flash is getting the same amount of food and hay as her horses, plus they graze in the pastures. (Right now the owner doesn't allow me to have any control over what she's fed.) Flash is 24 yo, so what do you suggest I do the rest of this summer (once she's moved here), and this coming winter?
 
#18 ·
OK, here come some newbie questions. What is free choice hay? Last winter my neighbor blanketed all of her horses, young and old. She keeps them in their stalls at night with the blankets on. The horses are fed morning and night in their stalls, getting full 4 or 5 pound coffee cans of Nutrena Triumph 10/10 sweet grain and two flakes of hay (each meal). Even now the horses are rarely worked or ridden as she doesn't have the time to devote to that. Now Flash is getting the same amount of food and hay as her horses, plus they graze in the pastures. (Right now the owner doesn't allow me to have any control over what she's fed.) Flash is 24 yo, so what do you suggest I do the rest of this summer (once she's moved here), and this coming winter?
Free choice hay is where the horse can eat hay 24/7, usually from a round bale. Free choice just means that the horse is free to choose when it wants to eat and how much.

As for Flash, as long as she gets a good winter coat and she keeps her weight on during the winter, you can let her be blanket free or do the same as the neighbor. They probably keep the blanket on when in the stall because the barn isn't heated.

As someone else said on here, when we blanket a horse, it is more for us to feel better than for the horse. Granted there are some horses that need it, most will get by just fine without one.
I let my horses go "naked" with just a 3-sided run-in shed. I do have blankets, but only use them if I feel a specific horse needs it at a specific time.

For instance, my mustang looks like a wooly mammoth in winter and I never blanket him. I have never seen him shiver, even when wet.

But I have owned one Arabian and one Foxtrotter that if they get wet and it's cold, they will shiver. So 95% of the time they are without a blanket, but if there is going to be a blizzard or rain storm, I will try to blanket them before they get wet, and just for that storm. If I didn't get them blanketed before the storm and I found one wet and shivery, then I will do my best to towel dry them and then put on a blanket over night or until they are dry and warm.

We probably don't get as severe a winter as many of you though. Down around 10 degrees is normally the lowest, and I think I have only seen negative numbers once.
We do the same, only blanket when the weather gets severe. Some say you should blanket when a horse shivers, but I've seen horses shiver at warmer temps, like 40 F. If we were to blanket them then, in the fall, they would never get any winter coat and would not be able to handle it when the temps get way below zero, in the middle of winter.
 
#17 ·
I let my horses go "naked" with just a 3-sided run-in shed. I do have blankets, but only use them if I feel a specific horse needs it at a specific time.

For instance, my mustang looks like a wooly mammoth in winter and I never blanket him. I have never seen him shiver, even when wet.

But I have owned one Arabian and one Foxtrotter that if they get wet and it's cold, they will shiver. So 95% of the time they are without a blanket, but if there is going to be a blizzard or rain storm, I will try to blanket them before they get wet, and just for that storm. If I didn't get them blanketed before the storm and I found one wet and shivery, then I will do my best to towel dry them and then put on a blanket over night or until they are dry and warm.

We probably don't get as severe a winter as many of you though. Down around 10 degrees is normally the lowest, and I think I have only seen negative numbers once.
 
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