Should we blanket an older (23yo)? She's a pony, in good health minus a thyroid issue and we live in a moderately cold area. Get 2-3 good snows per winter, it is mostly slushy, muddy 20's-40's from December - March/ early April
ETA: not sure if this is important info or not, 3 horses ages 23, 15 and 10 live with us. They're on pasture grass and senior feed 1x/day with 2 receiving their thyroid meds mixed in
As long as they have shelter, and free access to forage, most horses will probably not require winter turnouts in the SE part of the US, and turnouts do require some additional work on your part. My rule for blankets is that they go on for heavy precipitation followed by rapidly falling temperatures. Around here, that translates to a period of balmy weather followed by rain turning to slush, turning to snow, with temperatures falling from 50 - 60F to around 0F overnight, and total accumulations of a foot or more of the white stuff. This is a very common weather pattern for this part of the country. Just keep an eye on your critters, and if you notice them getting wet and shivering, or losing weight in the winter, consider blankets as needed.
Blankets...
So much depends on the animal.
Age and health are factors only you know about.
Weather that is soaking to the skin of a animal makes it so much harder for them to stay warm and it is warm that keeps them comfortable in winter.
You might not need a heavy insulated blanket but maybe a waterproof sheet so the animal not be soaked, has a barrier from stinging rains would be a invited asset to the pony.
A windbreak from cold northern winds my horses like.. :smile:
I live in Florida, so no snow...but my horses do wear t/o sheets for a wind break and to keep their body dry when we get those nasty rain wind-driven soakers or even a all-day mist that chills the animals.
Winter coats take a lot to soak, but once wet they also take forever to dry...keeping them dry is most of the battle of keeping them comfortable.
If the animal is chilled, offer support of a blanket/sheet.
If they shiver they are working very hard to get warm and burning huge amounts of calories doing so...
If they act miserable, they are...
You will also know if they like the protection a blanket/sheet offers by attitude and body language shown...
Know your horses and pony, know their habits and read their body language will tell you what is best for them...it is about them.
You read & hear all kinds of things about blanketing...from experts and us horselovers. I listen to my animals...they tell me all I need to know on this subject of blanketing, yes or no.
:runninghorse2:....
With your weather you'd be blanketing more for wet than cold. If they have shelter that they are all able to use, blankets probably wont be needed if they are otherwise in good weight and have a coat. Do consider if they are standing in the shelter instead of eating, you may want to blanket just so they they will go eat instead of standing.
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