# Are horse sheets and blankets needed?



## PaMiniFarmer (Jul 24, 2010)

We just purchased our first horse (mini) and I was wondering if I should purchase a waterproof sheet and blanket for her. I thought about a sheet to keep her dry in the rain and protect her coat from fading. (We are thinking of trying a couple small shows next year). And of course the blanket to keep her warm and protected in the winter on really cold days. She came from Texas (we're in Pa) so I'm not sure if cold will be more of an issue for her or not. I'd love to hear what other horse owners have to say...pros, cons. Also, any recommendations on brands would be appreciated. Thanks so much!


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## freemotion (Jul 24, 2010)

You probably only need clothes for her if you are showing.  I prefer to keep non-working horses naked and shaggy through the winter.  It is really healthier for them.  Waterproof sheets/blankets have severe limitations and will only keep the horse dry for a short time in light rain....useful, but don't toss her out in the rain with a sheet and go to work all day.  A "dirty" winter coat is actually pretty waterproof.  They may look wet, but if you dig your fingers into the hair, it will be dry near the skin, as long as you don't bathe or groom obsessively!  (I can be an obsessive groomer, so this was something I had to work on!)

If you are showing, you will be clipping and need to keep that coat from re-growing, so you will need a series of clothing items...a waterproof sheet for turn-out, a cotton sheet for cool summer nights, a couple of fleece liners will make the cotton sheet more versatile....and one big heavy winter coat if you will be showing into fall and she will enter winter without time to develop a very heavy coat.

I worked with show horses in Northern Maine, so I have done both....managed show horses, horses in training through the winter, and horses on year-round turn-out.  PA is balmy compared to what we had to deal with, wind-chills sometimes reaching - 80 F!!

I found that different brands fit different breeds and body types better/worse, so you would do well to check with experienced mini owners.  I really like Radon, Rambo, Weathabeeta.  Don't waste your money on cheap blankets.  You will spend a lot more in the long run.


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## freemotion (Jul 24, 2010)

Oh, and


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## Eliza (Jul 25, 2010)

don't go crazy with the horse grooming stuff, like the shampoo, the bug sprays, the blankets - you won't need them.  A good hard brush, soft brush, hoof pick and one GOOD blanket is about all you will need.  I recommend strongly the Rambo Wug (not Rug, but Wug) as THE best winter blanket.  It will not shift around, and it's light and warm.  For use only when the weather is particularly bitter and windy.  I never groom in the winter  unless it's to loosen a muddy DRY coat- it's best to leave the coat as is so that it's slightly greasy feel is intact.  MOTHER NATURE KNOWS Best!  If it's that wet and nasty anyway you wouldn't be putting horses out.  Don't brush out a wet coat or you'll make them wet underneath their guard hairs - so just know that unless they're shaking, they're ok.  Spend your money on providing really good, clean, green colored hay as the best way to keep horses warm on cold days!

As for bug sprays - I gave up and use Cutters or Deep Woods Off and a bug mask with ears.

Good luck, and I'd suggest taking lessons as the best way to enjoy your new horse experience.


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## patandchickens (Jul 26, 2010)

I don't in general think horses need clothing.

HOWEVER one big exception IMHO is that I feel it is *awfully* valuable to have a waterproof turnout sheet, basically for emergency use. 

And I do mean, specifically, waterproof turnout sheet, not 'stable sheet' nor rain sheet nor waterproof turnout blanket. (Although what I'm describing is occasionally sold as 'waterproof turnout shell')

There WILL occasionally come times when the horse is experiencing thermal balance problems from being sedated (e.g to have a cut stitched up) or the weather is really nasty but she insists in being out in it when it's not good for her, or she is all sweated up from running around like a maniac for some reason but it's cold/windy enough you can't let her stand out there nekkid, or whatever.  The waterproof turnout sheet will do pretty well for any kind of emergency.

And the thing is, when you DO need it, it's almost always a time when you do not have time/opportunity to go to the store, or mail-order for the occasion. So it's awfully good to be have one on hand.

As far as "needing" something for wintertime, it is highly unlikely that your mini will need any clothing for regular use in a PA winter (no matter what part of PA you're in). Especially since she is a mini and they usually grow pretty yak-like coats. Although if you are doing the smart and healthy thing and keeping her outdoors 24/7, there may be a few days (real heavy wet snow and sleet all day that she can't easily get out of) when you decide to put that waterproof turnout sheet on for her comfort.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## ducks4you (Jul 26, 2010)

If your horse has shelter, and you DON'T clip to show, he ONLY needs a blanket for the "once in a great while" that the wintertime temperatures approach 20 degrees below zero...maybe
If you lived in Alaska, I'd have different advice.


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## lupinfarm (Jul 26, 2010)

Even if my horse never wears it I absolutely always keep a well fitting Turnout Shell on hand. You never know when you might need one. I don't think the blankets suggested come down to small enough sizes for a Mini though... or do they? I personally *love* the Weatherbeeta pony line, then again... I just love Weatherbeeta LOL.


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## patandchickens (Jul 27, 2010)

Except when they first came on the market in, what, the early 90s??, I have had nothing but trouble with Weatherbeetas myself.... I recommend Schneiders (sstack.com) for an excellent line of durable and reasonably priced stuff including mini sizes. (No connection, just very very satisfied long-term customer)

Pat


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## adoptedbyachicken (Jul 27, 2010)

I have horses in Canada and they adapt fine to the local environment, don't be concerned about where your horse came from.  I do set a hard date of September 15 for importing from another region weather wise so they have notice that they need a different coat but a healthy horse will always figure it out.  The sick, debilitated or elderly may need some help, I have had rescues that were hard off in the first winter.  I agree with all that said have a good blanket on hand for emergencies, injuries or illness will dictate sometimes that they need it.  Get a well adjustable blanket so that it will work.  A shell is good and if needed put an old wool blanket under it if you have a shock situation, but don't have the horse unattended with that set up.  My horses are out 24/7 with natural and man made shelter available and rarely get grooming products that would disturb the natural properties of the coat.  I guess the big exception is ShowSheen to get burrs out of their mane or tails but I keep it off the body hair so it's not effecting their thermoregulation.

Horses mostly are triggered by the cycle of day/night lighting to know what coat to grow but also use the fluctuation of temperature day/night to trigger the coat depth.  Those that blanket to prevent the horse getting cold as winter approaches are doing harm, the horse needs that notice.  If your showing in winter and need to blanket then it changes everything in how you have to keep the horse.  If your just showing summer let you horse be natural in winter.

If you see a horse cold most Vets agree your better off to get it out of any wind and feed it than just blanket it, and then correct your feeding program for prevention.  Horses generate heat with their gut by bacterial action on course roughage so a constant supply of courser hay is best.  Feeding the higher nutrition finer hays in colder weather is not best, especially the cold damp of the fall when the winter coat is not fully in yet.  If your area is like here that's the worst wind time too and wind is the biggest stressor in terms of heat loss.  If a horse is still cold when course hay is available 24 hours a day and wind shelter is provided beet pulp should be added to the diet and other medical causes looked into.

Enjoy your mini!


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## dianneS (Jul 28, 2010)

I agree with everyone else that let nature take its course.  Wild horses don't wear clothes and they are just fine!! 

I'm in PA, I have a mini and a thin skinned Thoroughbred mare.  The two are compelete opposite ends of the spectrum.  My mini is as weatherproof as they come.  My mare on the other hand is sensitive to flies in the summer, cold rain, but she does tolerate winters well because she grows a nice winter coat since I don't blanket her unless absolutely necessary.

I don't blanket my mini at all.  First of all, he hates blankets and will destroy them.  Second, minis have much thicker coats than full-sized horses.  Not only do they stay warm in the winter, but their coats protect them from flies in the summer and they are very, very waterproof.  A winter blanket only squashes down my minis coat and makes him colder than no blanket at all.  If you put a rain sheet on him and its not 100% waterproof, it will flatten his coat and soak through, making him wetter than if he had no rain sheet at all.

Also minis were bred to tolerate very cold winters.  You don't need to worry about where your horse came from.  My mini was clipped in the spring and his coat is already getting thick.  By winter he will be very shaggy.  That's just the way minis are.

I don't even blanket my mare unless its sub-freezing weather and really cold and blowing.  I want both of them to grow nice healthy thick winter coats, and they do.  They rarely ever need blankets for any reason.


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## w c (Sep 1, 2010)

As always 'it depends'.  I would never say 'blankets are bad', 'horses don't need blankets', I would say, 'it depends'.

Many people are used to horses that grow a very nice thick coat in winter, or horses that have lived in the same area all their lives.  And to not working the horse hard most of the winter.

It takes a horse a year to 'synchronize' with a new location and grow a coat appropriate to those seasons.  A horse brought to a new area that is much colder can really have problems and need blanketing the first year or first winter.  

Then, some horses do not grow much coat.  Imagine getting two horses of the same breed and one grows a good winter coat and one does not, been there done that.  It is an individual thing.  

Some horses just don't grow much coat and need blanketing.  Too a horse say, with slightly low thyroid, will not grow a coat that keeps him warm.  It may be quite long but not a dense and healthy coat still.  The horse might be weak or out of condition or thin and not able to keep himself warm.

Then, there is your area.  There are places where the temperature changes thirty or forty degrees in a day, where there are ice storms, sudden thaws and freezing.  It is pretty hard for a horse to adjust to extreme temperature changes, ice and wet even if he lived there all his life.  Getting completely soaked at 30 degrees and then having the temperature drop to ten or zero and the wind pick up to 30 mph, pretty hard on a horse, yes even if he has a good coat and is used to it.

Then there is your situation.  

Going to come home and work the horse after work and have to leave him at night with a soaking wet long coat?  Going to take him out on a fox hunt for hours of galloping and have him sopping wet with sweat from a long heavy coat during and after the hunt with no way to get him dry?   Well.....

There are people for whom blanketing, even body clipping and blanketing is the best choice.  Heavily blanketing from early fall to keep the coat from getting too long.  Clipping 2-3 x during the winter.  Yes, people do so and they have very good reasons.

Now what about the average pleasure horse owner?  Owns a hardy breed that grows a long, thick plush coat.  The individual animal is healthy, not ancient and goes into the winter with a good amount of 'condition' (fat) on it.  Doesn't plan on working the horse hard to sweating during the winter.  Horses are pastured and out much of the time and have a nice, tight shelter for severe weather.   The owner is in charge of whether the horses go out or not or the staff at the boarding stable has common sense and won't leave them out in an ice storm or thunderstorm followed by blizzard.  If it gets wet, icy or hales the horses will be in munching hay, or on a few days a year, out in a waterproof blanket, or will have enough hay (hay generates heat when eaten) and wind break out there and enough long coat and will weather it just fine.  Well then you're looking at not having to blanket much at all.


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