# Going from Hot to Cold



## banderanch (Dec 7, 2010)

This is my first time on this site...so here I go! I live in the sunny state of Buckeye, Az and so does my horse...of course! Anywho..we will be moving up north still in Az but about 25 degrees colder. So my horsie friend says I will have to balnket my baby (he's 15) cuz it will be a shock to his system. I have never put a blanket him,and what if it rains, what brand do I buy, is he going to freak out when I put it on, geeeeez do I have questions or what???? Then others tell me oh no, he'll adapt, so what the????? I will have a 3 sided enclosure, not very big for now. Please help????? Thanks


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## goodhors (Dec 7, 2010)

How far north?  Much can depend on local conditions, length of sunshine during daylight hours, moist or dry cold.  Any chance of rain?  Snow by itself is not a big deal unless he has never got any at his home now.

Is he especially thin haired?  Lots of horses have short hair, plushy rather than long lengths.  Short hair can be just fine, velvet like, keeps horse plenty warm.

I probably would consider blanketing him when going colder, but maybe only at night or if temps drop sharply, he is in heavy wind conditions.  More blanket time if he shivers a lot.

Again, depending on your conditons he has to deal with, you may want a couple blankets for different reasons.  Blankets are not expected to be perfect in every situation now, they make specialty ones. 

You will also want to consider his body shape.  Some makers seem to fit TBs well, or larger Warmbloods versus Western type bodies.  Lastly some brand names or specific models are not well made or don't hold up with use.  Great deals to be found shopping, if you know what you want.  Again, I would plan on having more than one, if it should get soaked or filthy, you can change it on him.  Wet blanket in cold is worse than no blanket, keeping him wet.


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## banderanch (Dec 7, 2010)

Thank you for the response.  It is 200 miles from where we are now about 5,600 is the altitude. So far I think I have 7 to 3 that I should use a blanket! And yes I will buy more than 1. He has never been in snow and it gets cold winds there thru spring. We don't know much more than that, first time for use too...I to will have to buy a few snuggies!  Any brand of blankets that are good?


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## goodhors (Dec 7, 2010)

How about if you tell us his body style?  Slender like the more modern QH's, or maybe a gaited type horse instead of the solid, old square type Western ranch type animals?

What range of temps is he expected to be out in?  Will he be barned or just have a run-in type shelter from the wind?  Does he have any windbreaks like trees to hide in or just open ground?  Will days be sunny or mostly cloudy?

A 25 degree change at my place is a HUGE swing in the winter.  Could put us below zero, or so warm we only wear a vest over a sweatshirt, no HAT!  And we still get sweaty if we work outside.


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## michickenwrangler (Dec 7, 2010)

I'm further north of goodhors, and in January I've seen an 80 degree range from -30 to 50. Sometimes in the same week!

Gotta love Michigan. 

I've you're in Ohio, you will probably have a fairly damp winter. If the horse spends a lot of time outside in the snow, I would look into a waterproof blanket or a turnout blanket.


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## banderanch (Dec 7, 2010)

He is a quarter horse bay gelding, weighs about 1150 lbs. and about 15 yrs old. 
And about 15.2 tall. He has the nice velvet hair now not to long. Our temps were here in the valley (phx, az) 74/43 where I am moving is 55/29  but will get colder. And they do get snow, rain and winds.  He has a 3 sided run in shelter now till we can build him something better. Sunny days and cloudy days.  We won't be moving till Feb. So I don't know much yet. Thanks for all the responses your all great!!!


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## michickenwrangler (Dec 8, 2010)

Oops!

Saw Buckeye and assumed Ohio


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## w c (Dec 17, 2010)

I would think you would need to get a blanket for your horse, and have it on him when he is not in a closed-up barn.  He would need it if he has a run in shelter (3 sided shelter) because horses generally stand out in the rain or snow, even when they have a shelter.  

It is not that it will be a 'shock' to his system.  He simply won't have grown enough coat for the new climate, and he will be cold because his coat is thinner and shorter.  His coat won't change or grow thicker and longer this year - their coats will go into a 'resting' phase pretty soon and will not get thicker or longer this winter.  It will take him a year or two to change how much coat he grows.  By next fall, you might see him growing a thicker coat, and he might not need the blanket next winter.  Some horses need longer.

I can use Flagstaff and Phoenix to show how much the temperatures vary across Arizona.  The temperatures in Flagstaff are running in the high thirties and forties during the day, and in the high twenties at night.  Rain and snow.

In Phoenix, the highs are running in the low seventies, and the lows in the fifties.

A horse moving from Phoenix to Flagstaff, needs a blanket.  If he is coming from an area where the highs are in the seventies, and he's going to an area where the highs are in the thirties, he will not have grown enough coat to deal with the 25-30-40 degree temperature difference.

Most horse equipment stores and websites sell horse blankets.  Measure your horse from the center of his chest, to the center of the back of his hind quarters.  Most websites and horse equipment stores have a diagram of how to measure, and can help you choose the blanket.  An insulated blanket with medium insulation should be sufficient.  A waterproof outside is needed.  You can make a blanket more waterproof by spraying it with Scotch Guard, available in spray cans at stores like walmart.  The blanket needs to be clean and dry when it is treated with Scotch Guard - don't try to do it with a dirty or wet blanket.

Typically, a horse of 15.2 hands would take a blanket about size 78 or 80, but you need to measure him to be sure.  The fit of the blanket is more about the length of the horse than its height, and some quarter horses are fairly long in the body.

Blanket fit is very important.  If you think about it, the horse will have his blanket on more hours than his saddle and bridle, so it does really have to fit.

There's no one brand that's better than another.  Though I like Big D and a few other companies.  What's most important is that the way the blanket is cut/shaped, fits your horse's neck, shoulders, etc.

It's important that the top of the blanket, where it sits near the withers when the blanket is on, needs to not be tight over the withers.  With the chest straps buckled, that area of the blanket needs to sit in front of the withers, not slip back and bind on the withers.  Some of that is size, some of that is how the neck of the blanket is cut and shaped.  But it needs to not slip back and wind up on the withers.  The blanket should be long enough to cover the horse's hind quarters.  The straps that go under the girth usually cross, and should be adjustable so they don't hang down, where the horse might catch his leg when he lies down or rolls.


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## elevan (Dec 17, 2010)

michickenwrangler said:
			
		

> Oops!
> 
> Saw Buckeye and assumed Ohio


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## banderanch (Dec 18, 2010)

WC , thanks for all the great information!! I will take all that information and store it in my brain! I am nervous about this whole change for him and myself. I don't like change but have no choice this time. But with lots of love and gods guidance we will survive!


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## w c (Dec 20, 2010)

You and he will be fine, just keep the old fellow nice and warm and be sure to pack plenty of hot chocolate for yourself.  Nothing like a nice trail ride while sipping some hot beverage, LOL.

Personally, I love riding in the cold.  The horses seem to enjoy it too.


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## jodief100 (Dec 20, 2010)

Make sure he adjusts to the thinner air at the higher elevations before you work him.  His body will need time to adapt to not having as much oxygen in the air.  

My aunt moved her horses from Phoenix to Cottenwood many years ago and she went through this same thing. 

Colder, wetter and thinner air.


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## banderanch (Dec 21, 2010)

Thank you everyone! Have a blessed and Happy New Year!!!!


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## treeclimber233 (Jan 1, 2011)

10 years ago I moved from the mountians of northern Virginia to southern coastal Virginia.  Even tho it is warmer where I am now my horses shiver a lot more in the winter.  In the mountains when it got cold it froze the moisture falling--snow, ice, sleet.  Here where it is warmer it rains a lot more in the winter.  The frozen precip just bounced off of the horses. The snow blanketed them.  Here the rain just soaks them.  I never blanketed my horses until I moved to a warmer area. (sounds strange I know).  They hate a stall so I rarely put them in the barn.  So when you move just watch your horse to see how he handles the weather.  Have blankets on hand if needed.  As long as he sheds the moisture (hair stays mostly dry) he will be fine.  Just be careful of the temps changing and you not being there to take blankets off if the temps get warmer.  Example: 25 degrees at night (put on blanket if necessary).  If you go to work/school and the temps rise to 50 and your horse has his blanket on will he get too hot?  Something else to consider: wind chill and moisture falling.  Even if the temps are not that low the wind blowing on a wet horse can cause him to get cold.  I usually only blanket my horses until they stop shivering or precip stops falling. I never blanket 24/7.


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## banderanch (Jan 9, 2011)

Hey Treeclimber...(funny)   I have never seen a horse shiver...can you exactly see him like a human or dog shiver?  I hope all goes well for us, like everyone has said I will have to watch and see how he reacts. I may be boarding him down here in the valley till April. That way I get him use to the climate from the beginning instead of throwing him into it.  When we were up there this last week, (still working on our home) we saw all the horses, cows, donkeys out in the snow and no one had blankets on them, and it was COLD! 2 degrees at night!! and 15-19 during the day. Everyone says this is a unusual winter they normally don't get this cold or that much snow. But still no one had blankets on their horses?? Are they just use to it living there from day one? Thanks


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