Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Winter coat

From: Anne Hi Jessica!

I have a question which is a continuation of Gini's from last week. In July I purchased a 16.3 TB gelding. Tully was a Florida horse and in his 7 years never ventured further north than South Carolina. I, for some reason, am living in almost the coldest place on earth in Northern Wisconsin on Lake Superior. Tully has surprised us all by producing the beginnings of a fine winter coat. How long do I give him to grow his coat? How can I tell if he is warm enough? If he does need a blanket, what type would you suggest? He is on 24 turn out now but will be in at nights when the winter hits.

Thanks so much,

Anne, Tully and the Computerhead

Hi Anne! Tully has been in Wisconsin long enough to acclimatize, and he's probably going to surprise you and turn into a fuzzy bear by Christmas. He'll grow the coat at his own speed, and in his own way. Age, health, breed, and weather conditions are all factors in coat growth. Every horse is slightly different! I have two mares who share a pasture, and by the end of November, one will have a short, dense, shiny coat and the other will have a longer, coarser coat. (By January they will both look like yaks, but one will look like a hairier yak.)

If Tully grows a long thick coat and your winter is horribly wet and windy, he will still need a blanket to keep him from being wet and cold; on the other hand, if your weather is merely cold but not horribly windy or wet, he will probably stay warm and cheerful even if he grows a discreet short dense coat.

Monitor him with eyes and hands -- it's sometimes hard to tell what is happening with a horse's weight under a lot of fur. Look at him and see whether he looks cheerful and whether he enjoys being outside; you'll notice if he starts shivering (and then you can add a blanket). If in doubt, feel his ears! They shouldn't be icy cold at ANY time -- if they are, bring him in, walk him around, blanket him, throw him some more hay, and check him again in half an hour. It's really just a matter of using your good sense. When horses can stay dry and out of the wind, they can tolerate much colder weather than we can. If they need more warmth, we need to provide it, but the best warmth you can provide will come from feeding him well; lots of hay to keep his digestion working around the clock. Grain isn't as useful; it's the process of digesting roughage that will keep him warm.

Whether he's blanketed or not, run your thumb across his ribs (or where his ribs should be) whenever you see him, and you'll know immediately if he's managing to maintain a nice layer of fat over the ribs. If you find that your thumb is bouncing from rib to rib, then no matter how round he looks, he needs more feed. Big fur coats can be horribly deceptive, and you definitelly don't want Tully losing any weight over the winter.

If he really needs a blanket, buy him something solid and reasonably horse-resistant (NO blanket is horse-proof), like a good New Zealand. Treated canvas on the outside, wool lining on the inside, no frills but a nice heavy rug that will stay in place. And whatever you do, be sure that the neck fits high and can't work its way down around his shoulders. If you need to have darts put in the neck to make it fit better, do that. I see too many blanket-lame horses every spring -- I don't want Tully to be one of them. ;-)

Jessica

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