From: Tom
Dr. Jahiel:
I know you have answered a previous question on the subject of blanketing pastured horses. Nevertheless in light of the answer you gave to the previous inquirer on this subject I have several questions or maybe it's just one question and I don't know it. I have my mare on pasture at a boarding stable. If it matters: she is a 16 hand QH mare, she's athletically built ("like a tank:" not fat, but muscular) and she is 12 years old. I believe every thing stated in your previous article is absolutely true. Yet the stable owners insist on bringing her in and putting her in a box stall, because they say she's cold and miserable. We live in North-Central California and here near our State's Capitol it rarely gets below 30 degrees. When I press them about what makes them believe she's cold they say they can see her shivering in the cold and wind. When I press them furthermore they explain to me that due to breeding for short coats in show horses most horses no longer grow the winter coats they need and therefore must either be blanketed or brought in during cold or harsh weather. They also say it is because of the possibility of the deep mud pulling off shoes, causing "Mud Fever," "Hoof Rot", etc. Are these valid reasons? They just seem to fly in the face of truth, reality and your previous article and what I have heard from many other long time Horsemen and what I've seen on their ranches and other reputable stables.
Tom
That said, healthy horses of any breed are unlikely to get cold or unhappy in 30 degree temperatures, unless they are wet and have no way to get out of the wind. Humans don't like to be outside without coats in below-freezing temperatures, and all too often, humans who have charge of horses project their own feelings about weather and temperatures onto the horses. That's when a horse that isn't at all cold finds itself locked in a stall and covered with blankets - not because it needs or wants or even enjoys this, but because its owner, instead of thinking like a horse ("This is a comfortable temperature, I'm enjoying this!") is thinking like a human ("This would be too cold for ME, if I were out in this weather I would want to come in and be warm and wrap up in a blanket.")
Horses with any kind of a winter coat have quite a good defense against the cold, as long as the coat is left alone. When the horse is cold and dry, its hairs will stand on end - like the hairs on your own arm when you have "goose bumps" - creating spaces that hold air, which keeps the horse warm. That's why a horse wearing nothing but its own coat will be more comfortable and actually WARMER than a horse that is wearing a sheet that flattens its coat and takes away the warm-air layer without providing extra warmth in exchange. Horses with good winter coats are so well-insulated that you can actually see snow piling up on their backs without melting (like the roof of a well-insulated house).
Horses that spend all or most of their time outdoors, unblanketed, DO normally grow winter coats in the fall, hold them through the winter, and shed them in the spring. If the horses live in an extremely cold climate, they will develop heavier coats; if they live in a moderate climate, they will develop less heavy coats; if they live in a tropical or semi-tropical climate where "winter" isn't a particularly meaningful concept, they'll develop very little in the way of a winter coat - but they also won't NEED much in the way of a winter coat.
The same horse can develop very different coats in different years, depending on where you take it - and depending on the TIMING of the move. Let's say that you suddenly decide, right now, in March, to move to another state: if you went to Florida, your Northern California mare might be a little too warm until she sheds her winter coat, but NEXT year she would probably develop less coat. If, on the other hand, you decided to move to Minnesota, she would probably need a blanket at night for the next few weeks at least, because her California winter coat wouldn't be enough for a Minnesota winter. However, if she spent the rest of the year in a Minnesota pasture, you would find, starting in August or so, that she would start to develop a much heavier coat for the coming winter, and by mid-January of that winter, she would probably look much hairier than you thought she could.
By breeding for certain traits, we've changed a lot of things about horses and their appearances and soundness. But it's not correct to say that horses "no longer grow winter coats". They do - if they're allowed to. A horse that lives in a field will develop a winter coat as winter approaches; a horse that is kept in a heated and lit barn all day and covered with blankets will NOT develop as much winter coat as it would normally, and can, under sufficiently fanatical "care", be prevented from developing any noticeable winter coat. It IS possible to keep a horse short-haired and slick through the winter by careful blanketing and confinement in heated areas. It's not good for the horse's health, but it's often convenient for the owner.
Horses that have always lived in hot climates and have never been seen to develop a winter coat have never NEEDED a winter coat - if they are taken to a cold climate, they will "magically" become furry in the winter. Similarly, horses that have always lived in cold climates and started to develop winter coats in August, but are now living in hot climates, will surprise their owners by keeping their smooth coats through the winter months. Owners who aren't paying very close attention may even think that the horses have "forgotten" to grow winter coats.
Breeding plays a part, but not a very large one. There are horse breeds that produce heavier coats than others, just as there are dog breeds that produce heavier coats. But even these are subject to temperature and management. The Collie or Malamute that grows a thick, dense, heavy coat in a cold climate will grow a much less impressive coat in a hot climate. Among horse breeds, Thoroughbreds and Arabians tend to grow less impressive coats than some other breeds, but - and this is important - their coats, though shorter, are just as dense, and just as capable of keeping them warm in a cold winter. Age and health play parts, too - if you have four horses of different breeds and ages living in the same field, you are likely to see four distinctly different patterns of coat growth, and four different winter coats. When you have a field - or a barn - full of horses, in winter or in summer, you have to evaluate their condition on an individual basis, ONE horse at a time. Like so much else in horse management, winter care depends to a great extent on knowing your horse and noticing changes.
If your mare is not yet acclimated to the winter temperatures, and is accustomed to being kept in a warmer climate and/or being heavily blanketed in winter (if unblanketed turnout isn't possible, then blankets and turnout are much better for the horse than blankets and confinement), and/or if she has deliberately been managed to keep her from developing a winter coat, AND if the normal temperature is 50 or so, then yes, she could get cold and shivery if the temperature dropped to well below 30. If this is the case, and if the mare is showing that she is cold (constant shivering and weight loss would be two clear signs) then your barn manager may be wise if s/he chooses to bring the mare in for the night when there's a drastic temperature drop. But if the mare is healthy, strong, and has been turned out all along, then she almost certainly has enough of a winter coat to handle normal, dry winter weather. As I said before, the temperature itself is not likely to be a problem - as long as your mare is not wet, and as long as she can get out of the wind.
Deep mud can be a problem, but if temperatures are at 30 and below, mud isn't generally an issue - frozen ground, on the other hand, can be. Here again, though, horses that are always turned out, in all weathers, are much less likely to injure themselves in deep mud or on frozen ground. They're far more likely to restrict their exercise until the footing improves. The horses in the most danger from deep mud or hard ground are the ones that rarely get a chance to go out and play - they will explode out of the stalls and exercise more vigorously on bad footing than is truly safe or suitable.
As for the problems of mud fever and foot rot - not to mention the problem of shoes being pulled off - again, these are ALL highly unlikely to occur on frozen ground. They are also unlikely to occur if the horses are in MUD, as opposed to liquid manure... and they are unlikely to be a problem if the horses' feet are given regular attention, as they should. Lost shoes can be an inconvenience, and deep mud can contribute to shoe loss, especially if a horse's hooves are weak and the horse is going too long between visits from the farrier. But if your mare is on pasture, then it's likely that (she IS turned out with other horses, isn't she?) she is shod only in front, in any case. It's good for shod horses to get a break from wearing shoes, and winter is a traditional time to turn horses out without their shoes for a few months - you might want to consider making this part of your mare's normal year. You may even want to discuss, with your farrier, the question of whether she needs shoes at all. Many horses do not, and any horse that CAN go barefoot, SHOULD - it's much healthier. Not all horses can go barefoot, but why not talk to your farrier about your mare? Good farriers tend to have all the shoeing business they can handle, and more... and although a good farrier will take great pride in his ability to shoe well, a good farrier won't want to put shoes on a horse that doesn't need them - and will take just as much pride in a horse with well-trimmed bare hooves.
And while you're talking about your mare, sit down and have a chat with your stable owners. You do need to give them the benefit of the doubt - if they are otherwise sensible people who put your mare in a stall for the night once in a while when it's wet and windy or when there's been a huge temperature drop, that's not cause for alarm, it just means that they are paying close attention to the horses on their property. That's a good thing. If, on the other hand, they really don't understand about horse health and the mechanisms by which horses keep warm in cold weather, you'll have a better chance of educating them if you keep the discussion friendly. Begin with the stated assumption that all of you want what's best for your mare, and take it from there.
Jessica
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