From: Kathleen
Jessica,
I just read your answer to someone asking about blanketing. No arguments from me; but I just want to add a warning. Be sure your blanket is well fitted. If snow gets in under the blanket, it will melt and your horse will get chilled. In a really nasty blow the snow can work its way into even a well fitted blanket if the horse is out. So he's better off with a good wind break or run in shelter, in my experience.
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen! Thanks very much, you're right, this is something that should be discussed in more detail. There is information about this in the HORSE-SENSE archives, but I'll be glad to add to that information here.
Blankets must fit the horse, and that doesn't mean that they should be wrapped tightly and snugly around the horse's body. Blankets have their place, which is usually on horses that are unable to move around freely (confined to stalls or small paddocks) or that are temporarily forced to remain in shelters where there is wet snow or sleet coming in the open side.
Blankets are also very important if horses have been clipped so that their owners can continue to work them during the winter months; if an unclipped horse with a natural winter coat is worked until it gets sweaty, it will take hours to get that horse cool
and dry again. If a horse is going to be worked hard in winter, it's best to clip the horse and replace the clipped hair with a good, well-fitting blanket.
Many blankets fit badly around the neck, because they are designed for appearance rather than for function. A "for looks" blanket will usually be cut back around the neck and even expose a little of withers and/or shoulder, to show off the horse's long, beautiful neck. Unfortunately, this sort of construction makes the blanket all but useless in "real life" -- it will restrict the horse's movement, allow snow/cold rain into the neck area, and eventually (sometimes within minutes of turnout) shift so that it is caught under the horse's chest, where it does nothing but impede his movement. A good "using" blanket will come up higher on the horse's neck, and will neither allow snow into the neckline, nor work down around the withers, shoulders, or chest, nor interfere with the horse's movement.
If you can find a well-made blanket -- such as those made by Paul's Harness Shop in Colorado or by Schneider Saddlery in Ohio -- your horse will be comfortable in a blanket of the correct size. If you can't find such a blanket, your best bet will be to purchase the best possible blanket in a size slightly too large for your horse, and then to sew darts into the shoulders of the blanket to close up the neck opening and allow the horse to move its shoulders freely underneath the blanket.
If your horses are Arabians, TWHs, TBs, or other breeds with (typically) long, sloping shoulders, you may find that they are hard to fit. Schneiders (800-365-1311) is particularly useful for such horses, as they carry "Adjusta Fit" blankets which allow purchasers to custom-fit the neck and shoulder area. (Erin and Alison, thanks for the "heads-up" about Schneiders.)
Jessica
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