Coats and Blankets

We’ve had our first snow already this year. I put a turnout sheet on Molly last night because it was  supposed to be a wet snow, with temperatures rising into the 40’s.

Molly grows a heavy coat for winter and keeps it through the summer (it’s unbelievable). Her heavier coat is gorgeous and rich. Connie told me that once you put a winter blanket on a horse, it needs to stay on because it flattens all the winter hair that has grown in and lofted to trap warmth. The blanket can also inhibit further growth.

This is a picture of Molly's coat in October.

Blanketing a horse takes more thought than I would have ever imagined. One of my coworkers once asked why some horses have blankets and some don’t, and I rattled on for probably 5 minutes about weather, weight, work, age, and breeds. She politely murmured that it sounded "complicated" and the conversation turned to another topic.





But horse people will talk about it endlessly, each and every season. What brand did you get, what color is it, how does it fit him/her, can she run in it, did he tear off the straps again, when are you putting it on/taking it off/putting it on? Last year I bought Molly a winter blanket for the coldest months, and this year I got her the turnout sheet, which is a single uninsulated layer, for the warmer months. The work she does is considered to be very light, so I can afford to let her to grow as heavy a coat as possible - there’s no danger of her working up a sweat and then getting a chill. The turnout sheet is mostly to keep wet snow and cold rain off of her. Soon it will be cold enough for the winter blanket, and cold enough for me to savor her warmth when I take the blanket off and press my head to her side.