{"id":1255,"date":"2022-08-29T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehorsesguide.com\/?p=1255"},"modified":"2022-08-28T12:56:59","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T12:56:59","slug":"getting-clarity-with-our-horse-blanket-temperature-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehorsesguide.com\/getting-clarity-with-our-horse-blanket-temperature-chart\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Clarity With Our Horse Blanket Temperature Chart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Ever Wondered When to Blanket a Horse? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As a horse owner, it is essential to have a horse blanket temperature chart. This will guide you on when to blanket your horse. Long hair coats and a layer of fat under the skin are two of a horse’s natural defenses against the cold. Both offer a great insulating method. You must cover a horse when it’s chilly outside and in other adverse conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n
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How Cold Can Horses Tolerate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Horses can withstand cold weather much better than we usually give them credit. Even if it may be bitterly chilly outside, our horses may not share our opinion. Since horses adapt to survive in the cold, there is typically no need to put them inside a barn or stable during the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
18 degrees Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) is a comfortable temperature for horses to survive. They can withstand temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-1.3 degrees Celsius) if they have access to shelter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can survive in temperatures as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) without shelter. Horse breeds with cold blood, like Icelandic or Yakutian horses, can endure temperatures as low as -70 degrees Fahrenheit (-2.2 degrees Celsius).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ability of a horse to endure cold temperatures depends on various factors. It is a discovery that a horse’s overall physical health, rather than its breed, determines how much cold it can tolerate. Horses have several morphological and physiological adaptations to withstand even the coldest winters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horse Blanket Temperature Chart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The following chart is very important. It will act as a horse blanket guide to help you take good care of your horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heavy blanket with a blanket liner<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Different Types of Horse Blankets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A horse blanket has stuffing to keep your horse warm, whereas a horse sheet is lightweight and has none. Turnout and stable are the two variations available. While stable sheets and blankets are not waterproof, and the horse should wear them indoors, turnout sheets and blankets are for use when your horse is outside. It cannot be easy to choose between various varieties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, we’ll examine the distinctions in greater detail below to assist you in making sure that your horse’s wardrobe has adequate stock. You need options, whether it’s raining, snowing, or too chilly to go outside. Therefore you have a range of outerwear in your wardrobe. Your horse should have the same! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although there are many different clothing styles for horses, we’re going to start by concentrating on two key aspects: the degree of warmth and the presence (or absence) of waterproofing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ideal Horse Blanket Material<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nylon or a fabric blend makes up most turnout blankets. Turnout blankets also come in various fill weights, allowing you to choose the degree of warmth your horse will receive from the blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Put a Horse in a Blanket<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For your horse to be cozy, safe, and capable of giving its best performance, your horse blanket must fit them precisely. It’s crucial to properly fit your WeatherBeeta blanket because a bad fit might lead to discomfort and rubbing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start by covering your horse’s back with a blanket. You might need assistance holding your horse while you make modifications if it is wearing a blanket for the first time. <\/li>
You should fasten the chest straps. For your horse to move freely underneath the cloth without slipping back, the blanket must fit properly around the withers and shoulders. Make sure you can still slide your hand down the blanket’s neck after adjusting the fasteners.<\/li>
After ensuring the blanket fits snugly over the horse’s neck, place it so that it lies flat along the back of the animal. The blanket can be too big if the seam runs from the tail flap to the blanket below the top of the tail.<\/li>
When attaching cross surcingles to a blanket, be careful to position the cross straps well in front of the horse’s stifle, in the center of the horse’s belly. Once more, the distance between the straps and the horse’s body should be a hand’s breadth.<\/li>
Lastly, slide the left leg strap between the back legs and tie it there when using blankets with leg straps.<\/li>
Take the right leg strap, slip it through the loop the left leg strap created, and fasten it to the right side.<\/li>
The leg straps prevent rubbing and work together to pull the rug into position. The blanket will shift and roll about very little if it is well-fitted. The blanket will slip if the leg straps are too slack.<\/li>
Adjust the leg straps evenly until there is space between them and the horse’s thigh, about the breadth of one hand. This promotes flexibility of movement.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How Does a Horse Stay Warm?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps our horse’s coat is smarter than you think! Because it spends its days wandering outdoors, your horse has the means to keep itself warm when the weather begins to turn chilly. In this post, we’ll examine how your horse stays warm and why it might not always be adequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as the days get shorter due to the dwindling daylight, your horse’s body produces its winter coat. It grows its longer, thicker winter coat in July and loses its shorter, thinner summer coat in October. It retains heat by fluffing up the longer, coarser hairs of its winter coat, distinct from those in its summer coat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hairs don’t lay flat on the skin; instead, they lift upward, trapping warm air close to its body and shielding it from the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to using its thick hair coat to keep it warm from the outside, your horse uses calories to stay warm from the inside. Since roughage fermentation in the horse’s hindgut aids in keeping the animal warm, many horse owners give their animals more hay throughout the winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, even with a thick winter coat and a typical calorie intake, your horse might not be able to stay warm during the winter depending on its body’s lower critical temperature, or LCT. The lower critical temperature is the lowest temperature at which your horse can maintain its core body temperature without using more energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the outside temperature drops below the lower necessary temperature, its hair coat and regular calorie intake are not enough to keep it warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lower critical temperature of a horse varies according to the temperatures it likes, the amount of body insulation it has (such as how long its hair coat is and how much body fat it has), and whether it lives indoors or outdoors. Because of this, blankets are sometimes beneficial for horses with thick winter coats as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Factors That Determine a Horse’s Temperature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We’ll help you decide what’s best for you and your horse! The decision to blanket your horse will depend on its coat, living conditions, age and digestive health, physical condition, and the coldest temperature it can withstand, among other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, like most things in the world of horses, the short answer to the age-old debate over whether or not to blanket is, “it depends.” Every horse is unique. Thus, while deciding whether to blanket them, one should also consider their specific needs (and not just the fact that the owner is cold!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ll go through the five key factors that affect your horse’s ability to stay warm and how each one influences your decision to blanket your horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hair Coat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Seasonal Coat Horses’ winter coats become longer and coarser than their summer ones due to fewer daylight hours. The horse’s hairs stand on edge when the temperature drops to form a barrier that traps warm air near the body and insulates it from the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In their natural state, horses with a thick winter coat are probably safe to ride. Unquestionably, horses with “show coats” that are exceedingly smooth or have been through cropping will need a blanket to be warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Living Conditions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Access to the shelter can help horses cope with the toughest winter conditions. Likely, horses with stalls or other forms of permanent housing will just require their winter coat. Using a waterproof sheet or blanket will keep horses unable to shield themselves from the elements, warm and dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Age<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Horses’ physiological systems, especially their digestive and immune systems, degrade in effectiveness as they age. One of these systems can thermoregulate, essentially keeping the core temperature constant. One technique for helping elderly horses maintain their body heat is to blanket them with the proper quantity of fill or weight of blanket to prevent overheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State of the Body<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can measure how easily a horse can regulate its body temperature by its overall fat cover, sometimes referred to as body condition. Simple-care horses or those with healthy body fat have a higher chance of surviving without one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving a blanket to hard keepers, also known as naturally slender horses, is a great idea because they usually expend additional energy just to get warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geography and LCT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The temperature below which a horse can maintain its core temperature without using any additional energy is the lower critical temperature or LCT. Its hair coat and the usual number of calories It consumes are no longer enough to keep It warm when the temperature drops below that LCT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horses that live in warmer climates generally “get dressed” at lower temperatures than horses that live in colder locations because the temperatures can lower a horse’s LCT.<\/p>\n\n\n
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How Warm Are Horse Sheets and Blankets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A surprising comparison might help you comprehend the value of warmth: your bed! Consider the materials you use to “dress” your bed. The sheets are fairly thin and don’t offer much heat. On the other side, blankets are thicker and cozier, keeping you warmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same goes for tying up your horse. Horse blankets offer far more warmth than thin horse sheets and light. Horse blankets come in various thicknesses or degrees of heat, much like the ones on your bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A blanket’s warmth is in ounces (grams) of fill or “stuffing.” For extra warmth, you can always layer blankets. For instance, if you buy a stable blanket with medium warmth and a light turnout blanket, you can layer the two together to give the stable blanket waterproof protection and extra warmth from the light turnout blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Equine Blanket Glossary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Because they don’t include any fill, sheets are your horse’s lightest option for clothing (much like the sheets on your bed). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stable Sheet <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you hear the word “sheet,” you usually mean a piece of clothing that belongs to the stable category. The goal of stable sheets is to keep the coat clean and provide a thin layer of warmth. Usually, they are of canvas, nylon, poly\/cotton, or cotton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Show open-weave sheets called “scrims” are exceedingly thin and meant to keep your horse clean while you watch events. In general, scrims are more about style than function. They have nylon or poly\/cotton fabric with the name of the horse or stable stitched on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anti-Sweat Sheet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Anti-sweat sheets, like scrims, have an open weave that enhances ventilation and reduces sweat buildup. They are of 100% cotton or a poly\/cotton blend to help wick away moisture. Anti-sweat sheets are a great option to keep your horse clean while it cools off after a hot summer ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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