To Blanket, or not to Blanket…

There are so many schools of thought regarding the proper dress of horses. Some people have a blanket for every conceivable temperature and weather event that nature could provide. Others prefer the ‘au natural’ approach and allow their horse to grow tons of hair. Let us offer our thoughts on this controversial topic!

The bottom line is that horses are individuals with regards to their specific needs to warmth and moisture protection. A tough Morgan or pony breed that grows tons of hair and isn’t being worked may do fine with no blanketing at all, but a Thoroughbred or a clipped horse may need a great deal of auxiliary protection.

A badly fitted blanket can cause all sorts of problems- interestingly, that sometimes mimic bad saddle fit. Horses can get extremely sore at the withers and shoulders if a blanket is pulling at the chest. Blankets need to be pulled and adjusted daily, and the owner should be alert for hair loss or soreness. A wet blanket can be worse than no blanket at all, which is why many people are using waterproof turnouts. Waterproofing a horse blanket is not an easy thing. For one, horses produce a great deal of moisture from their own bodies. The material used in a blanket must be able to pass some of that moisture through the fabric so you don’t just have a sweaty, clammy horse under a plastic sheet. These fabrics have to be designed to let vapor out, but not let water in, which is why the best turnouts use the same technical fabrics that we see in really good human sportswear.

Blankets also have to be stable and secure so they don’t shift under the horse or blow up over their backs in the wind. There are a variety of cuts and shapes that work extremely well to keep a blanket in place as well as using leg and tail straps.

Sizes are also not easy to figure out. The rule of thumb is to measure from the center of the chest to the tail, but some horses are good at compressing themselves to a whole new shape when you try to pull a billowing tape down their sides.

We are probably biased in our opinion, but we have found the Horsewear Ireland blankets to be one of the most satisfactory blankets that we have seen. Our horses have worn them for years and they fit, they are durable, and they remain waterproof for years of service.