I'm not a huge fan of winter. Mostly I just really hate being cold! So I definitely understand where people are coming from when they see photos of our horses outside in the snow and ice and wonder why we don't use blankets. Although I'm convinced that horse people will debate this issue forever, we've found a system that works for us and our horses and it involves leaving our horses in their natural coats most of the time. Here's a bit about why we go this route:
To begin with, horses primarily generate heat from the inside out through digesting
fiber. We feed free-choice hay throughout the winter so the horses generate a lot of heat just from their diet. In addition, our horses grow very heavy winter coats. Since we only work each horse a couple of times a week we decided not to clip them, but do have brushes and coolers available to dry them of any sweat before turnout. Between their high fiber diet and heavy natural hair coats our horses are quite content in the winter weather, even on days when I'm hiding in the house.
Seeing snow on a horse's back can be alarming, but it's actually a very good sign! This means that the horse's hair is insulating them and their body heat is trapped, rather than escaping which would cause the snow to melt.
Wind or rain can make it harder to stay warm but all of our fields have wind breaks/shelter available in the form of run-in sheds or wooded areas. The worst possible weather is when it is warm enough to rain and get everyone wet followed by temperatures that drop to ice or snow. Dry hair insulates the body but once it is wet and soaked down it becomes much harder to stay warm. In this case, we can often be found outside looking for anyone who didn't take shelter from the rain to fluff out their hair and help them get back some natural insulation.
Although most of our horses do very well with the no-blanketing system, there are times when we choose to use them. We had an older mare who never grew a great hair coat and struggled to maintain her weight in the winter. This is a great example of a horse who can benefit from having a blanket to help her stay warm without burning extra calories. This year, I have a mare who was shaved for surgery in December. They took all the hair off her sides from her last rib back to her flank! Her hair has been slow to re-grow so we have a blanket available for cold or snowy days to help hold in her body heat since she doesn't have her natural insulation.
Lucky showing off her winter blanket to help her stay warm even though she's half-shaved
In the end, as with many horse management issues, it comes down to knowing your horses and making a choice based on what works best for them. We're not opposed to using blankets as a tool to maximize horse health and comfort on our farm, we've just found that most of them don't actually benefit from more layers. So the next time you see photos or horses standing outside in the cold, just know that they are likely quite content with the brisk weather and a full belly!
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