Twenty years ago, an old cowboy chided me for blanketing my new horse the first winter I had her. “You keep that up, and she’ll get sick,” he said, then proceeded to explain that when it came to winter blanketing, less was always best as you could do a horse more harm than good. His rule of thumb was simple: don’t blanket until the water buckets in the barn freeze over.

Certainly the decision to blanket depends on several factors. Does your horse live inside? With other horses? Is he an outdoor horse with moderate shelter? Are you available during the day to change his stable blanket to a turnout blanket or remove altogether if the day is warm? Do you want your horse to grow a winter coat because if you blanket too soon, she may not grow a coat.

When it comes to blanketing horses that are stabled at night and go out for a few hours during the day, I’ve seen more over blanketed sweaty horse than truly cold horses. The concern when blanketing is not how cold your horse is but how warm he’ll potentially heat up to. The last thing you want is a sweaty horse standing in the cold, wearing a cold, wet blanket.

The old cowboy’s suggestions were simple; some horses may need to be blanketed:

*ill horses

*horses that need to gain weight

*old horses

*clipped horses

*outside-living horses

*horses not accustomed to the cold

“If he’s shivering, he needs a coat,” he’d say.

Now, some 20 years later, as the nights have started dipping into the low 30s, the same blanketing questions were coming up at the barn where I board my horse.  Last night the temperature was 35 degrees. This afternoon was 70 degrees. (Also, keep in mind, that in a closed barn with several horses, the horses’ natural body heat will also help keep the barn warmer than you might expect.)

But if you’re like me, you want the most simplicity because you cannot be there to change blankets, have one midweight waterproof breathable blanket that can work double duty inside and out but will not be ruined in the rain or when your horse rolls.

For determining the temperature at which to blanket, I still use the freezing buckets as a clue (the ones outside because the inside ones are heated). But I primarily decide based on temperature during the day more so than at night assuming I will not be at the barn to remove the blanket.

My rule of thumb now: I use a cooler far more often than a blanket in the winter. In the cold weather, I keep a cooler on her as I lead her to the arena and coming back as well as while she is cooling out and drying off. My horse is allowed to grow her winter coat and gets blanketed very infrequently in the winter and typically when the weatherman describes it as “raw” or “dangerously cold” out. She also gets blanketed after a significantly hard workout and temperatures are lower than normal even during the day or when the temperatures are exceptionally cold and when, with wind chill, the temperature is in the minus at night or is single digits during the day.

So, if you’re going to blanket, what will you need? Most experts agree that if you’re going to blanket have one midweight stable blanket that is replaced with a midweight turnout blanket that repels water before the horse is turned out. If you find that you need more coverage for your horse, you can always double up the two midweights, putting the waterproof one on the outside.

Regardless of your rule of thumb with blanketing, always keep a check on his body under the blanket. When you remove the blanket, be vigilant for evidence of sweating. If you’re diligent about keeping your horse from overheating, you could be doing him more good than harm this winter by blanketing.