Hi.

Okay, so. I got a blanket for my 28 year old mare. My concern is if it's too hot for Missouri weather(right now, nights are about 40 degrees(with days being about 50-55) and in winter days are abut 30(winter nights are about 20)). I got her a heavyweight 1200D Tough-1 blanket. I had it on her last night and went out to take it off after stressing so much about weather or not it'd make her overheat and sweat. When I went out there, I stuck my hand inside before to feel if she was hot or sweating and she wasn't. She was a teeny bit warm to the touch, but not even very noticeably and she'd already had this on for 4 or more hours at this point. Keep in mind that she is also underweight a bit because she is 1.) old and hard to keep weight on and 2.) had a broken jaw that healed badly(was like this when I rescued her) and now can't have her teeth floated by vet's recommendation or it would almost certainly re-break her jaw(she is given soaked senior grain every morning and evening and is given soaked alfalfa cubes daily in winter). She's about 100 lbs. underweight, maybe less. Not severely, but still.

My question is... Do you think this will be okay for her for nights now(I don't keep it on her during the day right now, and only plan to put it on her during the days in winter) and/or for winter? Would you put it on her if you were in my situation? If not, what are your recommendations?

Blanketing just like feeding, is by trial/error & everyone does it slightly different.
You'll need to find a system that works for you.

I only blanket my horses that are clipped.
I do have older retired horses/ponies and they do best left unclipped and unblanketed. Most important is shelter, not only from snow/rain but also from wind. Wind can keep long hair from insulating properly.
Then nutrition, feed a heating feed whether in the form of hay,teff or cubes. Roughages ferment in the digestive system creating body heat. So ideally some type of roughage fed 24/7 is best.

For blanketed horses;
currently 50/60 daytime[but scheduled to be 70's by weekend] and low 40's @ night, Horses stalled @ night & under lights until 9pm;
Cotton sheets @ night, turnout sheets during turnout if damp/cloudy or windy.
By Nov-Either a midweight stable blaket or most likely wool/polar fleece.
Not until daytime temps 30*- cotton sheet plus midweight stable blankets & mid/heavy weight turnout-depends on brand/quality of fill.

Then all horses have;
High neck turnout for severve weather
Quarter sheets for riding
Coolers both wool & polar fleece
Unlined turnout sheet to be used on top of midweight turnout
A spare sheet/stable blanket/liner

I don't neccessarily use each blanket on each horse within the season, but do try to blanket the same as I dress.
Long sleeve shirt=sheet
Sweatshirt or jacket=wool/polar fleece
Coat/gloves=Blanket

And layering works better than a single heavy.

Your right to be concerned w/ over blanketing if they sweat eary in the night they will become chilled by early morning.
And if you are not available during the day weather changes sometimes means blanket changes.
Leave early am when it's chilly but strong sun by afternoon.
or
Pleasant in am but chilly overcast and wet by afternoon.

If @ all possible try to increase calories [lots of options here], provide good shelter and leave unblanketed.

Your blanket 1200D [Denier] is the tread strength on the outer shell-you need to know what the fiber fill is-that # gives you the temp rating.
It may not be as warm as a different company's light weight.

I live in North Carolina but have been to Missouri a time or two to pick-up/drop-off horses.

More than the cold, you have to deal with the wind. The wind that blows CONSTANTLY there in the winter is what will get to your mare.

As long as you have a good wind break for the night and a nice sunny spot she can warm herself in during the day you can be less concerned with blankets and more concerned with making sure she has free-choice fodder and access to fresh (unfrozen) water.

It has a 400 gram fiberfill insulation. I'm mainly concerned about blanketing her in winter, not necessarily right now. The past few weeks, night and sometimes even days have required that I wear a jacket or even two jackets at once. But I'm also 17 with thick, young skin, whereas she is an old mare. I wasn't sure if they were like old people and got colder as they got older. I've never had an elderly mare before her. I've had a weaning(and had her to the age of 2), a 6 year old mare, and a 4 year old mare.
Never an old mare. The vet said she may be stressed, causing her to have lost the weight she has(about 100lbs.). She hasn't seemed much different, but, I was wondering, could she maybe be lonely? We have no other horses right now on 6 acres.

Okay. I guess I could take the $80 blanket I just got her back to Dicky Bub's. I hope they'll take it even though it's been on her once already! I guess I can run to the tack store later and get her a lighter sheet(plus side, it'll be cheaper, naturally! So I can also get her some alfalfa cubes, maybe? Would that be a good option?). We have a shelter for her but she's currently locked out of it until my dad can fix the floor because she put two big holes through it the other day. Dad's going to put in stronger boards.

She's new to you ?
Assuming you did not have her last winter.
Her age doesn't neccessarily mean she needs a blanket, but she absolutely does need shelter.

If you are going to blanket she really should start wearing one now, if she is not going to be blanketed daily during the entire winter than you should not blanket @ all.
Horses will shed summer coats and grow in a winter one, the winter coat will get long/thick depending on what each horse needs.
Once their full coat is in, it will either lay flat or stand up, by the hair standing up it creates a small pocket of air that insulates the skin.
By putting a blanket on a full coat, it compresses the hair not allowing it to work the way intended and can actually make your horse colder.

If you can, talk w/ the people you got her from. If she has lost weight since coming to you ask what her feeding schedule was like w/ them.

Horses can have multiple stress factors-what reasoning did the Vet give to be hers.

Some horses live alone & are fine their entire lives, I would not purchase another and assume it automatically will fix the mare.

She may have some auto-immune stresses, a simple blood chemistry can tell you if any internal organs are not functioning properly, leading to weight loss. Also be diligent about parasites, have a fecal done to see don't just paste worm not knowing.

If she is eating all of her feed and lossing weight, yes she needs more feed, better feed and/or higher calories.
If possible start by giving extra feeding, instead of 2x per day feed as many times as possible, up to 6x daily.
At first feed same amount & every 2 days add 5% more.
If she can eat hay, you may want to buy some good quality alfalfa and feed 15lbs of that as well.

actual alfalfa hay is better than the cupes if she can eat it. You may also want to feed a lower nutritional content of hay that she can have free choice. I know alfalfa was pretty cheap in MS last year (about 3$ a bale) but it's super expensive in NC (about 15$ a bale). A good choice for your mare might be an orchard or clover hay with alfalfa mixed in since orchard and clover are more tender and leafy than a fescue or timothy hay. Your feed store should be able to help you choose a good quality hay for your mare.

I would keep the big blanket. 400 grams isnt that heavy. Just get her a light WATERPROOF sheet for the autum and spring to go with her heavy blanket.

I dont know what kind of shelter you have but have you considered just ripping to floor up all together?? Hard to put a foot through dirt and alot easier to keep clean and dry. Also, consider putting a bedding in the shelter (straw or shavings) these provide warmth and cushion for those old tendons. Just be sure to keep the bedding clean and dry.

If you can afford it, I would pick up both a light weight and medium weight blanket and experiment with them on her to see where she seems the most comfortable and in what weather. You can always layer them together to provide additional protection, just make sure they are weather-proof. A wet blanket that gets soaked through will hurt her more than it will help.

As for weight gain - pick up a bag of rice bran and start feeding it to her. It usually helps a lot with some of our older horses and its super easy to eat, even with bad teeth. Alfalfa cubes may need to be soaked with the condition of her teeth.

^^^I like this answer. Exactly what I was going to say about blankets and feed as well. Good luck!

Once the style of horse shelter has been decided on, the details can be decided. The material used is usually wood as metal can get too hot and can also be noisy in bad weather. The size of the shelter will be dictated by the number of horses that will be using it. There needs to be enough space for all of the horses to stand and lie comfortably in it and the entrance must be adequately wide, so that more dominant horses can't stop others from entering

fencing sydney