Winter is almost here again. According to the Farmers Almanac this year will be very cold and snowy unlike our normal winters. While you’ll be warm and cozy by the fireplace, drinking the hot chocolate and reading a good book in your favorite pajamas; all wrapped up comfortably in your soft blanket while the snow falls outside, is your horse just as cozy and warm?

Is your horse in a clean, warm stall in the barn, with fresh hay and clean water, protected from the elements?  Did you remember his horse blanket?  It’s not as though he can waltz over to his little horsey dresser and take it out of the drawer!  Your precious investment is depending on you to remember the particulars of his care.

A horse blanket is expecially needed in the cold, hard elements of the winter season.  Your horse has no way of actually saying, “Hey, could you hand me that blanket, please?”  It is a living, breathing creation and is counting on you to give it what it needs to survive.

The horse blankets need not be elaborate, expensive pieces of valuable art.  They simply need to be functional and warm for your buddy.  The function here is to hold in the animal’s body heat in the winter.  Of course, they are also used as cushioning underneath the saddles among other things.  Which, by the way, is also needed in the winter and the blanket helps the horse stay warmer while being ridden outside. More than one is quite handy as one alone is sure to get dirty and need attention just when you count on it the most. 

Miniature horses have their own furry horse blankets in the winter.  Even though all horses have thicker hair in the winter, the minis look woolly!  They sometimes enjoy running in the snow just for fun!  One type of miniature horse is the Falabella, which are said to be survivors of the Ice Age.  They must have been an extremely tough breed of animal to survive the harsh winters from that period of time.

Maybe you are wondering if the horses of the Ice Age needed blankets.  While I’m sure plenty survived without them, horses being tamed by mankind have also been bred to be somewhat spoiled or catered to, if you will.  I suppose you could compare it to a dog that has been kept inside with central heat since a pup.  If you put the dog outside in the yard in the harsh winter, it will struggle against the cold. 

So, care for your horse with the love and tenderness you would give yourself or your dog.

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