Debatable

jackspark · Debatable

So I put him up for the night. It's only the second time this winter that I have chosen to do so and I am torn as usual. He is an old man and I worry that the COLD rain will make him shiver and wear down his immune system. The flip side is that he is independent and wants to do his job...... watch over his herd.

Is the stress of being unable to perform his duty worse, for him, than staying out in the cold rain? Am I transferring and putting human spin on his situation? Is my protectiveness just selfishness in disguise? (he finds it undignified to wear a blanket)

bit

Yeah, Bit doesn't do blankets. Until I say so, because she can't take a cold rain. She pins her ears, gives me the stink eye, and I inform her of upcoming ugly weather situation. She snorts at me, I buckle her up. Maybe it's selfish. Better than a sick horse.

cheerios

Our old timers at the rescue (4 old grumpy geldings, all around 30) get blankets when the temperatures get low. One of them, Blaze, has gotten grumpy about his blanket this winter, but he's also the one with the least meat on his old bones. So, we tell him he has to wear it.

Are you putting the horse up by himself, or are there other horses in the barn?

I think you're right to put him up if you think the cold rain is going to chill him.

However, if leaving his companions is stressing him out, you might try bringing at least one other horse in with him for the night.

~Mary

CoolsLadyInRed

I am kind of a leave them be person if they have shelter. That is me. I think the stress of not being with their herd can be worse than keeping them warm,etc. Again that is just me.

gaitinalong

My alpha dominant is now 24 with serious metabolic issues. He would stress in a major way if his entire herd weren't with him.

Thankfully that's only three more horses and they all come in at night, 365 days/yr .

Do you have the room to bring everyone in? Or at the very least bring his BFF in with him and see how that works?

The other option is to leave a blanket on him on those cold/wet/blustery nights, no matter how un-dignified he may think he looks

Once he realizes how warm it will keep him and also save him from burning needed calories to stay warm, he will like it - even if he does tell you he doesn't

My 17 yr old stays warm and doesn't need a blanket on those miserable days. Howeverrrrrr, the Mister kept harping that he should have one "just like everyone else", so I bought him a waterproof blanket without any lining.

This horse has the open stall and dashes into the paddock every time he sees the blanket coming. I go out with the buggy whip, point and say "get to the barn". He goes, I put his blanket on (without haltering him) and, wonder-of-wonders he has never tried to rub it off. He rarely even rolls when he's wearing it.

Point-being, if you can't get at least part of the herd in at night with your alpha horse, put the blanket on anyway, when the nights get ugly

Clarissa

What causes you to believe he feels it undignified to wear a blanket Nancy? A good winter rug would be the ideal solution so he could stay with his herd.

I would get him past the reluctance to wear it. Use positive reinforcement training & make sure the rug fits really well & doesn't iritate or press on places like top of wither. Sometimes it takes a few goes to get the right fit. I like the new designs & I guess you would have very similar designs to us these days. I like the Weatherbeta combo all in one sheet. It has better closures at the chest which are lower to stop them cutting into the base of the neck & causing tightness over the wither & it doesn't have any seems over the wither either. They also have better shoulder pleats that actually work & better back leg & belly straps which keep the rugs in the right place so long as you get the size right. The combos also have the neck rug part all in one & it actually stays in place up the neck!

lol perhaps he remembers older designs that didn’t fit comfortably or did hurt him somewhat perhaps over the whither. I also like the idea of the newish polarfleece under rug because it is so light yet instantly warming for a cold wet horse. Older style canvas rugs were heavy & cumbersome but the new lightweight combo sheets are a 10th the weight & I think most horses that don’t sweat under them would like them much more.

Getting too hot is a big issue I think for many horses. Unless the temp never gets above 5c in the morning, rugs should be removed in time for the sun to hit the horse. And even if it does only get to that temp the under rug should be removed anyway as it holds way too much heat. The over rug can stay on if rain or snow or miserable windy weather is forecast & then only if they have no other shelter.

You could leave him out until he is cold & shivering then put a nice warm polarfleece cover on him for a while till he stops shivering & relaxes with his herd again then take it off & boot him back down the paddock until he is either cold or begging….. (& repeat!!) Lol Mind you that could be an all night exercise that you need to repeat a few times until he sees the benefit. lol

The thing about him getting all het up about his herd not being with him will shorten his life just as quickly as shivering all night. So he’s going to be miserable one way or the other unless he learns to wear a rug in the paddock.

jackspark

HopeMissouri

Sometimes I bring the 31yo in, other times I leave him out to seek shelter on his own.

As much as possible, I leave him out with the others. We have a huge barn run-in. If it's cold and raining, they will all usually come in. Often, he'll choose to stay in the barn alone.

If it's really cold, and the windchill is in the teen's or below, I'll often bring him in if there's snow on the ground. The others will forage, but his teeth are not good and he'll just stand outside with them. I usually keep another horse with him for company.

Quality of life can be a tough call as they slowly age.

PasoBaby_CarolU

All of mine have shelter and they all use them. I do blanket Bien when the temperature falls in the low 20's and both she and Zar are kept in the indoor arena area because the footing there doesn't freeze. Because Bien has IR I keep her weight at about four on the Body Score, so she has no store of fat to keep her warm. So, I blanket her.

I would not be able to blanket and turn loose many horses...all mine have to mess with stuff and they'd shred them. It's why I can't do fly masks either. They think the point is a contest to see how fast they can get them off.

jackspark

Same here Carol....... It's a race to see who can get their mask/blanket off first and if not their own then each others. I have very playful horses