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Discussion on No winter coat...
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Member:
leec
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 6:00 pm:
Hello,
I have a 21 yr old 3/4 QH x 1/4 TB gelding. He's a big guy, 16.3hh/1266lbs. I would say his BS is a 5 at the moment. I have only had him for 7 weeks, so this is my first winter with him. He grass foundered last fall, but recovered fully, though it was recommended that I watch his weight. He currently is eating an excellent quality 60% grass/40% alfalfa hay - free choice. He is UTD on vacs, de-worming, teeth etc. My concern is, his lack of winter coat growth for this time of year in our region (British Columbia, Canada). My 2.5 yr old QH gelding has 2x more hair than him, as do all the other horses I've seen in our area recently. The temps here are about a month behind (warmer than usual), but I thought hair growth was based more on daylight hours... The horses are turned out 24/7 on 3 acres and have access to run-in shelters and lots of tree cover. I have a water heater (which I have not needed to use yet, we are usually using them by mid-October). Sooo, should I wait to see if he gets fuzzy or should I start shopping for a blanket? I have never had to blanket any of the other five horses I have owned on this property - 6 mons to 12yrs of age. We have had minus 40 degree C temperatures at times during our winters - maybe more with wind... Does my old guy's body just know it's too soon to need a coat? Eg. today it's plus 10 and raining - in past years it would minus 5 and snowing... Or, is him not growing a coat a symptom that something is not right with him? His previous owner said he always gets a ton of hair - he was at a lower altitude than we are, when we got him.
Thanx,
Lee
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 7:15 pm:
Hi Lee,
Weeelll, you can either wait to see if he gets cold and shivers, or buy a blanket in case he does. Most horses are fine in cold and suffer more in wet/wind, but a few turn out to be hothouse flowers.
I have a horse that never puts on much of a coat, and doesn't seem to shed water off the one she does get. Her health is otherwise excellent, so I just got her a nice sheet and a medium weight blanket, and use the appropriate one (or both, when it's well below 0'F).
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 8:35 pm:
I agree with Elizabeth and personally keep three horses. The oldest and youngest have always grown good coats. The one in between does not. When the wind blows, and especially if it is rainy, he shivers. That is a sign that the horse needs help. If he is standing around shivering, put a blanket on him.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 - 8:48 pm:
Lee Mine seem to be behind schedule too. The two older ones have their winter coats, but they are not as hairy as they normally are at this time of year. Hank hasn't even started growing his winter beard yet! He has a little winter fuzz but not much.
I'm not worried at all though, seems he can grow a coat overnight if he needs to. It never hurts to have a blanket on hand in case though. I don't own one and every year I think I should get one and never do.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 7:23 am:
TB's with comparatively thin coats is pretty common and having come from a lower (read warmer) altitude the coat may be a little less than if he had been at your house. Yes the stage of coat growth is chiefly controlled by light but effected by the environment.
DrO
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 8:40 am:
Lee,
I have a mare that doesnt grow a nice thick winter coat. I call her the "no-hair mare". She is 3/4 TB, It seems to me that most 'healthy' horses that dont have good winter coats always have TB in them.
I use a medium weight turn out rug. With another light weight rug to use underneath if needed. Both are of breathable material.
Cheers,
leslie
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 12:03 pm:
My QH/TB mare never gets much of a coat compared to our other horses and appreciates a blanket.
I keep two blankets on hand for all my horses, a waterproof lightweight (no insulation) turnout sheet and a mid-weight turnout blanket that I only use when the weather is really bad. I never blanketed before moving to the northwest (have lived in PA, MD, CO and CA) but something about the prolonged cold rains here seems to chill more than anything else. Keeping them dry and feeding increased forage is IMO the best way to keep them warm.
I would think a 60-40 mix hay might be a little rich to feed free-choice but each horse is different. If he starts to pack on the pounds adding free choice straight grass hay might be a good solution.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 12:14 pm:
My boy who doesn't ever grow much of a winter coat is a gray Arabian who originally came to Florida from Pennsylvania. He is related to my bay Arabian who also came from Pennsylvania, but who always gets a very good winter coat.
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Member:
dr3ssag3
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 12:56 pm:
I'm a big blanketer for 3 major reasons: 1. They protect my horse from the elements which is especially important when it's windy, 2. It makes grooming much more pleasant when my horse comes in for tacking up nice and dry, and 3. I partially clip my horse in the winter so she doesn't become too sweaty and consequently difficult to cool out after a workout.
That said, it seems there's a lot of mystery surrounding when to blanket and what sort of blanket to use. I found this handy guide online. I believe it was originally published in Equus magazine. Hope this helps!
What Blanketing Does Your Horse Need?
Take the guesswork out of bundling up your horse this winter with Ox Ridge barn manager Sue Louther's easy-to-follow system.
By Sandra Cooke
Follow these guidelines if your horse is body-clipped. (Temperatures are Farenheit.) If he has his full coat, subtract 10 degrees from recommendation (for example, you'd put on a turnout sheet at 50 degrees, not 60). And, clipped or not, for turnout on days that are sunny and calm, dress him as if the temperature were ten degrees higher.
60-65 -- Turnout sheet
50-60 -- Sheet over lightweight liner
40-50 -- Midweight insulated turnout rug, or turnout sheet over stable blanket
30-40 -- Heavy turnout rug, midweight rug over stable sheet or fleece liner, ot turnout sheet over stable blanket plus liner
20-30 -- Heavy rug over fleece liner, or medium rug over quilted liner or stable blanket
Below 20 -- Heavy rug over quilted liner or stable blanket, or midweight rug over quilted lliner or stable blanket plus fleece.
Is he chilly? Too warm? Here's how to tell.
Not warm enough: Ears cool to your touch, exposed hair coat stands on end, body tense (for instance, he stands stiffly on the crossties without cocking a leg), shivering, tail clamped.
Too warm: Restlessness, sweating under his blankets. To check, put your bare hand between the innermost layer and his coat -- and feel all the way back to his rib cage. The shoulder area near the binding, where dirt and dander accumulate first, tends to feel warm and sticky even when the rest of his body isn't.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Monday, Nov 3, 2008 - 3:58 pm:
Wow, Dawn, I couldn't help laughing at the image of a horse with "Heavy rug over quilted liner or stable blanket, or midweight rug over quilted lliner or stable blanket plus fleece". Reminds me of the toddler in the snowsuit who can't move because he's so bundled up!
When I first read it I thought it meant ALL of them, not OR! Haha!
Erika
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Member:
dr3ssag3
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 4, 2008 - 2:04 pm:
Lol that would be something to see! I remember at a show barn I visited in the midwest one particularly cold winter the horses in turnout that had been completely body clipped were in hoods that showed only their muzzle and eyeballs. You could kind of tell that there was a horse underneath all of that packaging. Fortunately in my area of the Northwest we don't get temperatures quite so low so I need not embarass my mare in such a way. 
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