Most years by the beginning of January, the horses have been wearing blankets pretty consistently. This year, they’ve only warn blankets two nights, when the temperatures dipped into the single digits. Otherwise, we’ve had unseasonably warm weather coupled with the fact that the new barn has less blanket storage and it’s harder to blanket them since they eat out in the pasture.

Guess what? They’ve survived just fine.

For a variety of reasons I never got around to clipping them this year. I typically do a trace clip to keep them from overheating, and then I feel obligated to cover them up and keep them warm. This year both Freedom and Zelda have good thick coats and they don’t look at all distressed, even when it’s been in the fifteen degree range.

I will continue to blanket when it’s in the single digits — or when it’s wet as well as cold. And I’ll keep an eye on Freedom’s weight. Keeping a blanket on him is a good way to conserve calories. But it is kind of nice not to have to deal with the constant blanket changes.

Do you blanket? If so, how cold does it get before you start?