[Brandi1985]

Hi everybody, sorry I havent been on in a while. Havent had no questions, its winter so im just letting the horses do whatever. Well I have a question now. We have a 27 yr old Arabian, he lost some wieght, and dont seem to be gaining it back. But my question is, im getting a horse blanket for him, should i keep it on him all the time, or just when its really cold. The temp has been 30 degrees and colder. My moms boyfriend said its to late in the yr for the blanket. It started snowing in the middle of December. Also he said the horse is warm enough because he has small icecicles(sp) hanging on his hair. What do you guys think I should do? Thanks for your help.

[Shotgun93]

I would get him a blanket - but be sure that it's waterproof and breathable. That way, you can leave it on him all the time and he will be okay. If it rains or snows, he won't get wet and if it warms up and he gets sweaty, he won't get chilled because since it's a breathable blanket, it will allow the sweat to evaporate.
I keep a blanket on my horse pretty much 24/7 because I work him in heated indoors a lot, so I don't want him to get really furry, but it's really up to you. You would probably fine to just blanket him at night.

[mtroika]

Does your horse seem to be cold? I can always tell if my horses are cold. It gets way colder here like -30 to -45. If your horse has a good furry coat on him and doesnt seem to be cold he probably doesnt need one. you should probably try up his feed and talking to your vet about senoir horse feed you can get.

[KZWestern]

Generally, horses don't need a blanket when it averages 30 degrees out. I recently read in a magazine that a horse doesn't even start using extra body heat to get warm until its 20 degrees, and that 40 degrees is when they are most comfortable.

What I would suggest though is checking the teeth first, to make sure he can eat all right. Thats a HUGE issue in horses as old as yours. Also, think of worms. Make sure you're on a good worming schedule. Feed senior feed, unlimited grass hay, probably two flakes of alfalfa hay every day, and rice bran. That feeding diet SHOULD start putting weight back on if your horse is otherwise healthy. Get a vet exam deffinetly though.

[Brandi1985]

Thanks for your help. Yeah im not even sure if im going to use it yet. Right now he seems like hes doing fine. I never knew that horses are comfortable at 40 degrees. Right now its been like 30 but its been in the single digits, but no where near -30 to -40. Ill watch him for the next couple of days see how hes doing. For his food we have been putting 2 of the big round bales of hay in the pen with 4 other horses. I think its timothy/grass hay. They go through that in about a week in a half. Ill have to see if my mom will start buying him a bag of the senior feed. Thanks again.

[Sandra-A1]

If the horse is 27 and dropping weight then a blanket sure won't hurt any.
I would go ahead and put one on the old gentleman and see if it helps him maintain what weight he has as well as start to pick it back up.
Also if the horse is dropping weight at that age I would make sure to have your Vet give him a full check up to make sure teeth, possible worm infestion and digestion are all okay.

[CJ]

I would get him a blanket. He'll be able to put whatever energy saved that he's currently using staying warm into generating weight instead of heat. My old ArabX is only 24, and he has a blanket on from temps 40* on down, and a sheet in the 40*s-50s.

[indiekisses985]

Yeah- your horse might be dropping weight because he's using all his energy to keep warm. I would get a blanket thats waterproof.

[HorseN*Around]

i would get him a light winter water proof blanket if he's that old. it would probably be best for him.