Just as one wishes not to be chilly during cold winters, it is the same way horses don’t wish to fill chilly, only that they are not capable of blanketing themselves. Many have debated on whether to blanket the horses or not. Blanketing your horse is necessary since it can prevent one from making losses. Many disadvantages come with allowing your horse to be chilly during winter. For example, a horse may fall sick due to those chilly conditions, allowing one to call the veterinary doctor for treatment. Treatment expense is already a loss since one will have to pay the veterinary doctor and even for the maintenance of the horse.
One may be asking what is used to blanket the horses. There are different types of horse blankets to use, some of which may be used indoors and others while outdoors. Some examples of these horse blankets include; stable blankets, cooler blankets, turnout blankets, and even quarter blankets. Horse blankets are ideal since they are easy to clean and maintain; hence, one greatly benefits from using them to blanket the horses.
Here are some of the benefits of blanketing the horse.
1. Blanketing keeps the horse dry.
Keeping the horse dry is of the most importance. Horses do a lot of work; just like any other animal, they also sweat. Sweating causes discomfort to the horse hence stressing him. To avoid this, a very simple way to keep the horse dry is to ensure that your blanket it was using the cooler blankets to provide a cool process to the horse. One can also use the numnah saddle pad, which absorbs sweat and facilitates cooling, making the horse dry.
2. Blankets keep the horse warm.
One of the major benefits of blanketing the horse is that it enables the horse to be warm. Although it’s necessary to keep them warm, you must consider which types of blankets to use. Some blankets may lead to the horse overheating, leading to sweating of the horse. You cannot use a heavy blanket when there are no winters. It helps one to be able to balance on types of blankets to use to keep your horse warm. When the horses are warm, they are not prone to some flu-associated diseases; hence no losses are incurred. The stable rugs are ideal for keeping the horse warm.
3. Blanketing decreases food consumption for horses.
During cold seasons, the horses need much food to maintain their temperatures. Sometimes they consume a lot of feeds than the normal periods. It helps ensure they retain the heat and even their bodies remain healthy. Buying hays and pellets may incur many losses when the horses are not blanketed. Blanketing the horse maintains their bodies and even the temperatures, hence consuming the normal feeds.
4. Ensures they remain clean
Another benefit of blanketing the horse is that it will remain clean. Horses are fords lying down and rolling. If they are not blanketed, they will absorb a lot of dust; hence one has a lot of work to ensure he is clean. It might not be the case when the horse is blanketed since cleaning will be easy.
Wrapping up
In conclusion, one may decide whether to blanket the horse, although there are a lot of benefits that one will get from blanketing the horse hence avoiding some losses in some cases. Some of these benefits include; keeping the horse clean and warm and even reducing the horse’s consumption rate. Considering these benefits, it is most important to blanket the horses.