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Here we are, the leaves are turning bright colors, frost has even been spotted and from what I hear, our friends in the north have even seen some of that white stuff that brings up thoughts of times not too far to come! Along with this autumn weather come cold nights, and warm, fuzzy winter coats on our equine friends.

At this time each year, we get inundated with horsey catalogs full of warm blankets, weather resistant turn out rugs, fleecy liners that can be used as sheets or as an "extra layer of warmth," you name it! So you sit down, and think, "Well, gee, does my horse need this arctic-blast, super-model turn-out rug and hood?" "What about the three-layer, mega-warmth sports edition blanket?" Because, after all, we don't want our horses cold!

Here's what you need to put it in perspective. Horses are naturally designed to make it through the winter. Without human intervention, they do amazingly well in the coldest of weather. The best thing for most horses in the winter is a place to get out of the wind; a shelter that can also provide cover from the rain is a bonus. This doesn't have to be a $200,000 dollar barn we're talking about here. Many horses are perfectly content with a good stand of trees. A lean-to type shelter does great also. The next thing they need is good nutrition, and plenty of hay. The act of chewing and digesting the fiber in hay produces an amazing amount of heat -- plus we all know that a good quality hay in and of itself is the most important thing you can feed your horse. And then finally, but definitely just as important, they need water. Now, here's the trick, they have to drink the water. A frozen block of ice doesn't cut it, snow won't do either. We'll cover that more in our winter edition, so for now, take my word on it.

Now, you did notice that I said "most horses," right? There are exceptions. After all, even wild horses do die in the winter. There are horses that for various reasons will need some extra attention. Some of these horses are old, and just don't produce the hair coat and fat layers that their younger peers do. Some are too underweight. Some are immuno-compromised (these are usually ones that have been sick for a while), or are sick and just don't have the back up reserves in their system to pull them through. For these horses, blankets on those cold nights would be wise. These guys also would benefit from a stall that they can get out of all the weather into, as well as a boost in feed to help build up a bit of fat if at all possible.

Other horses that will need blanketing are ones that have been clipped to make winter work-outs a little easier on both the horse and the rider. These guys of course need you to replace the cover that their coat would have given them.

There's one other category of horse here that needs to be mentioned: show horses. So that they can be shown earlier in the year, before their pasture buddies have significantly lost their winter coats, these horses are, in theory, prevented from growing winter coats. Here's the scoop on that. Blanketing a horse will not prevent a winter coat. Just like a late cold snap in June will not cause a winter coat to grow, making a horse hot will not make a coat fall out. The light cycle determines a horse's coat growth. As the days get shorter, the horse begins growing a winter coat. As the days get longer, their bodies are triggered to start shedding. The only way to prevent a horse from growing a winter coat is to use lights to trick the horse into believing you're still in a nice, sunny, July! To do this effectively, you have to start in September and consistently add minutes to the day in the evening. Some folks will say you can do it in the morning, but all the studies I've read for this, and for tricking mares into heat earlier, show that adding time in the morning is useless. Now, what happens if you just blanket a horse, and don't use the lights? In effect, nothing, though you increase the risk of over-heating the horse. By putting a blanket on the horse, you flatten his hair coat. This is fine while the blanket is on. But when the blanket is removed, the flattened hair coat will not have the insulatingproperties that fuzzy wuzzy in the next stall down has! This is only a temporary problem; once out of the blanket, the hair coat will slowly begin to fluff back up and insulate the horse better.

Are there drawbacks to blanketing? Overheating is one. It's always safer to under blanket than over blanket. Overheating the horse, at the very least, will cause the horse to sweat -- and we all know what happens when our clothing gets damp from sweating and then it cools off! Brrrrr!!! And the horse doesn't have the option of changing blankets. In more severe cases, you can cause heat exhaustion or stroke, as well as stress the horse's system, which in itself can sometimes cause laminitis (founder) and lead to suppression of the immune system, making it easier for various viruses and bacteria to start setting up housekeeping. On occasion, you can also run into problems with the blanket itself. Horses have been known to get their legs tangled up in blankets that are too big, or straps that are put on incorrectly or too loose. Not to mention, most horses will eventually find something to rub on and tear the blanket -- so if you do blanket, keep a spare on hand.

So, now that you have so food for thought, head on out and enjoy this beautiful autumn weather while you can! After all, the cold days of winter are just right around the corner!