This message is from: "Teressa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I only started blanketing my fjords so that it was more convenient for me. When allowed their full winter coats, in the heavy rain and wind in my area, I never found them wet to the skin. However, when I started riding my mare year round and she had to be clipped (otherwise, she was soaked to the skin from sweating during work), she needed a blanket - otherwise she was wet to the skin. Also, when working her in wintertime, the other issue is how filthy she would get from rolling in the mud. And then that is impossible to clean prior to saddling her up. So a blanket is the solution for that. I don't blanket in the summer - if she's in the mud then, I just hose her off, squeegee her and then saddle up. But in the cold here in winter, its another story. If it were dry snowy cold, the winter coat is the best protection. But in our wet, windy, muddy cold, I blanket. And the blanket I use depends on whether the horse is clipped, how recent the clip, how much the horse is being worked and how cold and/or wet it is. For my horses just in pasture in the winter, with no work, then no blanket - even in our weather - because they are totally warm and dry at the skin.
Teressa - just south of the Canadian border in Ferndale, WA -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nature Friends Outdoor Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 2:45 PM To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com Subject: blankets This message is from: "Nature Friends Outdoor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Why on earth would you want to blanket a Fjord horse ???? They have been thriving for centuries in one of the coldest and most humid climate that you can find in the Norvegian coastal area - without blankets ! My horses have a shelter that they never ever use in cold or wet weather (and believe me the Yukon can be cold and wet) - only in the summer to escape the heat and sun. Don't feel bad leaving your Fjords in the rain! They like it ! Yasmine The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw The FjordHorse List archives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw
