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[Joan Deutsch]

Did you see the postings that refer to an apparently nonexistent Colorado State University study that supposedly made several factual points about why blanketing is not good? It made some interesting claims and raises some good issues. It says that it's fine to let horses shiver as a way for them to warm up. What do you think? I figure a shivering horse couldn't be very comfortable. It's on a Dec. 29 posting on the Natural Equipment Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/NaturalEquipment?fref=ts

[horsepeople2001]

I found if my horse is shivering that if I give extra hay she warms up and stops shivering. hay is slow to digest and helps warm a horse from the inside out. I rarely blanket mine. I will blanket under these conditions they are sweaty from being ridden and it is cold out and they need the help getting dry, they are a rescue and don't have any body fat and need the extra to help them stay warm so they can gain weight, they have rain rot from being wet and not getting brushed,dry properly. Other than that no I do not blanket as they don't need it. Blanketing is some thing WE want it is a human thing. What it does for us is makes us feel better like we are doing some thing nice for the horse, keeps the horse clean so it is easier to brush them and go for a ride.

[4HMom]

We blanket for several reasons. Our pasture has minimal shelter, my daughter's clip their most used horses, a couple of ours are prone to rainrot, and 2 are seniors and hard winter keepers.

[kriss10]

We don't blanket, even when it is below 0. Our horses have access to a three sided shelter so they can get out of the weather if they chose. The colder it is, the more often we feed (hay only - my horses don't get any grain or supplements). When I ride on cold days, if they are sweaty when we return, I let them stand in the aisle of the barn and eat hay with a fleece cooler on until they dry. The cooler comes off before they join their buddies. There are lots of times when my horses will go out to pasture and run enough while playing to work up a sweat. They come back to the barn steaming and sweating and they seem to recover just fine. Even on the coldest days I have never seen one of my horses shiver.