Horse Problem - Blanketing horses, hard keepers and more - Does my horse need blanketing?

Would you have a suggestion for us on a blanket for him? We know very little about them, and the prices vary tremendously. He takes the weather fine, unless it is cold and rainy, or it is blizzarding. Would a blanket be helpful in these conditions, and which one? Our horses have never been barned, they just have a wind break. We plan to only use it in the bad weather. Is that unrealistic?

Secondly, we still ride him a few times a week, so I wondered if we should be trying to go bitless on him for teeth upkeep. Like try a hackamore. Right now, he has a roller-bit, but he seems to let it hang in his mouth. Also any grazing done on the trail is impossible for him.

We also got another horse in June, which we are questioning what type of bit to use on her. She is about seven, and is a welsh/paint. My daughter rides her bareback, and she seems to think she reins better when just using lead ropes on the halter. The previous owner said she used a snaffle on her, but this owner trains horses for sale barn horse sales, so I wonder about her training methods. In fact, we still haven't cantered her without getting bucking action. (We have looked at that problem question on your web site.) We know nothing about a hackamore, so we wondered if we should be trying that instead, or if it was too late to change from the bit?

Thank you for your time. You can answer as time permits, because I can imagine you are very busy with your building project. My daughter would love to go to a training center like yours, but I guess she will have to rely on her book reading abilities and help from other horsepeople. Take care.

But since you can't find the Purina products near you, see if you can find the Legends Triple Crown Sr. feed because that works great as well. (FYI - most Southern States stores carry the Triple Crown line of feeds.) Nothing wrong with adding corn oil to his feed, that's good too, but with real hard keeper horses, especially the older ones, that might not be enough to bring the weight up to where it should be and keep him nutritionally as sound as he can be, I fear.

Secondly, regarding the blanketing issue, I'm a big proponent of pasturing all horses 24/7, year round, regardless of the weather, and not blanketing most healthy horses. Nature designed them to live that way and they will grow coats for all weather conditions, about 98% of most normal, healthy horses. My own horses live outdoors as such, even through our cold, snowy winters here in Virginia, and they grow extremely thick coats that keep them perfectly comfortable and happy. Good nutrition is the key! Our hot summers, they shed out into very thin coats. Rain, snow, sleet, sun, they live healthily outdoors. Again, it's how nature designed horses to live if we don't interfere with that.

At our training center here, our barn also serves as a run in for them if they desire that, but most horses even when having access to a run in, will choose to be outdoors instead. And 2 of my horses are older -- one 25, one 23. Old, but sound and very healthy. How folks can interfere with that coat production that nature designed for them is: to blanket them unnecessarily. Blanketing can interfere with the mechanism that tells their body when to grow thicker fur, so sometimes blanketed horses can be even colder than non-blanketed horses because their bodies didn't grow thick enough fur for their climate.

Now...that said...that is the case with about 98% of all horses out there. However, as horses age, some of them (though by no means not all) start having slower metabolisms that just can't keep up with that, producing more needed fur, and if they are underweight as winter comes along, they will feel the cold even more so as well. What keeps them warm in colder climates is: eating. Eating alone warms their metabolism, so it's real important for horses to have access to hay/roughage at all times, but especially in winter. Nature designed them to eat nonstop during colder periods and that is indeed what triggers the coat growth mechanism. People who feed horses on a sparser schedule (like we do dogs) and the horse has no access to roughage around the clock, are not well cared for and is not how nature designed their bodies to work as grazing herd animals.

Also, access at all times to fresh water is imperative, especially in winter, so ice needs to be kept off of water supplies in winter. The more water they drink, the warmer their systems become. Adding a palm-sized measure of ordinary table salt to their daily supplement feed in winter will get them drinking more which is what they need to do in winter. Some horses are reluctant to drink really cold water when it's frigid out (which is why it's important to keep ice off the water supply as best you can in winter), but adding that salt to their diet in winter makes them have to drink, so that helps. It is like us after (or during) eating a bowl of salty popcorn, it makes us crave to drink, so adding salt into their feed in winter works the same way with horses and is vet recommended for colder climates.

Just telling you the above because there are other ways to keep horses warm & healthy in winter and their coats growing nice and thick to keep them warm naturally, other than blanketing them.

However, even doing all the above, if your horse is very old, or frail, or grossly underweight, he might still need blanketing help after all of the above has been tried and if he still does not grow a thick enough coat. I would suggest seeing how your horse does come winter. If he's shivering, then he needs extra help there. And I understand this worry well. When we moved from California (warmer climate) to here in (colder/snowy) Virginia, bringing our California born & raised horses with us, I was genuinely concerned at first about how they were going to handle REAL winters for the first time in their lives. But I held off assuming they would need help and I let nature take its course (following all the above I relayed there) and man oh man did they become wooly mammoths here in winter! So much so, I didn't recognize them at first. Being quarter horses, I just wasn't accustomed to seeing them look that furry at first, but nature did her job magnificently and my horses were perfectly comfortable throughout our winters here and I've never had to blanket them.

Also, some horses, unfortunately, have been purposefully bred by Man to not grow heavy coats, some thoroughbreds being one example, used for racing. Not all, but some. Apparently those breeders felt having a lighter coat and no additional coat in winter would produce a more streamlined, faster race horse, so those horses do need help with blanketing in winter depending on where they live. But I think it's important to not interfere at first to see how much coat they can grow naturally before stepping in to interfere or assist.

If after that you still feel help is needed (if the hard keeper horse is clearly chilled, shivering, even after all the above is followed), a good blanket on the market today that I would recommend to help with those few horses who do need that extra winter help there is the revolutionary "Thermal Horse Wrap," which you can read more about on the "Boastful Horse" web site here: http://www.thermalhorsewrap.com.au/

If going the blanketing route, it's very important to remove that blanket when the weather warms up or horses can overheat. I see that out there a lot, unfortunately, so, I wanted to mention that.

So, give your horse a good fair chance to grow a heavy coat by himself, and only step in with blanketing him if absolutely necessary/last resort. They stay far warmer in their own naturally grown fur than most people realize. Just because we humans have to wear outer coats during cold weather does not mean horses do! The healthiest horses are those allowed to live outdoors in all weather conditions (with a voluntary option to run-in is ideal, though don't be surprised when they opt not to use them!) and not only do their bodies grow what they need for whatever given weather situation they live in, but, they actually are far, far happier emotionally that way!

Regarding your bit questions: If his teeth are floated on a regular basis (at least once a year and some older horses need it twice a year), a bit will not interfere there. So don't worry about that aspect. Rollers are not a good idea on bits in my opinion. The only bit I like to recommend is a snaffle, like a full cheek snaffle (first choice) or a D-ring snaffle (2nd choice). They are mild, humane, but communicate well. Here's the type of full cheek snaffle I recommend: CLICK HERE

Or John Lyons sells full cheek snaffle bits, as well as D-ring snaffle bits here: CLICK HERE

If you would like to buy a complete headstall/bridle set, including bit, etc., I recommend the John Lyons headstall -- I own it myself!: CLICK HERE

Your horse should be able to graze just fine in those.

It's important to point out here that bits do not control horses, good foundational training does! Think about getting my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, and you can order that here: CLICK HERE

After watching the videos, and after learning and applying the methods, you, as the horse's primary teacher, will have taught the horse:

• How to be bonded to you more deeply so that the horse trusts you to the max and they will be far more willing to do whatever you ask, even when they are in doubt;
• That you both have a "bonding place" (a "safety zone") to come back to always, from then on, if the horse is ever upset or afraid, on the ground (or later, in the saddle); we plant a one-rein stop in the foundation of every horse, on the ground first, so that in the saddle, it is automatic. This keeps you safer and the horse more rational, and feeling supported, bonded, connected more deeply emotionally to you.
• How to relax the horse when they are tense about something before they are called upon to react negatively.
• How to have the horse yield easily, in any direction when asked -- they'll learn how to yield properly to pressure to receive the release of pressure. All horses learn from the release of pressure what it is you want, not from the pressure itself;
• How to progress bonding to even deeper levels to the point of downright intimacy; makes a horse feel like they never had it so good being with you!
• How to move the horse from the rear, and learning to do that rationally, which is so important to teach a horse to do before you ever ride them, and which you'll be using for a lot of other things like trailer loading, going in and out of a gate, into a stall, and so many other places/situations; this also teaches a horse that you are in charge of their feet.
• How to address effectively any fears (and the horse's reactions to them) that you flush out in their behavior at any given time; my program focuses greatly on finding the fears before they find you and fixing them -- safely on the ground first! Even lay folks can do this. It's all about: safety. This then builds a far more rational, confident, happy, trusting horse, because, in essence, you have effectively raised the horse's "fear/anxiety bar." And you will have taught the horse simultaneously in the process, how to turn to you for nurturance support when/if they are ever afraid or upset.
• How to do all this first on the ground, then later in the saddle, in that order.
• How to keep you safe and the horse safe at all times, throughout all of this --- always my biggest training focus.

This video set will help you to lay down an even stronger, more solid and trusting foundation under your horse that will then serve you well, tremendously, actually, when you do step up into the saddle. By the time you complete the steps, you will have a transformed horse. The final steps are in the saddle and those exercises will more deeply plant into your horse's foundation the one-rein stop/the "safety zone," and more, that will turn the horse into a far, far more rational, trusting, happier -- and safer -- horse in saddle as well.

And you can do this yourself if you just back up and learn a few things yourself there. This video set will get you there the fastest with your horse, which is why I'm recommending this route. It's designed for anyone on any level, horse or human, to get professional trainer-like results.

And incidentally...my Whispering Way Complete Training Package contains all my videos and training tools that you need to train or retrain your horse yourself the natural horsemanship Whispering Way. You can check out/order the Whispering Way Complete Training Package on my web site here: CLICK HERE

I'm a very strong believer that every horse owner is their horse's primary teacher/trainer whether they realize it or not. Every time you are with your horse, that horse is learning something. You just want to make sure the horse is learning what you want them to learn, not what you don't want them to learn! My natural horsemanship training techniques are gentle, effective, and powerful. Works with every horse every time!

But it's real important to back up and break down all teaching steps in a way that you are releasing baby-gives, allowing the horse to feel the release for the right answers incrementally, so that they learn that's really what you want.

Finally, I don't recommend riding bareback any horse that has bucking potential. That simply is not safe nor wise. I would recommend the same as what I said above about snaffle bits. You want more control with a horse like this and you will get that with the snaffles I directed you to. Additional ground work/better training, as well, which my program teaches, will help you.

Get the one-rein stop down REAL WELL with this new horse, first at the walk, then the trot, before you ever go into the canter, and immediately teach her the one-rein stop as you introduce the canter after all that. Here's more about the one-rein stop and why it's so important to plant that into the horse's foundation, from the ground up: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips94.html

My DVD set teaches all this visually as well.

If you have a bucking problem, I suggest using a saddle to keep you safer, but follow that link on my site that you saw about how to work on fixing buckers: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips9.html

I hope this helps and good luck to you there!

Back to Horse Problems Q&A, Click Here: