10/20/2026
To Blanket or Not. That is the Question. - Let's Ask the Horse
As the weather gets colder, horse owners must decide whether or not to blanket their horses. But when is a blanked needed and when would a horse prefer to be without?
A group of equine behavior researchers in Norway lead by Dr. Cecilie Mendel decided to ask the horses.
They trained different groups of Norwegian riding horses to indicate if they would like their blanket put on, to have their blanket removed, or the stay as they were. These horses had started the season with blankets which likely affected the length of their haircoat.
This is what they found.
-All horses wanted blankets at 14 degrees and below
-No horses wanted blankets at 68 degrees and above
-As wind speed increased more horses wanted blankets
-Almost all horses wanted blankets on cool or cold rainy days
-When the sun was out, horses preferred to not have blankets even on colder days
-Morse horses wanted blankets on rainy days than snowy days
-There was individual variation with some horses liking blankets more than others
-With temperatures in the 30s to high 40s blanket preference varied by individual and the weather. When it was raining or windy the majority of horses wanted blankets. When it was sunny most horses did not want blankets.
-It took about 10-14 days of daily training to teach horses to indicate their preferences by touching their nose to different symbols on a sign.
-The presence of shelter in the pasture, if the horse's coat is clipped, and the length of coat an individual horse grows would affect these results.
-Not every horse needs a blanket, but consideration of shelter in cold wet weather is important.
-These horses started the season with blankets as many riding horses do, this likely affected coat length.
Here is a link to one of their studies
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159118306361
