Yeah, they amaze me how they manage to pull off these stunts without injuring themselves!
I think the boys will have to work a little bit harder and earn money by doing more lessons. lol Too bad neither one of them are in the lesson program yet, they're so young. lol
We're very lucky to have a tack store on the premises. The tack store donates items to the farm when we need something, so basically we got free blankets for the boys.
I think blanketing your horse is more of a preference than anything for most people. But I feel that for some horses, it is necessary. For example, we have a few very old horses here that require a blanket to keep warm in the winter. We've had some trouble with the oldest mare in the coldest temperatures so we just have to be very careful with her and also make sure she gets enough fluids when it's really cold. She often stops drinking when it's cold. Can't blame her...no one wants to drink freezing cold water. She does have a heated water bucket, which helps. We often carry warm water for her to drink...the spoiled old lady that she is. lol We also have a few horses here that we do not blanket at all, such as the little Miniatures and our Icelandic Horses. They grow plenty of hair naturally to keep their bodies warm. Some people just like to spoil their horses and put blankets on them. Some people get paranoid and think their horse needs a blanket because they're cold. Yes...humans are very cold in these temperatures but that doesn't mean your horse is freezing. lol And yes, some people will blanket their horses if they are body clipped. We don't have any of those but some barns do. We also blanket most of our lesson horses just to keep their bodies comfortable.
We don't have any show horses here at the farm except for my stallion, I keep two blankets on him to keep him warm which allows me to keep his coat nice and short and in good condition for the show ring. If he wasn't showing, I'd never put that many layers on him.
Horses are able to regulate their own body temperature and most do very well without a blanket, even in the coldest temperatures.
I, personally, am a sissy and like to put at least a waterproof sheet or a lightweight blanket on any horse. Except for those small ponies that grow a crap load of fur. lol Reason being, for our turn out, most paddocks do not have shelters. If it snows and the horses get a little wet, I don't want their body temperature to drop too low. No, we do not keep our horses out in rain and heavy snow so they get wet and cold, but we also don't control the weather...it does what it does. We have a little "princess" Lipizzaner mare who does not do well if she gets wet and cold. She gets a sheet or a blanket, depending on temperatures. I find that keeping a blanket on her is much better than a vet bill, which we had to resort to in the past.
I think all horses are individuals, as are people. Some are built tougher than others. Ultimately, I treat each horse as an individual and according to their needs but try not to go overboard.
What it comes to our blanket destroyers. I'd like to set a camera in their stalls so we could monitor their nightly activities and find out what it is exactly that they're up to!
