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RE: [RC] to blanket or not - heidi??? I have never in my life seen "sickness, colds, or
illnesses" related to wet thick coats. My own horses (nearly 50
of 'em) are out 24/7 in all weather, and do sometimes get wet from the
weather--and in over 30 years, I've never had any sickness related to
soaked horses. Nor have I ever in 2 decades of veterinary
practice seen a horse sick from sweating and getting its winter coat
wet. Nor have I ever heard any other vets mention illness from
same.
I DID see a lot of "sickness, colds, and illnesses" associated with
being stalled in cold weather, though--and confinement with limited
ventilation is a good recipe for problems. I've also treated my
fair share of horses that have been injured by getting hung up in their
blankets.
You do make a valid point that horses should LEARN to be blanketed,
and that the fussing is good training. But that's about the only
positive I can see to your scenario. Clipping and having to check
and maintain blankets is FAR more "maintenance-intensive" in my book
than leaving horses in their winter coats. Are all five of yours
ridden and/or driven daily? That's the only scenario in which I
can even imagine clipping and blanketing being "labor-saving," and even
then, it's about a toss-up. My unblanketed horses require ZERO
coat maintenance in winter, unless they are ridden--and even when
ridden, it is just a matter of a little extra cool-out time. Not
sure how you can beat that by clipping and blanketing...
Heidi
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