FREEEEEEEEEEEZIN in Michigan To blanket or not?

No, don't, because it screws up their natural thermostats! They won't be able to regulate temps, since they'll be too warm under the blanket ant too cold on their legs and under their belly. That's what blood circulation and fur is for! If you haven't until now, your horses have winter fur, and as long as they can find shelter from the wind, they'll be fine! Ours are out all year 'round, and this is Norway...

I wouldn't, just because their bodies need to become accustomed to the cold, if they are blanketed, they tend to get used to having on the blanket and their bodies can't do without having the blanket on. By now they should have a pretty heavy coat for winter anyway and should be ok as long as they have a full tummy and plenty of fresh water to drink. Horses, by nature, don't like to be under cover anyway, they would rather stand in the cold rain than go in the barn, just because they would rather be outside.

Are they handling the weather okay or do they seem to be stressed and shaking? If they all seem happy and alert with no worried looks then they are probably fine. If you're just turning them out in the daytime and stalling at night that makes a difference too. Is it much colder than normal? Is there alot of wind? How thick are their coats? I know my 2 boys don't handle the weather very well, so when it gets below freezing, they get blankets - especially if it's windy. A couple of my youngsters and a mare that doesn't handle the weather very well get stalled at night. The other 2 mares have a shelter to stay under and seem to get along fine. It just depends on the horse. If they are cold and shaking or seem stressed - blanket!

I'm from MI, although I have no horses, and I know we've gotten some of the lowest temperatures ever in the last few weeks. I would say to blanket them, b/c it can't hurt...but if you leave them alone and then it drops in temp, it COULD hurt. Just my thoughts, wouldn't you rather a blanket?

How is their coat? Has it gotten gradually colder or just a cold snap? We do not blanket because they need to get their coat thick, and it gets colder gradually here. But last year in May it snowed, we did blanket then because they were already starting to shed and they didn't have a coat thick enough to keep them warm. I know my dad's neighbors blanketed their horse when they moved here this year and they are having trouble with their horses coat not getting thick at all.

I lived near Mt. Washington, NH for 7 years. It would be so cold that the horses (2) would have icicles hanging from their nostrils. We would always blanket them. But, they had an outdoor barn in that their doors had no tops and the doors faced the outside. In an enclosed barn, you may not need to blanket but outside, definitely.