Medium Weight or Light Weight???

[zoel_222]

I'm ordering Hopi a new blanket since fall is upon us and she's outgrown her blanket from last year.

I don't know if I should get her a sheet or a medium weight blanket. Last year she had a MW. In the winter it's generally around 40 to 50 degrees. It's like never gotten below 30 and on an especially cold day it's about 35. She drops weight more easily in the winter so I was thinking a MW so she won't have to burn as many calories. But.... there were some days where she would get sweaty under her blanket and I'd need to take it off.

The main goal of my blanket is to keep her clean and mud-free. She will generally wear her blanket 24/7 except between washings.

I'm either going to get this sheet:
http://www.horse.com/item/saxon1200-denier-turnout-sheet/SLT900644/

or this blanket:
http://www.horse.com/item/saxon-600-standard-md/SLT900660/
This is the same blanket I got for her last year that I'm thinking of rebuying in a bigger size. It's a nice blanket. I love those Saxons. I know the denier is less but most of my blankets are only a 600D and they've all lasted for 3 to 5 years and are still in great shape. My horses don't really pick on each other or scrape on stuff so I'm not to worried about needing an extra heavy duty one.

I wish I could just get both....

Or maybe I should get a LW and a blanket liner?

Help! Someone tell me what to do!!:rant:

[FredRock]

Just get a lightweight. I don't know what 40s and 50s is to you guys in terms of cold, but we don't even sheet here until it's 40s and raining and blankets don't come on until it's below 30 for a week straight.

The lightweight blanket will keep her dry so she should have no problem staying warm.

[WashingtonBay]

Unless there's a lot more difference in climate than I think, I think you're underestimating the number of nights we have freezing. And colder... We got down to single digits last year for a cold snap.

This is forecast as a La Nina year, which means wetter than average. I don't like light sheets if it's cold and rainy. The rain weighs down the blanket, and the hair without replacing the loss of insulation with warmth. I only buy mediums. But if you want to buy a sheet plus a liner for the cold days, that would also work.

[zoel_222]

WB there must be a difference in climates because it barely gets below 40 during the nights here. We had like one bizarre day that was in the single digits at night last year, but almost always it's between high 30s to 50s. Usually it's pretty mild and always raining.

I'm not worried about her getting cold. She's a horse, she's designed to take the elements, I just don't want her to be a muddy mess and don't want her to have to burn more calories than necessary. She stands outside in the rain like 90% of the time even when it's 40 degrees and pouring, even though she has free access to go into her dry barn.

Auda and Chica my easy keepers wear sheets 24/7 and they don't seem to have any trouble keeping warm in them. Under their blankets they're still nice and fluffy. The reason I'm considering a MW for Hopi is just for her weight problems, but I still don't know :(

Looking at the blanket liners, they're almost the same price as the medium weight so if I do that I might as well get a LW and MW.

[zoel_222]

I think maybe I'll get the sheet now and if it gets colder later in the season or it looks like her body could use it, I'll order the medium weight later. They're not that expensive as far as blankets go and I just sold my truck so I have enough cash! (woot woot :D). I could always use another one for rotating between washes, too.

[vicklynn]

Is there a way you can feed more hay to Hopi in the winter?

If it dosnt get colder than you say, Id say get the light weight.
Honestly, if it dosnt get below 40, Id not be putting one on.
Your lucky!!

How about a rain sheet? Extra hay?

[zoel_222]

Vicky, I just built 2 new stalls this week so I'll be stalling her for feeding so she'll be able to get all the hay she needs and won't have to compete for it. I would feed them all they could eat last year but Chica and Auda are superior to her so they'd end up eating more than their share.

When I say light weight I'm talking about just a rain sheet with no fill. I think that's what I'm going to get her.

I would so kill for nice cold, dry winters with hard, frozen grounds. :p I don't mind the rain, but I haaaate the muddy mild weather! That's the Alaskan in me. I miss the frigid icy winters where we'd get like 6 feet of snow and everything would be frozen solid. You could actually ride and go outside without swimming through mud up to your knees.