Chance just trotting around in the thawed section of the arena.Why I Blanket My Horses
Do horses need blankets (rugs)? Probably not, but Toby and Tucker are Thoroughbreds and I surely do like to see them warm and dry. But there is a truly practical reason to keep them "dressed" in the winter weather, as you can see from the pictures I took today.
Today, for the first time in a while, it was moderatly warm out. (nearly 50F) So I took their blankets off to let them enjoy the sunshine. I decided to take some pictures of the arena so you all could see what I am dealing wth footingwise--all the water and snow had been frozen ice and will be again when the temperature drops.
While I was taking the pictures, the Boys, relishing the freedom and the one half of the arena that had thawed out, decided to enjoy themselves.
They took off:
Then they played, rolled, rolled, posed, took off and generally had a grand old time.
Toby taking a roll. (That's Tucker above.)
Toby after his roll. Nice and dirty.
Tucker before his roll, just having fun.
And Tucker after his roll, jus being wet and muddy.
Now, tonight it's going to chill off again and go down to freezing. I will have to put the blankets back on. It looks like I will also have a fair bit of grooming to do first. All this is avoided when they wear "clothes."
Do horses need blankets (rugs)? Probably not, but Toby and Tucker are Thoroughbreds and I surely do like to see them warm and dry. But there is a truly practical reason to keep them "dressed" in the winter weather, as you can see from the pictures I took today.
Today, for the first time in a while, it was moderatly warm out. (nearly 50F) So I took their blankets off to let them enjoy the sunshine. I decided to take some pictures of the arena so you all could see what I am dealing wth footingwise--all the water and snow had been frozen ice and will be again when the temperature drops.
While I was taking the pictures, the Boys, relishing the freedom and the one half of the arena that had thawed out, decided to enjoy themselves.
They took off:
Then they played, rolled, rolled, posed, took off and generally had a grand old time.
Toby taking a roll. (That's Tucker above.)
Toby after his roll. Nice and dirty.
Tucker before his roll, just having fun.And Tucker after his roll, jus being wet and muddy.Now, tonight it's going to chill off again and go down to freezing. I will have to put the blankets back on. It looks like I will also have a fair bit of grooming to do first. All this is avoided when they wear "clothes." But how could I deny them all that fun? And how could I deny them all that sunshine?
Chance has such beautiful coppery coat. He looks really healthy.
ReplyDeleteAll your boys look very healthy and a bit on teh chubby side. Winter is hard time to work them ^-^
i always say most of the point of a rug is to keep the horse clean!
ReplyDeleteI love Chance's natural outline in the first photo. The boys are beautiful and it's great to see animals have fun! While they might not need the blankets (ha - American English!) to keep warm, it keeps them from growing even more winter coat which all has to be brushed out. They really do need them to keep dry too. ML
ReplyDeleteme too, I've always rugged for my convenience not theirs. Don't they love it when you leave them off for the first time in ages though :-)
ReplyDeleteC
Lovely pics and gorgeous shiny coats!
ReplyDeleteYes I tried to resist rugs for ages this year but having to scraping the mud of got the better of me.
Great pix, Jean! I have one (Sailor) naked today, because it went up into the high 30s, and she is a furry little Appaloosa who manages to stay warm. Old Noble kept her midweight blanket on.
ReplyDeleteBut we don't have any dirt to roll in - just a lot of snow.
I agree with you on my iced-over lake picture - I like it a lot better in the summer, too.
What great photos. I miss my TB!
ReplyDelete