12/03/2025
All of our boys are keeping warm today with the snow coming down!
While they eat, their digestive systems create heat with two main factors: hind-gut fermentation (digestion in the small and large intestines after going through the stomach) and volatile fatty acids (digestive breakdown process produces energy through fatty acids and this creates increased heat).
They also maintain heat through their fur. Piloerection is when the muscles at the base of their hair follicles cause the fur to stand straight up, which traps the air near their skin and keep it warm. They also have two layers to their fur coat. The upper layer sheds or holds moisture, and the bottom layer traps the heat! They also grow a longer coat when the days start to get shorter. Body fat also helps with the insulation.
Of course, as the owner, we have the decision to make of whether to blanoet or not. There are always exceptions to the horse’s ability to maintain their own body heat in the cold. Blanketing can be called for in conditions such as Cushing’s where there is poor fur growth, high metabolism such as in Thoroughbreds and Arabians, old age when it’s hard to keep the weight on, keeping the fur short for showing…or even when we humans feel cold for them. Haha 🤣
Also, try not to brush the snow off of your horse! It helps to keep them insulated!