How NOT to Blanket a Horse

Just when you think you know what you’re doing with horses……

something happens to prove you wrong.

This is a vicious cycle that I’ve been going through for decades now.

Things are going well, I’m feeling good, and then I show some small or large bit of poor judgement that reminds me how humbling horses can be, and how much there will always be to learn.

Today was one of those days.

I have some rockstar baby horses that are doing amazing.

So amazing that they both got their first body clips yesterday (having never even seen a pair of clippers before) and they acted like complete pros.

I was impressed and proud!

So here is my lesson on how NOT to blanket a horse for the first time.

Put their very first blanket on AFTER their first body clip.

2. Be sure to do this act of ~~stupidity~~ bravery, IN THE DARK.

3. Consider closing their pen so they can’t get out to the large pasture, but don’t actually do it.

4. When the youngster starts acting a little squirmy, just go right ahead and let him go.

I’ve had a lot of horses.

A helluva lot.

And I’ve put a lot of blankets on, and certainly a lot of “first blankets”.

I don’t know if I’ve just been lucky, but I have never, not ever, had one act more than a little silly.

That…… is…….. not……… what happened this time.

The baby decided he was not having it and he was outta there.

My horror only stopped long enough to be impressed with his jumping ability for about 2 seconds when he cleared the 5′ fence out of the pasture. And then I was less impressed when his partner in crime decided to follow him & also jumped out of the pasture in the dark.

Well, silver lining, they can both jump!

They lapped the property in the dark and it was nothing short of a miracle that they finally stopped unharmed.

Seriously, I don’t know how they didn’t kill themselves galloping around like idiots in the dark!

By the time they stopped and I was able to catch them, I put them back safely in their smaller pen and things seemed to be OK with the youngster and the blanket so he kept it on all night.

In the morning they were happy and settled. He’d been wearing that blanket for 12 hours now without further incident, so I decided to let them back out in the big pasture………wait for it……..

with their blankets on.

And before I could think about what poor judgment this was I was witness to a repeat performance. As soon as the kiddo heard and felt the blanket rustling he was outta there.

And yes, he jumped the fence, in the same spot, AGAIN.

This time he didn’t stop on the property and went through the neighbors fence as well…… all I saw was a tiny flash of green blanket disappearing into the distance.