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People often get confused between a horse and a pony and even though both are of the same species, that is Equus Caballus, there are several significant differences between the two, which are strikingly remarkable. A popular misconception about ponies is that they are baby horses. Setting the facts straight, ponies are not in any way baby horses, despite several notable similarities and the fact that they belong to the same species.
Ponies are smaller than horses and remain small their whole life, but mature earlier than horses. They tend to be more intelligent than large horses and are very strong. They can also carry heavy loads with more strength than a horse. Their ability to withstand weather conditions is also better than horses as they can easily resist extremely high and low weather conditions. In winter, their coats tend to grow thicker that do not shed until really hot days of summer arrive.
Talking about the blankets for a hand pony, well, there is a huge market of blankets for hand ponies today, which comes in a great variety of designs, shapes, and sizes. Right from the stable horse blanket, a light turnout sheet, a medium weight turnout to a heavy turnout blanket, you can get it all in the market nowadays. Today, with the growing affection and need for ponies, choosing blankets for a hand pony can be really intriguing and essential.
About Blankets for Horses
The concept of blanketing a horse is simple, when the horse is cold, put on the blanket, when he’s not, take off the blanket. What’s the tricky part here is to know when exactly is the horse cold, and if he is, what type of blanket will he need, so that he feels the warmth and the blanket doesn’t cause rub marks. Horses, usually, do not need blankets as they are well-equipped to sustain frigid temperatures so when the nights start to get colder, their coats start changing and growing.
Although, if your horse is body-clipped, he might need a bit of protection. Thus, throwing a light or mid-weight blanket, or horse rugs on your horse when the temperatures start to reach the 40s or a heavier blanket as the temperatures start falling below the freezing is the right thing to do.
Types of Blankets for Horses
If you are looking for blankets for horses, you need to be one hundred percent sure about the types of blankets that your horse will need, that will keep him warm during the winter. There are five major types of blankets that you can purchase for your horse.
1. Stable Blanket
Foremost is the stable blanket, which will keep your horse warm and comfortable indoors, during winter. An important thing about stable blankets is that they are not waterproof but come in various sizes and weights so that the horse stays comfortable indoors. Further, one can invest in a light-weight, medium-weight, or heavy-weight stable blanket so that the horse can be prepared for any weather conditions.
2. Quarter Sheet
If you want to go for a ride with your horse, you can throw a quarter sheet on him which covers the lower back and hind end of the horse, allowing him to warm up gradually. The winter winds can be a shock to the horse’s body and the cold muscles take a long time to warm up than warm muscles do. Therefore, using a quarter sheet when you take your horse out on a winter evening is the right thing to do.
3. Cooler
You can also use coolers if you take your horse out for a ride. Coolers are usually made of wool or fleece and cover the whole body of the horse so that he doesn’t have to fight the chilly winds. Wool coolers can also attract the moisture off your horse while keeping him warm and comfortable.
4. Turnout Blanket
You can invest in a medium-weight and heavy-weight turnout blanket, which is also waterproof, to keep your horse warm in winters.
5. Rain Sheet
Rain sheet is waterproof protection for your horse when the weather is mild but the winds are chilly. Perfect for rainy weather too, rain sheets can also be put on top of non-waterproof sheets to protect the horse from worse weather conditions.
How to Measure a Horse
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A pony is an equine, under 14.2 HH, where HH stands for hands high. One big important question that many ponder over, is how to measure a horse for a blanket.
Measurement of a horse is done from the ground, beside and behind the foreleg to the shoulders as it is the part of the horse’s top line that does not change even if he drops or raises his head.
Thus, this is the standard way of measuring the horse’s height. Now, one hand is equal to four inches and partial hands are expressed in decimals. In this particular way, you can determine what blanket size should a 14.2 hand pony get.
About Hand Pony
Ponies and horses are not exactly alike, even though they belong to the same species. Ponies tend to be stronger than horses, to begin with and can sustain extreme weather conditions better than horses do. Ponies tend to be more intelligent than horses, which means they can be more stubborn too.
Ponies have thicker mane and coats that protect them from weather conditions. Their short legs and wider chests with strong bones sets them apart from horses and can thus be easily distinguished.
Blankets for Hand Ponies
There is a huge market for hand pony blankets. Blankets that come in several colors, weights, and sizes, that your pony may require during winters.
These blankets come in heavy, medium, and light-weight turn out that are flexible and will fit the pony easily. The turnout sheets make sure that your pony doesn’t get too hot or cold, when out in the field because ponies are highly resistible to extreme heat and cold.
With respect to the fact that ponies are under 14.2 HH, one can easily determine what blanket size should a 14.2 hand pony get. Besides this, there are several other factors that influence the blanket size for a hand pony such as height, age, build, length, and breed of pony.
So it is important to consider all the factors before making a purchase.
Conclusion
So this is how to measure a horse to get him the right blanket. Be it hand pony or a horse, there are several kinds of blankets and protections available for either of them. However, one just needs to have a sufficient knowledge to know when your horse or pony is truly in need of a blanket as to blanket or not to blanket your horse entirely depends on his coat, his health and age, his living conditions, his body, and most importantly, the lowest temperature at which he can stay warm naturally. So it’s best to be prepared.
