My three and their donkey buddy have been blanketed or rain-sheeted for the last little while: it's been almost steady biting below zero temps here with a lot of rain and freezing rain the few times it goes above zero.
My two older ones (now into the elderly ages -- in their early twenties) lost condition badly last winter, so this year I ordered them each a set of winter blankets with matching rain sheets just to help keep the weight on them, and so far I have to say they are much healthier this time around.
Joshie, the donkey, slipped on the ice two weeks ago and pulled a muscle or something just behind his withers: he was really in pain for a bit. I put a blanket on him for a day or two, then treated the remaining muscle pain with a heat pack for an hour or two on the third day, wrapping him in a fleecy overnight that night. He seemed to be much improved, but would get very tight, achy muscles along there whenever he got chilled since, so I've kept him blanketed mostly until I was sure the muscles have healed up and aren't stiffening up any more.
Tonight for the first time since then he's completely pain free and seems back to normal. I took all their blankets off this afternoon and turned them loose in the indoor arena (we're back to 2 degrees above zero and freezing rain again here today) for a couple hours of exercise since they didn't get out today due to the icy paddocks and pathways.
Joshie's stalled right now with the others, wearing a rain sheet instead of a blanket tonight to keep the body heat on that pulled muscle more than anything else -- they can't move around enough to keep really warm in their stall. Will see how he is in the morning.
The youngest is wearing a rain sheet on the worst wet days: he came in shivering last week, so I dried him off and put him under a lamp until he was full of himself again, and have made sure he goes out with a rain sheet on whenever the mercury climbs since then. Just to keep him dry, not to keep him warm.
All four of them have lovely thick woolly coats, and the youngest definitely doesn't need a blanket unless he gets wet and cold together, so I am only blanketing the two older guys this year for the first time to see if that helps them keep their weight up through the worst weather this year.
If it helps, they will be blanketed whenever I think they need it in future: they really weren't happy or healthy last winter.
Leah M., over-protective mini-mom!
