With this recent snap in cold weather, we are doing our very best to keep the horses warm and happy. Extra feedings, steaming sweet waters and hot mashes, blankets with fill — we set our herd up with these things and more to help them combat the cold.
Harissa is still on her journey towards being a truly gentle horse. While she has been coming into the barn to get worked more and more these days, Harissa still spends her days and nights outside. But with the cold front fast approaching, we had to take some action to make sure she would stay nice and toasty despite the drop in temps. While it’s true she does have quite a fuzzy coat, an added layer of insulated protection certainly wouldn’t hurt as the thermometer plummeted into the teens. But how would she be about being blanketed? Fine, it turns out. We eased her into the idea, and the blanket, slowly, checking out that we could touch her with it all over without her being bothered. The care we took was necessary for us to feel comfortable, but not needed for Harissa, who acted as though she’d been wearing a blanket her entire life.
Sometimes, the blanket can become an issue after the fact. Once the horse is released from the halter, the feel of the blanket and its various straps and workings can upset the horse when they start moving around freely. But Harissa was completely unfazed. She even posed for a few pictures in her new dress — looking lovely as ever!
