# Heat lamps



## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

I have been hearing it is going to be a cold winter. Cold is of course relative; I live in the Piedmont of NC, and single digits is considered positively freezing. I have medium weight blankets for both of my horses and plan to bib clip at least one. Both horses stay outside year round and have a three sided run-in.

I use a fan in the summer to keep them cool, my question is, does anyone have experience using heat lamps to keep their horses warm? Obviously the light(s) would be secured and out of the reach of the horses. Is there any point? Should I just blanket and throw copious amounts of hay?

Thanks!


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

evilgreen1 said:


> I have been hearing it is going to be a cold winter. Cold is of course relative; I live in the Piedmont of NC, and single digits is considered positively freezing. I have medium weight blankets for both of my horses and plan to bib clip at least one. Both horses stay outside year round and have a three sided run-in.
> 
> I use a fan in the summer to keep them cool, my question is, does anyone have experience using heat lamps to keep their horses warm? Obviously the light(s) would be secured and out of the reach of the horses. Is there any point? Should I just blanket and throw copious amounts of hay?
> 
> Thanks!


Honestly, they're just fine if they're out 24/7 and therefore the cold doesn't come as a shock. Single digits here is considered spring, and my horses are outside up to -25 celsius if it's not icy/snowing. I use heat lamps only for chicks when they're still really young and don't have any foster mommas yet; never even got the idea to use them for horses, so I can't help you much there, but I will say that to me it seems kinda silly and unnecessary. But that's just my opinion.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I've seen it used only for foals that are born in January when the temperature is -20 or for sick animals. I would not use one for a healthy horse. There's no need, it's a fire hazard, and the horse most likely won't use it because if he has a good coat, he'll overheat or start sweating, and then he'll be worse off than before.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Feed and blanket should be all you need, as long as they have shelter and wind break.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I get the unease you have 
I live in Florida and knowing the kind of coat now grown by my horses and what happens when we get a actual freeze for several nights and really cold temps during the days for us.. I understand your worry.

That said, if your horses are out 24/7 now....
Mother Nature does truly prepare her animals for what she sends for us humans to endure.
We just had a cold snap from mid 90's temps downslide to the 40 - 50* with 40+ mph during the day.
In 3 days time my horses went from summer sleek to winter woolies...now though they have the heavy coat and mid to upper 80's to sweat in.
It was like overnight they grew so much warm coat...:eek_color:

_I would *not *do heat lamps._
Unless the horses are really ill or very old with old-age ailments, you don't need them.
If you were speaking of sub-zero temperatures arriving tomorrow and it was sleek coat 98* today..then I would still _not_ do heat lamps but bury them in hay to eat and get them some blankets.

So, with you going to bib clip your horse, I might look to invest in a blanket that can be hooded and a belly band securement straps {insulated wide around the belly area} 
This is just one of 16 different styles available... 
https://www.sstack.com/Horse-Blanke...our-Collar-Classic-Bellyband-Turnout-Blanket/
Any blanketing you do needs to be t/o style so it is weather-proof for outdoor protection but can also be used inside as a stable blanket too.

Hope that helps.
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I live in Eastern Canada. We get temps down to -40 Celcius. I blanket my horses, mostly my 18 yr old gelding who coughs when it's cold gets extra blankets and I am spoiling him this year with a neck warmer, but would not consider using heat lamps. My mare, who doesn't appear to care about the cold, only gets a blanket in wet + cold weather or extreme cold. For one thing, you would have to be very close to the lamp to feel any effect. In cold weather, that heat dissipates FAST, especially in an open area, which sounds like what you're describing. It's like lighting a candle to heat a cathedral. Unless a horse is shut in an insulated, air-tight barn, a heat lamp is pointless. And an insulated, air-tight barn has terrible air quality, so you'd just be replacing one problem with another. A heat lamp in a three-sided barn will not be effective at keeping a horse warm in my opinion. 

Horses do just fine in the cold if allowed to grow a good coat, which they will do even if you blanket. Do you have to clip? I ride all winter long and do not clip my horses. But if you have to clip, there's a pretty wide range of blankets that can keep your horse warm. I also got a blanket liner for my wimpy gelding, lol. You put it under the winter blanket. I'm saving that one for our -40 weather! 

Do plan on feeding more, and keep a close eye out for a horse that might be showing signs of being cold (ie, shivering for extended periods of time). Encouraging movement also helps - place hay and feed in piles far from each other.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Acadianartist said:


> I live in Eastern Canada. We get temps down to -40 Celcius. I blanket my horses, mostly my 18 yr old gelding who coughs when it's cold gets extra blankets and I am spoiling him this year with a neck warmer, but would not consider using heat lamps. My mare, who doesn't appear to care about the cold, only gets a blanket in wet + cold weather or extreme cold. For one thing, you would have to be very close to the lamp to feel any effect. In cold weather, that heat dissipates FAST, especially in an open area, which sounds like what you're describing. It's like lighting a candle to heat a cathedral. Unless a horse is shut in an insulated, air-tight barn, a heat lamp is pointless. And an insulated, air-tight barn has terrible air quality, so you'd just be replacing one problem with another. A heat lamp in a three-sided barn will not be effective at keeping a horse warm in my opinion.
> 
> Horses do just fine in the cold if allowed to grow a good coat, which they will do even if you blanket. Do you have to clip? I ride all winter long and do not clip my horses. But if you have to clip, there's a pretty wide range of blankets that can keep your horse warm. I also got a blanket liner for my wimpy gelding, lol. You put it under the winter blanket. I'm saving that one for our -40 weather!
> 
> Do plan on feeding more, and keep a close eye out for a horse that might be showing signs of being cold (ie, shivering for extended periods of time). Encouraging movement also helps - place hay and feed in piles far from each other.


Same to everything you said, except that I'm in Western Canada. We also get up to -40 here, but these last winters it seems like it doesn't get as cold anymore. It's really pretty amazing how fast horses can grow their furry winter coats. Mine still had their normal coats a week or two ago, and then we got our first _real_ snow mixed with cold wind, and the horses turned into furry bears in the course of around 24 hours.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

The problem we have in the south is the cold only last for a day or two; the heat hangs around! 

My RMHA gelding grows a ridiculously long winter coat and then sweats most of the winter! It is very aggravating. 

I plan to clip him as best I can with a scissors because I don't have any electric at the barn. 

My chickens I do provide a heat lamp on the cold nights. Put tarps on the sides of the pen and hang a heat light over the water so it doesn't freeze. A couple of times when it is cold for a few days I see the hens hanging around under the heat light. 

With a horse I would be concerned that they could bump into it and get burnt or have glass shatter. I think a blanket on nights under 32F would work just as well. Only a mid-weight one if they grow a winter coat.


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

I lived in Fairbanks, AK for 10 years and worked at barns and owned a horse up there, so I know horses and cold. I had an OTTB mare who was never blanketed and only went into the unheated barn at 40 below and colder. 

It is different down here. I have one who grows a great coat and gets sweaty every time we work b/c of it, hence the clip. The other doesn't grow a great coat and on wet, rainy days, he gets cold if he goes out of the shelter if not blanketed. I work ft and feel bad leaving his blanket on if there's just a chance of rain and he gets too warm, or not putting it on and chancing him getting cold. Can't win.

I'd never heard of using heat lamps for horses, I won't be trying it. Thanks for the input!


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## twixy79 (Jul 8, 2017)

We live in Maine and we noticed that our Belgian started getting his wooly coat once the temps got below 40 at night. We have had our first few nights in the 20s and 30s and he is loving the cooler weather! We were out with him last night, 37 degrees and he was having a grand old time playing tag with us. Our clyde/perch mare that we pick up saturday will be enduring her first Maine winter. She is from SC, so we may need to blanket her until she gets her wooly coat. When we saw her last week she didn't have one yet, so we may blanket her this year. 

I wouldn't use heat lamps with healthy horses. Their bodies are made to endure temperature changes, and their bodies know how to react.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

We do hang a heat lamp (8 1/2 feet high and shielded by a cage) in one corner of the unheated barn - not for the heat, but because they will stand under it to dry off their coats. Our winters aren't really that cold, but they are pretty wet. I don't blanket unless one of them is sick and needs the extra warmth.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Rain is really the bigger problem, when it rains and is 40F it is COLD. 

My horses can get in the barn anytime they want, and a cold rain will send them inside. But days and days of cold rain and they have to come out, so then when possible (i.e. not at work) I put a rain sheet or mid-weight blanket depending on the temperature.


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

@Change, this is much more my concern! It got down below freezing this weekend and both were fine. But add a little drizzle and there's no keeping them warm w/o an external source.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

evilgreen1 said:


> @Change, this is much more my concern! It got down below freezing this weekend and both were fine. But add a little drizzle and there's no keeping them warm w/o an external source.


Can you not provide a rain sheet?


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## pippythepony (Aug 11, 2017)

I think this would be a waste with the set up that you describe, but more so dangerous for the horse and fire risk. If you horses are out 24/7 they will be prepared and you also plan on blanketing them. Give extra hay and grain and use your blankets. They will be ok! They are lucky to have such a thoughtful mama but in this case.. no extra is needed.


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## evilgreen1 (Mar 15, 2016)

@Acadianartist, sure I can put a waterproof blanket on. I don't know how your weather forecasters are, but ours are borderline awful at their jobs. I leave for work at 6:45am and get home shortly after 5:30pm. If there is forecasted rain that doesn't happen and I blanket, I'm probably coming home to blankets ripped off, or hot, unhappy horses. I rain suddenly, and unexpectedly pops up, I come home to cold, unhappy horses. 

I'm just trying to figure out what my options are.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

evilgreen1 said:


> @*Acadianartist* , sure I can put a waterproof blanket on. I don't know how your weather forecasters are, but ours are borderline awful at their jobs. I leave for work at 6:45am and get home shortly after 5:30pm. If there is forecasted rain that doesn't happen and I blanket, I'm probably coming home to blankets ripped off, or hot, unhappy horses. I rain suddenly, and unexpectedly pops up, I come home to cold, unhappy horses.
> 
> I'm just trying to figure out what my options are.


Gotcha. Generally, it's pretty easy to tell if it's going to rain here, but also, I'm home a lot more than you are, so can put blankets on and off. That said, I'd rather put a rain sheet on if I won't be home and there's a risk of rain. Mind you, they have access to shelter too, like yours, so they can get under cover, but there's always that one horse...

Anyway, my point was that if it's warm enough for them to overheat with a rain sheet on (just a thin rain sheet without any filling), then it's warm enough that a bit of rain won't hurt them. It has to be near freezing before I start to worry about cold rain and at that point, even if the rain doesn't come, it's not warm enough that they'll overheat.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Acadianartist said:


> Anyway, my point was that if it's warm enough for them to overheat with a rain sheet on (just a thin rain sheet without any filling), then it's warm enough that a bit of rain won't hurt them. It has to be near freezing before I start to worry about cold rain and at that point, even if the rain doesn't come, it's not warm enough that they'll overheat.


^^^ This. We're in the NC Piedmont, too, and use rain sheets (not blankets) on a 1-3 of our horses at times when it could/will rain and the temp less than 45F. With a rain sheet, you really don't need to worry about overheating until it's at least 60F. 
On the very rare times when it gets to the single digits here, the high is probably not going to be much above freezing, so you can leave any covering on without problem.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

Heat lamp sounds like a fire hazard - horses kick up dust from hay & shavings that chickens don't, ya know? Also not sure how much light they actually put out, but putting a horse under lights can trigger their body into thinking it's spring and they'll lose their winter coat.


I'm in North Texas - there are days it's 30°F when I leave for work at 6am and 80°F when I get home at 6pm. I want to blanket as little as possible since I'm not home for mid-day wardrobe changes.


My QH is a wuss. 24/7 turnout with a loafing shed/no stall for 2 full years but still doesn't grow a coat. If it's wet, windy, or below 40° he's begging for his Schneider's turnout sheet to cut the breeze. It's lined in breathable fabric so he won't get hot or sweaty when the sun comes out. His 180g blanket liner can go under the sheet if he's wussing out more, or there's a 220g Medium weight turnout for those 3 or 4 nights we'll have in the teens. I aim for a "neutral" feel under any blankets just to take the edge off, not make them toasty warm or sweaty.


My Arab grows the coat of a wooly mammoth, but I keep a turnout sheet & blanket on hand just in case. If the day is forecasted to be hot, the fan in the loafing shed will be on auto-timer so she'll have the option to cool off.


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