Well, this has been a distinctly un-fun few days. With a high temp of -5 and 40-50 mph winds, even the psycho puppy has been feeling the chill. His Frisbee got caught in the wind and is likely somewhere in the next county by now and poor Connor got blown right over chasing it. He is opting to stay warm and we have a new frisbee on the shopping list.
I took this picture of Ramsey two days ago and I am fairly sure it was the last time he so much as poked his nose out of the barn. Given the way the Hell-Wind has been blowing up here, I don't blame him.
He made a half-hearted attempt to organize his toys...
Then gave it up for a lost cause and headed back in.
For anyone worried about the poor, poor kitty-kat....she has a hay fort in the shed and I gave her one of my old bee hive boxes and filled it with an entire sheep fleece.
We all know how cats feel about boxes, fluffy wool and hay. Kipper is perfectly warm and happy.
She is far happier than Farm Buddy who's pipes have all frozen in her house. Fortunately, the barn has a seperate well and, with much work, worry and effort, those pipes are now working. Hauling water for all those cows, sheep, chickens, pigs and a llama is not a fun job. I guess we need to put a box around FB's house and fill it with wool.
Everytime it gets cold, the Great Blanket Debate begins anew. There are those who passionately believe that blankets are unnatural, and no horse or donkey ever needs one. There are those who just as passionately believe that all donkeys and horses do need them. Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the quiet middle.
Does your donkey really, truly need a blanket?
If he is younger than 4 years old or older than 20, he will likely benefit from a blanket when the weather is extreme.
If he is younger than 1 or older than 25 and facing an unusual cold spell, he needs a blanket.
If he has other health issues. Ramsey and Ben are good examples. Ramsey had a nearly fatal hoof infection when he was 4 months old. He had surgery at Cornell followed by 6 months of intense follow-up care. He has arthritis issues stemming from that time. He had Lyme disease two years ago that exacerbated the arthritis. He had another tick borne disease last year. In cold weather, he gets sore and unhappy. Keeping him warm drastically improves his quality of life. Ben also had a bad tick borne illness last year that caused major muscle/joint pain and triggered laminitis. He has also just been diagnosed with Cushing's, which causes immune system depression and interferes with the body's ability to regulate temperature. Animals like this need all the help they can get. They will survive without a blanket, but there is difference between surviving and thriving.
If your critter is shivering he needs a blanket.
All of that should be fairly obvious, but what about healthy, adult donkeys with
good shelter and feed? Do they NEED blankets when we have a horrible cold snap like this?
If they are in good condition and are well acclimated to bad winters, than no they do not NEED blankets. They will survive and the chubby ones may
even shiver some extra weight off and be healthier for it in the long run.
Do those healthy, adult donkeys WANT blankets in
this horrible weather?
The answer to that mostly depends on the donkey, where he is
and how good his shelter is, but many donkeys will be happier with a blanket during prolonged cold.
Physically, horses are much better able to adapt to sudden
changes in temperature than donkeys are.
Donkeys can handle a wide variety of temps, but it takes them
longer to adjust. Horses have extensive vasculature directly under their skin that allows them to either dispel or conserve body heat. Donkeys do not have this same vasculature. Their bodies are more adapted to getting rid of excess heat than in conserving it. They grow very thick coats, but it is a coarser coat that does not hold heat as well as a horse's short, dense coat.
Will a healthy donkey
survive some bad weather? Yes. Do they
like being cold? No.
Some signs or reasons that your donkey may want a blanket:
Not wanting to be touched in cold weather.
Irritability
Muscle tension
Exercise: This is critical to the health of all equines. If your donkey will go out with a blanket and brave the elements instead of hiding in the barn, this is a good enough reason to blanket.
Even if they only make it a couple hundred feet before they wimp out and head back to the barn. Even that little bit of exercise can help keep the bowels moving in the right direction and anyone who owns equines will know how important this is.
Sleep deprivation. People tend to look at me funny when I say this, but it is very true. Equines can doze standing up and it is true that they require less sleep than many other animals. However, they DO need to be able to lie and go into a deep sleep every day. If horses or donkeys don't feel comfortable lying down, they will become increasingly sleep deprived and will eventually fall down. The extreme version of sleep deprivation is pretty obvious, but the more subtle signs include irritability and an unbalanced stance when dozing.
I saw Emma doing this last week. She was standing in the barn door, hind leg cocked, head down, dozing, but she also had one front leg cocked and she wobbled a bit when her head drooped. The reason that she was not lying down was because she was cold. Not long after putting her blanket on, she laid down and slept hard for over an hour.
Random video of sleep deprived horse from YouTube, this is what Emma was doing:
So, does Emma, my healthy, adult, fat donkey NEED a blanket?
No. I know she will survive without one and may even lose a few pounds doing it.
Does Emma like her blanket?
YES! She is far more relaxed and happy wearing it. She does not sweat under it so I know she is not too warm.
I am well aware that wild horses and donkeys survive just fine (mostly, until they don't) without our help. However, these are not wild donkeys. They are not living in a climate that they are suited for. And, the average lifespan of a wild horse is 12-14 years. I want mine to live 2-3 times that.
Blankets are an unquestionable hazard, especially if they don’t
fit well. They require daily monitoring
and attention. They need to be taken off
and put back on as the weather changes.
They increase the maintenance required for daily donkey care. If you are OK with all of that and you feel
better knowing your beloved friends are warm and toasty, than go ahead and
blanket your fat, healthy, adult donkeys. All
of you will enjoy the company and attention blankets require. As long as a blanket won't cause harm than peace of mind for the owner is a valid reason to blanket.
Most of us own donkeys because we love them. We worry about them, we lie awake at night wondering if they are OK. If putting a blanket on your fat, healthy donkey will make you feel good and make her happy, then do it. If it helps both of you sleep at night, what is wrong with that?
Which is why Emma is wearing a brand new blankie tonight even
though I should be making her shiver off some of her extra pounds.
Three brave, intrepid souls heading out to explore the frozen tundra....
Scrounging through the icy wasteland to find whatever tiny shreds of nourishment they can.
Or....three fat, spoiled donkeys allowed a bit of forbidden fruit so I can haul water, fill hay nets and try to round up all the frozen solid poopsicles hiding in the bedding just waiting to try and break my ankles.
Emma has not worn her blanket for the past couple of winters. She grows a super thick coat and by the time the really cold weather sets in, she fluffs up like a dandelion and stays nice and warm. This year, this really cold weather is coming somewhat early and on the heels of a fairly mild fall. I held up her blanket and asked her if she wanted it. She usually just walks off as soon as I reach for it, but this time, she headed over and stuck her head through it so I had my answer. She is certainly not overly warm in it, which is a hazard of blankets. It is very bad if they sweat under the blanket - they will end up even colder and in danger of frostbite if that happens. No sweating going on around here though.
I lured everyone out of the barn for an hour or so this afternoon by letting them out on forbidden pasture grass. It gave them something to do for a bit and gave me some time and space to clean the barn. They were back long before I had finished though. The frozen, snow-covered grass was no match for the cold and wind.
They picked their favorite spots up against the slightly sun-warmed wall of the barn and napped while I worked.
Stopping to slide my frozen hands up under one of those warm blankets was handy though.
Although Ramsey gets annoyed with me if I try to use him as a hand warmer. I can't say as I blame him, I wouldn't want my icy fingers creeping up my backside either.
There is not much to do around here at the moment other than hunker down and stay out of the wind.
There are some diehards though who just won't quit no matter what.
People ask me all the time what I get my donkeys for Christmas. Those who know me, know that I am not fond of Christmas for a variety of reasons and one of them is the way giving gifts has become obligatory. I like giving gifts and if you hang around long enough, you may find yourself the recipient of a random present here or there.
As for the donkeys and my other animals, I do all I can, day in and day out, to make everyday like Christmas - only better because, thankfully, not every day is miserably cold, snowy and windy like today.
Their presents include wide open spaces to run and play.
Safety and security so they can relax and live with no worries.
A barn full of food so there are never any hungry days.
An environment filled with fun things to do.
Plenty of toys and exercise.
Never ending improvements in their world.
Warm blankets, a cozy barn and good company.
Kisses on the nose.
Help in overcoming fears.
And maybe, just maybe, everybody got an extra cookie too.
