Inside Iowa State

February 11, 2005

Do horses get cold?

Lindsey Schenkelberg, a senior in animal science, checks on a blanketed stallion, Bear, at the horse barns during the recent cold weather. Because all animal hair stands up as protection against the cold, university stallions are blanketed when the weather is really cold. (When the hair stands up, the horses look fuzzier and muscle definition is difficult to see.) Now is the time of year when people come to look at the stallions to decide whether to breed them to their mares, and the blankets keep their coats looking nicer. "Generally, the equine industry likes horses slick and clean," said horse barns manager Angela Chandler. Photo by Bob Elbert.