Blankets are used on horses for several reasons. One is for warmth on extremely cold days. Another reason is to assist in preventing hair growth during the winter months, particularly for horses that are placed under lights to prevent winter hair growth. To prevent or lessen the growth of a winter hair coat, a horse will need to be placed under lights, to mimic the long days of summer, and blanketed to provide warmth.
The most common lighting regime is to leave the lights on until 10 or 11 p.m. when the days start getting short. This lighting regime will need to continue until the natural daylight matches the artificial lighting pattern. A way to determine whether you have adequate light in the stall is to turn the lights on at night and sit in the darkest corner of the stall with a newspaper. If you can read the newspaper, you have enough light.
