How does the Cool Heat blanket work ?
It has long been known that rugging horses not only causes health issues for the horse but is also very time consuming for the owner. Now at last if you really have to rug your horses there is a healthy and practical option available.
The Cool Heat blanket has rows of soft plastic insulators which run the length of the blanket , which lifts the blanket 12mm or 1/2" up off the hair of the horse which prevents the flattening of the horse's hair and hence protects one of the horse's natural warming and cooling procedures, known as "pilo erection" which is a vital part of a horse's thermal regulation process. Traditional rugs, no matter what material they are constructed of flatten the horses hair which seriously impedes pilo erection . This leads to the many problems which we will cover.
The sole purpose of the Cool Heat blanket is to shield the horse from direct rain or wind chill and so acts like a portable stable, while under the blanket the horse controls it's own safe comfortable inner core body temperature.
When your horse feels cold when wearing a Cool Heat blanket it raises it's hair follicles using it's pilo erection process and this traps the body heat against the skin which slows down the dissipation rate of heat loss from the body. It also mobilizes it's other important "thermal regulation" processes.
The biggest mis-conception in the rugging world is what temperature your horse should be. The correct body temperature is supposed to be approximately 38 deg celsius. This temperature can be safely maintained by horses running wild in the desert or mountains but not when they are domesticated and rugged with traditional rugs , Doona style rugs or double rugged . When the majority of horse owners who rug their horses place their hand under their horses rug when the horse is standing still, they feel a temperature which is described as a nice toasty warm feel and they are convinced their horse must be comfortable and happy. But this could not be further from the truth. If the horse is warm as toast when he is standing still then as soon as he starts to exercise he over heats. Plain and simple. The feel should only be temperate bordering on the coolish side. Even though this may feel cold to us after feeling the previous warm toasty feel the horse is feeling adequately warm enough.
Muscle movement creates inner core body heat which is part of a horses thermal regulation process. So if the horse is warm standing still, with only minimal movement, they start to over heat and as a result the horses safety net temperature of 38 deg is threatened and they start to feel uncomfortable so they minimize their movement which in turn has a negative effect on digestion as exercise is of paramount importance to the digestive system.
A perfect example of this is with humans. It is a freezing cold morning when we leave our house and head to the stable. We are rugged up with three or four layers of clothes and we feel toasty warm and comfortable just like our traditional rugged horses. But as soon as we start to walk a short distance, our muscle movement creates inner core body temperature, so in a very short time we start to feel uncomfortable and have to take off a layer of clothes. It is exactly the same scenario with our rugged horses but unfortunately they cannot take off their rugs so the only option available to them is to restrict their movement and start sweating ,which again, is a vital part of their thermal regulation process to bring their body temperature back down to 38 deg as excess body heat is released from the body in the form of sweat .
What happens when a rugged horse sweats
When the horse sweats when wearing a traditional rug, the sweat is trapped against the horses skin. Then because the outside temperature is cold ,as soon as the horse stops moving, the sweat cools and chills the horse and the horse ends up with a cold and in some cases muscle cramps in finely tuned performance horses. Sweat laying against the skin also causes skin conditions, which leads the horse to rub all day on anything he can rub against which results in hair loss and destroyed rugs.
These problems are prevented when wearing a Cool Heat blanket through "pilo erection". As soon as the horse starts to sweat, pilo erection takes place. The horses hair, because it is not flattened by the rug, commences a wicking action which lifts the moisture up off the skin and onto the ends of the hair follicles and onto the lining of the blanket which cannot soak up sweat where it is then dried off by circulation of the horses natural body heat hence preventing chills and skin conditions. Exactly the same process occurs when a unrugged horse is standing around in the rain. Nature takes care of the problem quite adequately.
Another advantage of the Cool Heat blanket over traditional blankets is when the days unexpectantly warm up and the owner cannot get home to remove their horses rug ,as the horse starts to sweat, the Cool Heat blanket allows pilo erection to take place which cools the horse. Sweat is wicked up off the body but with traditional blankets the sweat is trapped against the skin creating an unhealthy humid enviroment which again overheats the horse and causes skin conditions
Using a Cool Heat rug results in you having a happier and healthier horse !
Important : We recommend common sense be used when deciding whether or not to leave your horse blanketed especially when the days start to warm up.
Any rain getting under the blanket will be quickly dried by the horses own body heat and the natural wicking action which is not impeded when using a Cool Heat blanket
If your horse has an unhealthy coat then there is often a build up of wax on the hair and the coat looks really dull with no sheen. This is due to a number of factors such as sickness,diet or traditional rugging. The wax can build up on the insulators and cause friction so it is important to keep the insulators clean until the hair regains its health and sheen. To clean simply wipe the affected insulators with a damp cloth.
It is also important to realize that in damp weather, condensation will be trapped on the underside of the blanket and the blanket may feel damp. This is not a problem because the horse's natural body heat will keep the horse warm enough. With traditional blankets the condensation is soaked up in the blanket the same as sweat and lays against the skin and this is what causes the problems.