What temperature does a horse need to live at?

Answer 1

Horses are very good at adapting to temperatures. They can withstand very cold weather, and some pretty hot temperatures too. They do stand cold better though. Provided you leave them naturally with no clipping or blanketing, they can stand just about every temperature (supposing they have some form of shelter and shade and of course plenty of water in the summer and free-choice grass or hay especially in the winter. They then have all they need to stay at the internal temperature of 38 degrees Celcius. They have shade and water to keep cool as well as sweating and they also have the ability to through muscular action dialate the blood vessels near the surface of the skin which helps air, which is cooler than they are, to cool off the blood and keep them cool. When it is cold, supposing you have a run-in shed for them, they can hide from wind, rain and snow if they needed to, and while digesting the hay or grass, chemical reactions occur that help heat the horse up. They can also, through muscular action lift the hairs on their back (supposing they haven't had their coat clipped) to create a thermal blanket to keep themselves warm.

However, if you clip and blanket them, they can't dialate blood vessels or make a thermal blanket with their fur, in which case it varies. Supposing you aren't talking about with blankets, then they should be fine if it is above 50F, and below 80F-70F for them to be at their most comfortable, since they prefer cool temperatures to warm. Or so my research shows. I myself do not blanket my horses. I keep them all natural, and they do very well without blankets, so I have no personal experience with blankets, just what I research. Just keep in mind that each horse is different. I would say just watch your horse. If you find that he is sweating, or is a little warm to the touch like after a little workout, then your horse would do better in cooler temperatures than what he was at when you noticed him hot/sweaty when at rest. And then, if your horse isn't warm, you can touch his ears and if they are cold, he is a little cold and would do better in warmer temperatures. If that makes any sense at all. It did in my head anyways. So after a while you can figure out between what temperatures your horse is most comfortable at.