To Blanket or Not to Blanket?

I gave my friends and co-workers a hard time when they complained about the fifty degree cold. I wasn’t sure it even would get cold in the mild climate where I live, until I started scraping ice off my windshield this week. That counted as cold, even by my standards.

I’m a country girl who thinks a ranch horse will be just fine roughing it in the winter with his furry coat, so I was undecided about blanketing. The back and forth in my head went something like this:

Pros:
Ransom can put his energy into keeping weight instead of keeping warm
He’ll be more comfortable and stay dry
He’ll stay cleaner

Cons:
Inconvenience of blanketing and unblanketing when the weather changes
May stunt growth of his winter coat

Cleaning muddy blanket is a chore

With just one horse to care for, I convinced myself that a little pampering was okay. If I could make Ransom’s life a little nicer, why not?

My planning hadn’t included looking at the weather prediction for the week. If I blanketed Ransom and it wasn’t cold or rainy soon, he might sweat uncomfortably. If I didn’t blanket him, and it rained, he might get cold. Then a thought occurred to me. Why don’t you ask the Holy Spirit whether or not to blanket him? The answer was an easy yes, which sent worry and indecision out the door. Thanks for that, Lord.

It rained that night and the temperatures dropped. I was glad I listened.