Please RSVP to meetings by registering here or e-mail Chauntel at CSGhorses@gmail.com. Officers are required to attend business meetings. Please remember March & April can be very cold and wet, so please be dressed appropriately at outdoor/barn meetings.

Interested in joining our club? Start by contacting Essex County 4-H 🙂

Date	Time	Where	Description
Saturday March 11	1:30 pm	Noblewood Park	RVR Business meeting – officers must attend.
Saturday March 18	1:30 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting – Please dress very warmly, we’re still experiencing winter weather!
Saturday March 25	9 am	BVCS Westport campus	Public presentations
Saturday April 1	All day	St. Lawrence University	Potential field trip to St. Lawrence IHSA regional finals
Thursday April 6	5:30 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	RVR Business meeting – officers must attend
Sunday April 9	1:30 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Saturday April 15	4 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Saturday April 22	4 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Saturday April 29	All day	Essex County Fairgrounds, Westport	4-H Evaluations and Clinic
Wednesday May 3	5:30 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Saturday May 6	4 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Saturday May 13	4 pm	CSG Horsemanship LLC/Ben Wever Farm	Project meeting
Friday May 19-Sunday May 21	All day	Clinton County Fairgrounds, Plattsburgh	4-H Horse Camp

You do NOT have to attend everything – just please make sure you RSVP for sessions that you DO want to attend. For club meetings, register here. For county study sessions please contact jms943@cornell.edu. Officers are required to attend business meetings.

The more meetings/practices you attend, the better prepared you and your teams will be for horse comps day on February 25th! Be sure to record any meetings/practices you’ve attended in your project books.

NOTE: You must be enrolled in Essex County NY 4-H to participate in these events.

Date	Time	Where	Description
Wednesday Jan 4	6 pm	Zoom	County study session
Wednesday Jan 11	6 PM	CCE office, Lewis	County study session
Saturday Jan 14	2 pm	Noblewood Park, Willsboro	RVR Business meeting – officers must attend
Wednesday Jan 18	6 pm	Zoom	County study session
Sunday Jan 22	10:30 AM	Noblewood Park	RVR Project meeting – equine science practice, work on horse communications practice, project work – Teams for equine science events set up and registered! Please attend if you would like to compete on a team!
Wednesday Jan 25	6 pm	CCE office, Lewis	County study session
Saturday Jan 28	2 pm	Noblewood Park	RVR Project meeting – equine science practice, work on horse communications, project work
Wednesday Feb 1	6 pm	TBD	County study session
Thursday Feb 2	6 pm	Noblewood Park	RVR Business meeting – officers must attend
Saturday Feb 4	2 pm	Noblewood Park	RVR Project meeting – equine science practice, work on horse communications, project work
Wednesday Feb 8	6 pm	TBD	County study session
Saturday Feb 11	2 pm	Noblewood Park	RVR Project meeting – equine science practice, work on horse communications, project work
Monday Feb 13	12 pm	https://reg.cce.cornell.edu/23HBHippReg5A_209	Registration for horse science events closes! Please register BEFORE this day!
Wednesday Feb 15	6 pm	TBD	County study session
Wednesday Feb 22	6 pm	TBD	County study session
Saturday February 25th	9:30 am	BVCS Lake View campus, Westport	Regional Horse Bowl, Hippology and Horse Communications

Want this info and chart handy? You can find the printable original here.

Before blanketing: 

• Does your horse have enough hay to eat? 
  • Digesting forage is the primary method by which your horse’s body keeps itself warm enough. In very cold temperatures, providing a constant supply of hay is of paramount importance.
• Is your horse properly hydrated?
  •  Sufficient hydration is necessary for good digestion (see above – hay!) AND – reduced water intake and dehydration often leads to colic!
• If these needs have been met, and your horse is:
  • Shivering
  • Does not have adequate shelter from wind and precipitation
  • Body condition score of 4 or less, or has trouble keeping weight on
  • Older/geriatric
  • Poor dentition
  • In otherwise compromised health
  • Clipped or has a very thin coat
    • Then you should consider blanketing! The chart below is a guide to how we blanket at CSG.

Blanket weights:

• Sheet = no fill
• Light = approx. 100 grams fill
• Medium = approx. 200 grams fill
• Heavy = approx. 300+ grams fill

Temperature	Precipitation	Natural coat	Clipped
30-40 degrees F	Wet	Light/Sheet	Light
30-40 degrees F	Dry	None	Light
20-30 degrees F	Wet	Medium	Medium
20-30 degrees F	Dry	None	Medium
10-20 degrees F	Wet	Medium	Medium/Heavy OR Medium + Light
10-20 degrees F	Dry	None (as long as they have plenty of hay!)	Medium/Heavy OR Medium + Light
0-10 degrees F	Wet	Medium + Light	Medium/Heavy + Light + additional layer if needed
0-10 degrees F	Dry	Medium + Light	Medium/Heavy + Light + additional layer if needed
Below zero degrees F	Wet	Medium + Light	Medium/Heavy + Light + additional layer if needed
Below zero degrees F	Dry	Medium + Light	Medium/Heavy + Light + additional layer if needed

Again, this is a guide for how we blanket the horses in our program at CSG, based on our local climate, our feeding program, and the amount of shelter space available (our horses live out 24/7.) How you blanket your own horses is dependent on these factors unique to your individual horse and their management situation.

If you are unsure, the best source of information is going to be the veterinarian who performs regular and routine veterinary work on your horse. They will have the best understanding of your horse’s health, needs and concerns.

Additional Resources

• CSG’s printable blanketing guide & reference chart
• The Horse: Horse Blanketing FAQs
• SmartPak’s blanketing guide
• Riding Warehouse’s blanketing guide
• Horse Network: A No-Nonsense Guide to Blanketing

Here’s your proof that I wasn’t just gallivanting away from the barn in October! I had such a great experience at this year’s Certified Horsemanship Association conference learning fresh ideas, updating my teaching techniques, connecting with other equine professionals, and sharing my own perspective on building horsemanship skills and concepts into traditional riding lessons. This is such a valuable organization and I encourage all horsemen, both amateurs and professionals, to consider getting involved!

-Chauntel