The practice of horse blanketing has been around for many, many years, with evidence of humans having covered their horses with animal pelts and other protective materials dating back hundreds of years. The first cut-to-fit horse blankets were manufactured in the year 1857 by the well-known and somewhat pioneering Troy Woolen Mills in the city of Troy, New Hampshire. Conceptually designed to help protect the carriage work horses in the larger cities, these blankets more often than not found themselves resting on the back of the recreational riding horses of upper-class Americans than city dray horses.
Subsequently, animal rights activists pushed until a bill was drafted, ordering that all horses be afforded a blanket during the cold winter months, philosophically endeavoring to protect the rights and well-being of all members of the species. Carriage companies and owners of work and recreational horses alike all found themselves purchasing blankets for their horses in an effort to avoid the steep fines and other legal ramifications sought by legal authorities who found any of their animals without blankets.
Unfortunately, these types of blankets were relatively crude and often did more harm than good, preventing horses from naturally sweating, drying, and cooling off after a long day of work, preventing coats from naturally growing in length to develop the animal’s natural insulation during colder seasons, and generally rubbing and sliding on the horse’s backs, resulting in wounds, sores and abrasions that often turned into even more dangerous injuries.