Automated Horse Blanket Management - BlanketOps Eliminates After-Hours Guesswork

The problem this solves

Manual blanket management depends on memory, weather apps, texts, and judgment calls by whoever is standing in the barn. That creates inconsistent care and unnecessary manager interruptions.

How BarnOps handles it

BarnOps connects the native iOS and Android apps used in the barn aisle with the web dashboard used by owners and managers. Staff log work where it happens. Managers review the record without chasing texts, paper notes, or screenshots.

• ✓The forecast for the barn's address, refreshed through the day.
• ✓Horse-specific thresholds and care preferences.
• ✓Current blanket level and blanket notes.
• ✓Per-horse recommendations for the morning check, tonight, and the next 24 hours.
• ✓Documented blanketing actions.

How it connects to the rest of the barn

The value of BarnOps is that each feature lives inside the same equine facility management platform. Records, billing, care logs, forms, scheduling, chat, and staff accountability all reference the same barn, horses, people, and roles.

• ✓BlanketOps sits inside each horse profile.
• ✓Staff can update blanket status from mobile.
• ✓Managers can review barn-wide blanketing needs.
• ✓FlyOps uses the same operational model for seasonal fly gear.

What does a day with BlanketOps look like?

BlanketOps turns the forecast for the barn's address into a per-horse blanket call in three panels: Morning Check, Tonight and Next 24h. At 7 AM in November it is 34°F with a high of 61°F. Maple, in a medium, shows "Keep on for now" with an estimated remove-by time. A bare horse on a day that will warm up shows "No blanket needed", so nobody blankets just to unblanket at noon.

Staff tap a horse to log it, or use Apply all for the whole round. If someone picks a different blanket than recommended, the app records an override, and after repeated overrides it suggests updating that horse's profile.

Tonight works from the overnight low, adjusted per horse. By default a full clip counts as 10°F colder, a partial clip, senior or hard keeper 5°F colder, and pasture board 8°F warmer. Strong wind adds 5°F of chill, and likely rain below 50°F switches to waterproof. Next 24h flags a 20-degree drop, 50% or higher precipitation, a low of 28°F or colder, or 20 mph wind. If alerts are on and horses are unlogged two hours after the 6 PM check, owners, managers and staff get a "BlanketOps follow-up needed" push.

What gets recorded?

Every blanket change is stored with the weather behind it.

• ✓Blanket logs: horse, staff member, time, blanket on or off, previous blanket, temperature, overnight low, rain chance, wind, notes and round.
• ✓Horse profile: status (enrolled, self-managed or never blankets), clip, senior, hard keeper, rain and wind sensitivity, custom thresholds and current blanket.
• ✓Blanket inventory per horse: brand, type (such as turnout sheet or stable sheet), weight, size in inches, color and notes.
• ✓Barn defaults: sheet 45°F, light 40°F, medium 32°F, heavy 20°F, removal 55°F, all adjustable.
• ✓A change log of status and threshold changes, with who made them.

Who can see and change it?

Care staff see the whole barn, and boarders see their own horses.

• ✓Owners, managers and staff see and log every horse.
• ✓Boarders see and log only their own horses. This is on by default and can be turned off barn-wide or per boarder.
• ✓Care staff, or a horse's owner for that horse, can edit blanket inventory.
• ✓Owners and managers set barn thresholds in HQ and decide whether owners may customize their own horses.
• ✓Instructor-only and trainer-only accounts do not get BlanketOps. An owner, manager, or staff role covers every horse; a boarder role covers that person's own horses when the barn allows Blanket horses.

What are the limits?

BlanketOps works from one barn location and needs a connection to save.

• ✓Weather needs the barn's location. Without a city or ZIP in Settings, the app shows "Add your barn's city or ZIP in Settings to see weather."
• ✓One forecast per barn, refreshed about every 20 minutes, in °F. US barns use the National Weather Service, with Open-Meteo as backup. Official weather warnings are not pulled in.
• ✓Away, never-blanket and self-managed horses are left off barn rounds and blanketing charges.
• ✓If a save cannot be confirmed, the app holds it on the phone for Retry pending changes. Use that pending entry instead of recording the same round again, and review a saved-with-warning result before retrying.
• ✓Follow-up alerts are off until turned on and delivery depends on notification settings, a registered device and connectivity. The remove-by time assumes the day peaks around 2 PM; it is guidance for staff to review, not a guarantee about the weather.

How do you set it up?

Setup takes one pass through settings and horses.

• ✓Enter the barn's address with city or ZIP in Settings so weather loads.
• ✓In HQ, open Horses > BlanketOps and set barn thresholds and adjustments.
• ✓On each horse, set status, clip and sensitivities, and add blankets to inventory.
• ✓Turn on BlanketOps alerts in Settings: check times, alert delay (15-360 minutes) and recipients.
• ✓On Command, price a Blanketing service or mark it included in board.

Built for working horse farms

BarnOps is designed for real barn environments: mobile-first for staff, reviewable by managers, role-aware for boarders and instructors, and structured enough to support liability documentation, payroll review, and daily operational accountability.