A numpty rugging question

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HaffiesRock

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Pony in question is a 13.2 Haflinger. Grows a winter coat like I have never seen before! Last year he was turned away and left to be a horse. He was naked and hayed and dropped all the additional weight he needed rid of (which he aquired before I bought him)

This year he will be staying in work all winter. Hacked or schooled 5 times a week. He is a sweaty pony at the best of times so already has a bib clip. His coat is really coming through now and I think a blanket or irish may be more in order. That being said, he is obviously going to be cold if kept out naked. So, do I go for something light to keep the rain off and allow his mammoth coat to continue to do its thing and keep him warm or will even the light weight flatten his coat and make him cold? Will a medium weight be a better alternative?

I dont want him to sweat with what coat he has, but he also doesnt have the weight to lose this year either. He will be getting 3/4 of a large bale of hay a day and 2 large feeds of grass nuts, sugarbeet and Micronised linseed.

Any advice appreciated x
 
mine was full clipped yesterday and is wearing a medium weight no neck-she lives out, when she needs clipping again she will have either a blanket or a stifle to wither clip so that when the really cold weather gets here she will have more of a coat covering. hopefully what grows after the full clip will not be as thick as it would have been if she had not been clipped (IYSWIM).
my plan is to only put a medium weight with a neck or heavy without a neck on when it is really cold but I will see how she goes as she only had a stifle to wither last year and was not working so much so was a bit more of a grease monster which really helps to keep them warm
 
I think if he still has blanket or more than he should be fine with a LW for now, but be ready to move up in weight later on as weather gets much colder.

Horses only get 20% of their warmth from rugs and 80% from eating so much more significant than the rugging is the fact that your pony will have plenty of forage so his internal central heating will be turned up to full, which is ideal for him.
 
Horses only get 20% of their warmth from rugs and 80% from eating


I never knew that. Just goes to show you do learn something new every day.
 
Interested in responses for my companion who I want to keep nicely warm. Do people think their polar bear coats can still lift and trap air under a lightweight?
Something to keep the rain off/ wind out would be ideal but I don't want to keep him dry but accidently make him cold!!
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
I think if he still has blanket or more than he should be fine with a LW for now, but be ready to move up in weight later on as weather gets much colder.
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This ^^ For a blanket clip I would want a LW, MW and HW (not all at once obviously) so that he can be kept nice and warm as the weather changes.
 
My cob grows a huge coat and its developing already!
Here she is on her first winter as a yearling, check out the wooly coat!

1ietmw.jpg


last year around nov still unrugged as unclipped and turned away

2qn791l.jpg


This is how cold it got last year before i put her in a MW and thats only because the snow was wet and very cold!

2mzl5dw.jpg


This year she will be in work therefore clipped - possibly low traced and hogged although i will neaten legs but wont take them to the bone!
She will have be naked and see how she copes. Later on in winter if shes clipped and its snowing she will be in her mw poss with a thin fleece underneath. TBH i just play it by ear. I know my cob is a good doer and so long as she has food for fuel she will be toasty
The welsh d and a will be naked bods unless it snows, very wet or goes extremely cold! ie below freezing of a day time!
 
Polos Mum said:
Interested in responses for my companion who I want to keep nicely warm. Do people think their polar bear coats can still lift and trap air under a lightweight?
Something to keep the rain off/ wind out would be ideal but I don't want to keep him dry but accidently make him cold!!
Click to expand...

No if unchipped and polar coated they are better off unrugged unless very underweight or having some condition that reacts to rain.

If substantially clipped they should be lightly rugged if it's cold or wet.
 
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lachlanandmarcus said:
No if unchipped and polar coated they are better off unrugged unless very underweight or having some condition that reacts to rain.
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What about unclipped but has a tooth issue (can't eat hay/haylage etc) so needs to do everything possible to keep weight on over winter, not underweight now but certainly could be by the end of the winter if I'm not careful. I just wondered of a lightweight when it's raining would help preserve just a few precious calories (they have a shelter but don't go in it!!
 
Either no rug or a minimum of a medium weight for hairies that need to keep warm try a bucket of well soaked grass nuts to up the fibre as they will act as internal heating and are easy to feed for the toothless
 
windand rain said:
Either no rug or a minimum of a medium weight for hairies that need to keep warm try a bucket of well soaked grass nuts to up the fibre as they will act as internal heating and are easy to feed for the toothless
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Thanks W&R grass nut soup is all he can eat so he is have that once a day at the moment and I'll increase it to 1/2 sack a day (2%of his body weight) when the grass is gone! It's what my dentist recomends and he loves them - just want to do all I can and rugging a hairy is so tricky!!

OP - sorry to hyjack!!
 
Polos Mum said:
Thanks W&R grass nut soup is all he can eat so he is have that once a day at the moment and I'll increase it to 1/2 sack a day (2%of his body weight) when the grass is gone! It's what my dentist recomends and he loves them - just want to do all I can and rugging a hairy is so tricky!!

OP - sorry to hyjack!!
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if that is all he can eat then he needs it 4 times a day so that his gut has something going through it all the time and 2% of body weight should be a minimum in weight, you may need to look at something that is less in its nutritional value
 
I was going to post a similar question :)

Sec A pony has had his fist full clip ever!!!!

I was worried today, as it was cold wet and windy, and wanted to pop his mW on, on checking him, he was cool but not cold, so I am holding out for colder weather before the MW goes on :)
 
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