A question for those who keep their horses unrugged.

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HaffiesRock

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A bit of advice needed from those who keep your beasties neked.

My Haflinger is out 24/7, in a field with plenty of shelter in the form of a woodland, gets plenty of hay and 2 feeds of fast fibre a day.

He is naked and hasn’t had a rug on his back for the last couple of years. He is sporting a wonderful thick winter coat.

I’m in the Midlands and it is raining for a change… And is set to rain for the next week (although tomorrow looks dry) He has happily survived all of the rain we have had previously, but my YO is putting pressure on me to rug him. He isn’t losing weight (carrying a little too much) and he isn’t shivering or miserable. But YO thinks a wet horse is an unhappy horse.

She has kept all hers in today, so the other 2 liveries who have a stable have followed suit. This is to keep the horses dry and happy and not to save the fields. My boy is out with the YO's two ponies who are rugged so heavily they can’t move.

Do I stick to my guns and leave him be? He is fine as far as I can see, he isn’t cold or shivering, can get out of the rain if he wants too (he chooses to stand out in it) and there is no wind and it isn’t that cold. His field is on a steep hill so the woodland and top of the field are fairing pretty well. Ill happily give him extra hay to keep his inner furnace burning but I am reluctant to rug him.

Even if I did give in and rug him (would only be a rain sheet) he is already wet and I have no way of getting him dry to rug him anyway.

Should I stick to me guns and just politely explain my reasons to the YO? Of course I will rug him if he shows signs of cold or being unhappy, but he isn’t.

Any advice appreciated. Homemade mince pies and hot chocolate on offer x
 
Stick to your guns. As long as he is not dropping condition/standing still with his tail clamped down over his bottom and shivering he is fine!!

You will know if he is cold - cold horses really do look incredibly miserable/like their world is ending!!
 
My horses are kept well rugged but if your horse is out naked and is happy and not tucked up / shivering etc then I see no reason why he should need a rug, plus I think a rain sheet in heavy rain is pointless and better with one with a bit of fill!
Your horse your choice :)
 
Stick to your guns - if your boy is not shivering, loosing weight etc. etc., then leave him bee, you know your horse better than anyone, and it sounds to me like he's getting all he needs as in food, hay, shelter etc. Im sure he is one happy pony :)

Im in the Midlands too - my youngster (rising 3) is out naked 24/7 also, sporting a beautiful coat that a young swan would be proud of, she too is fine, on the other hand my 26 year old lad is wearing a rug, because he does drop a little condition these days as he feels the cold once he gets wet.
 
Stick to your guns imo. My Dales youngster is out 24/7 unrugged. He gets wet - so what - he has a field shelter and I put hay in it - he gets to dry off.

A poster put a very interesting piece on a thread about rugging the other week that said how a horse can make a massive 700 adjustments to it's temperature via it's coat etc and how we are interferring by rugging. I will try and find it - it was very interesting.

It's more of a nghtmare rugging tbh (I have both rugged and unrugged), becauise with the weather we have had very cold one minute varying to mild the next then cold, what to do for the best.

In fact my WB wintered out last winter unrugged and he is so fine (my avatar) who would have thought he would thrive. He lost a little condition, because he doesn't get woolly, but he was happy and he did what is natural - he moved about loads to keep warm and that helped him for his Sacro illiac dysfunction - maintaining muscle.
 
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My 2.5 yr old haffy filly is unrugged, with some grass left (wont last long now ), but hay and natural shelter, I am not rugging her! This morning she was shivering a bit but looked perfectly happy, shivering is a natural response and she is rather fat. When I put my fingers deep into her thick coat the skin is still dry even though it has been raining hard all night.

This was posted on Facebook recently
"WHY THERE IS NO NEED TO BLANKET HORSES IN THE WINTER: This is the result of a multi-year study done by CSU, using state of the art thermal detection equipment. Colorado State University is widely considered to be one of the top three equine veterinary schools in the country: Blanketing horses is one of the worst things that you can do to a horse in the winter. Horses have the ability to loft and lower their coats to 17 different levels, so it's like exchanging 17 different thermal weights of blankets off and on them all day and night, depending on what they need-except that we don't know what they need as well as they do. Their 'self-blanketing' process works a little like 'chill bumps' do in our own skin. That's why long-haired horses may seem fluffier on some days than on others.

Only three things make the 'self-blanketing' process not work: blanketing, clipping, ...and wind. Not even snow or rain stops their own thermostats from doing the job. Also horses are in 'neutral' (meaning not using energy for either heating or cooling) when the air around them is between 26 and 38 degrees. Otherwise, they're using energy to control their temps. So- since they're cooling their bodies when the temp is over 38 degrees, they're having to use extra energy to cool themselves when blanketed in temperatures over that.

Any time a horse that is outside and has a long coat is shivering, it's because the horse has opted to shiver to warm itself, instead of using the option of moving. Moving generates a considerable amount of heat for a horse, but they sometimes stand and shiver while napping, etc. It does not mean that they need to be blanketed. However, a horse MUST have a way to get out of the wind in order for their 'self-blanketing' abilities to function fully. It turns out that blanketing is done more for pleasing the human, than to fill a need of the horse. The horse blanket industry has done a great job of making us think that their product is a necessary part of good horse keeping, when it is actually an item that is very seldom needed"
 
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If its working for you and your horse why change it to suit someone else?

My youngster (4 yr old) has never had a rug on her back and grows a coat a bear would be proud of :D My older mare wears a MW all winter as she cries if she gets cold and wet :p :D
 
Hi,
Stick to your guns.....Haflingers are meant to live out in sub zero temperatures/rain and snow and have a coat to protect them for this.
I have Welsh Cobs and they live out 24/7 without rugs and a field shelter, but I have massive hedges.....and they don't have hay as we have loads of grass.....and they have hay when they come in to be ridden....AND THEY STILL DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT :)
....and I live three fields from the Irish Sea:)
Keep the faith:)

Bryndu
 
Suggest you print that arcticle out for your YO - then tell her when you need an opinion you will ask for it but in the mean time your horse is happy and so are you.

That breed is designed to live in iceland fps where the temps are a damsite lower than here!

My friesian is stomping around like is a sunny day with steam coming off her despite the fact its windy and rainy :rolleyes:
 
yep another with one out naked....if I was a horse I'd rather be out naked than with a heavy, sweaty rug on (think kagool !) different is dropping weight etc....are your yo's rugs matchy matchy ?!
 
Agree with the above - but also don't groom him that much

The waterproofing is removed by excessive grooming, so you want the grease in the coat to help with the rain. If possible just scrape off the saddle patch to avoid rubs, but do not use soft brushes
 
I wish I could keep mine naked. Welshie has a bibclip which is just enough to cool her enough during work and the belgian draft ( exually more Manny from ice age) has an irish clip. Bless him can't even go on a 20 min hack with just walking without him dripping. Feel bad for him. If I wasn't working them at all I would keep them unclipped and unrugged unfortunatly with the work they are doing not possible.

But If you can, more power to you leave your haffy be!
 
my sec D (nia) is out has been since summer and not planning on bringing her home till feb unless it gets bad or she needs to for another reason. she is not rugged and is perfectly happy infact when i go visit she comes close enough for me to see her but wont let me catch her to come home. she loves it

i should take my own advice sometimes but its your horse and you will know when he needs a rug or to come in etc you know your horse and they know how to tell you.

hope this helps.
 
if he is happy and not getting cold I really don't see what the problem is. My TB/welsh 19year old mare lives out 24/7 unrugged, she hates wearing a rug and when I have rugged her in the past she stands by the gate looking miserable until I remove the rug. Saying that I also have a full Welsh Sect D that really struggles in the rain, he gets cold even though he has a thick coat so he gets just a thin waterproof on when it is wet.
 
Very interesting. My rising four year old is about to be turned out 24/7 - he's currently out around 10 hours a day and in over night, unrugged with a fabulous winter coat - so thick! I was thinking I'd have to rug him, but am having second thoughts now - I think he may well be happier unrugged. He won't have a field shelter, but there is natural shelter all round the field, so will be able to get out of driving wind etc. The thought of putting a medium weight on him with a coat that thick was really worrying me, feel happier reading these posts now :)
 
Stick to your guns my two natives are out naked and am loving it :D after always having tbs that shivered not having to worry about rugs is bliss
 
Another who says stick to your guns!

One of mine is unrugged and will be staying like that, he has a windbreak and always looks cheerful

I have a rug for him but it will only be used if he gets under the weather

Having said that if it gets really windy as well as wet I will let him in the part of the feild with the stables in so that he can stand under the overhang if he wants to

The other pony is a precious princess who loathes getting wet, I've chucked him out this morning in a rug but he is terribly displeased about the whole thing - think he goes against the grain of most ponies though, he shivers and looks tucked up at the slightest bad weather and hasnt really grown a winter coat - a truely rubbish welshie!
 
Mine is unrugged but one winter she got rainscald because her lovely thick winter coat didn't get to dry out in the persistent rain. It would be wise to keep a close eye on what's happening under the lovely coat. Nowadays she has a lightweight in persistent &/or heavy rain.
 
WB broodmare, wb foal, wb x foal, 2 x id x youngsters 1 x hairy cob.

All naked, in Aberdeenshire. And have been for years. Not for any indeological reason just because I have rug (and everything else) OCD.

I warm from the inside with top quality ad lib haylage. If you do cave in, don't bother with a sheet as this will just take away insulation.

Just remind the others of when they were younger and winters much tougher of those green canvas NZ we used to wear which were FFF (fit for .... all):D:D
 
If you actually get your YO to look at your boy when he's been out in pouring rain you'll be really supprised how dry he is under the hair, on my companion the rain drips of his surface hair with the under layer of hair staying completely dry (rain has a totally different effect to using a hosepipe which gets all the hair wet and the skin)
Also I believe if you put on even a rain sheet you're more likely to make him cold as you'll stop him being able to 'fluff up' his coat which is what traps air and keeps him warm.

As difficult as it is try not to give in to peer pressure
 
My haffy dries out in like 20 mins as soon as it stops raining because she is so warm, her coat underneath is always dry although I try not to touch it too much to let the water in! I put a rug on her overnight one time, she was wet through with sweat and had barged into the next field, there are some rainy cold days I would rather put a rug on to keep her dry but not if it upsets her that much and she is fine! I just give her extra hay when I feel sorry for her and she is toasty :-) if your boy has never worn a rug he might get upset by it too.
 
Im leaving him. He was happily grazing, not tucked up or shivering, hes right in the middle of the field with water running off him.

All YO's horses have beautiful, think snuggly rugs, but in my opinion they just stink! My pony doesnt smell but all the others really pong!

Feel bad for the the other horses as they are stuck in their stables now. I doubt they will be out tomorrow either. Apparently, they dont like the rain even with 2 rugs on... :) xx
 
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