Advice needed: Rugs and hay!

[Keira 8888]

Hi guys,

hope you are all well. I have a few more newbie questions I’m afraid!

first one is - how long would you leave a rug on for? If it is raining non stop - would you have a spare rug to change horse into on rotation while first one dries? I have Prince in a 50g 1200 denier right now and brought him in at 6pm today to feed and check over. Rug was soaking on outside but dry as a bone inside. So I sent him back out tonight in same rug - is that ok?

As for hay, I have never had to worry about this so far as I bought Prince in June and he’s been on 24/7 turnout with two very small hard feeds a day (just dried grass and grass nuts) But now I’m approaching the time when I will bring him in at night, I’m not sure how much hay to give him! I have a hay bar - should I just fill it up to the brim when I bring him in at night? Or should I weigh a hay net based in his current weight?

Any advice much appreciated xx

 

[windand rain]

As long as the inside of the rug is dry dont change it. If its wet then of course you do Dont change turnout rugs when going in at night as they dry better on the horse and you will be exposing the horse to cold
Hay depends on body condition if just right then 2-2.5% of his weight in hay and feed over the 24 hour period is enough, Fat he needs half that skinny then adlib until he is the correct weight for type and size

 

[doodle]

If his weight is ok and him being tb I would give him enough that he has a small amount left in the morning. As a guide robin eats about10kg. You don’t want him to go without eating.

Rugs if not wet through then leave on. They take forever to dry off the horse. So if he comes in at night with wet rug on, leave it on him. It will dry much quicker on him. Again unless it is wet through.

 

[Keira 8888]

As long as the inside of the rug is dry dont change it. If its wet then of course you do Dont change turnout rugs when going in at night as they dry better on the horse and you will be exposing the horse to cold
Hay depends on body condition if just right then 2-2.5% of his weight in hay and feed over the 24 hour period is enough, Fat he needs half that skinny then adlib until he is the correct weight for type and size

Great! Thank you so much xx

 

[Keira 8888]

As long as the inside of the rug is dry dont change it. If its wet then of course you do Dont change turnout rugs when going in at night as they dry better on the horse and you will be exposing the horse to cold
Hay depends on body condition if just right then 2-2.5% of his weight in hay and feed over the 24 hour period is enough, Fat he needs half that skinny then adlib until he is the correct weight for type and size

Brill, thank you ?

 

[Winters100]

My way of doing things may or may not be right but works for me. Ad lib hay unless I see a weight gain that I cannot control with increasing length or intensity of exercise. Then small holed haynet of soaked hay, but still an amount that they always have hay. I have never had to go further than this (yet), but of course if I had to in order to maintain a healthy weight I would have no problem to do so. Mine are not natives so I believe that I have it easy compared to many. Also depends on quality of the hay. I would suggest for Prince ad lib for now and monitor it.

At the risk of making myself unpopular I have to say that I deal with rugs a bit differently to most. I like them to be in a dry rug morning and night, and I will change it even if it is dry inside. My theory is that if it is soaked outside and it continues to rain then eventually it will become wet inside. I am not commenting upon anyone else's perfectly good way of managing their horses, but I prefer to change them and bring wet rugs home to the boiler room. Needless to say that the rest of my household do not prefer this.

I would also say that it depends upon the quality of the rugs. One of my geldings is a rug trasher so gets cheap and cheerful rugs, hence my lack of trust in them to stay dry. My mare who would not let any naughty little boy get close to her rugs has some nice ones, but since I am anyway drying rugs it makes sense to do hers too. Also mine are generally stabled overnight, so it is easy to change to a stable rug and dry their paddock rugs. If you go along this route you always need spares, but I tend to use older / repaired rugs for back ups.

Whatever you choose I know that you are taking very good care so he will be fine. Keep an eye on his condition. If you are not so used to doing this then taking photos standing in same position can help.

Good luck and enjoy your lovely boy.

 

[dogatemysalad]

I change rugs morning and night, wet or dry. Partly because I want to check for lumps and bumps and partly because of relieving pressure points on the neck, wither and chest. Even the best fitting rug creates pressure, particularly when wet. A different rug will fit slightly differently. Also like the air to circulate whilst the rug is hanging up.
I use stable rugs in winter because they're so light and comfy, particularly the amigo Insulators. I'm probably in the minority now as many horses stay in turnout rugs when stabled, but I prefer the lightness of stable rugs.

 

[Winters100]

Same - even if I change a dry 100g turnout for a 100g stable rug.

 

[doodle]

I change rugs morning and night (in overnight so gets a stable rug on at night) because of what is mentioned above re pressure points. However although we have rug racks they do not give the rugs a chance to dry and in winter wet rugs can hang around for days to dry. They then seem to get damp inside even when they weren’t to start. And they stink. So if wet on the outside but still dry inside it stays in overnight to allow them to dry. Oh for a rug dryer!!

 

[Red-1]

I change morning and night too. Mine have different rugs day and night, as different rugs will have different pressure points. Also, I don't like to wear even a 'breathable' outdoor jacket inside at night, as it simply isn't as comfortable as inside clothes.

In any case, I would completely remove a rug to give a flick over and inspection morning and night. If the rug is dry on the inside, and you aren't bothered about pressure points, then the same rug could be replaced.

Our wet rugs go over 2 dining chairs in the dining room overnight. Always dry in the morning.

 

[dogatemysalad]

As above. If a rug is sodden, I'm the softie, that brings it home and drys it over chairs and an airer overnight.

 

[teddypops]

My turnout rugs are waterproof, so I don’t change them if the ponies are staying out. If I’m bringing them in, they get stable rugs on as they would be far too hot inside with turnout rugs on. I hang the turnouts up and they are fine to put back on the next morning. I do have a selection of spare rugs for emergencies though!