Am I just being soft?

[Annagain]

Archie has been naked all winter and was always toasty warm. Even when the whole area flooded and the other horses' rugs were soaked through, he was fine. He has shed his winter coat very effectively and pretty much has a full summer coat already. In the heavy rain we had on Monday he was shivering incredibly violently and looked thoroughly miserable. I told myself he was fine, that the shivering was just nature's way of warming him up and left him naked but then couldn't sleep, feeling incredibly guilty while listening to the rain hitting the windows. We have more very heavy rain (yellow weather warning) forecast for tomorrow. There's not a huge amount of shelter in their current field - high hedges but no trees and he is an older chap, albeit a well covered one. The other two will have rugs on as they did in the winter. Part of me feels I'm being daft by wanting to put a rug on him after he's been naked all winter but part of me wants to wrap him up. In previous summers I have rugged him in heavy rain as he does seem to shiver a lot if his summer coat gets very wet, in fact he's been rugged in summer in the past when Monty hasn't. He seems to have a very dense coat, even in summer so once it gets soaked through it really holds the water and makes him colder than others with thinner coats. Am I just being too soft?

 

[Nicnac]

I would put a no fill on if heavy rain. If an older horse and no shelter plus grass is pretty poor at the moment, I wouldn't hesitate to rug a horse who is visibly and violently shivering and I'm no softee.

 

[Roxylola]

I'd rug him, don't care if that makes me soft. Just because he was ok in winter doesn't mean he's immune to cold now

 

[milliepops]

^^ what they said. even if it was just for my own happiness!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I am more likely to rug in Summer than in winter tbh, they have very little protection of their own if the weather turns nasty. It snowed here yesterday!

 

[SEL]

I find summer coats give my natives a lot less protection than their winter woollies. I rug the older one because he will get stiff and grumpy in torrential rain (plus its windy so that makes it feel colder). I may not rug the pony but she will insert herself into a hedgerow happily enough.

 

[Annagain]

Thanks, you've all told me what I wanted to hear! Now to dig out his lightweight rug, it'll be right at the bottom of the chest no doubt.

 

[Birker2020]

I'm rugging mine, mine had a 250g on overnight as it was forecast dry but cold at 2c (in our neck of the woods that usually means at least 2 degrees colder than forecast as we are in a dip).

When I left I was glad I'd put the 250g on as the clouds were black and it started raining. I bought in at 6.30am this morning and my horse was 'warm' but not overly hot, by this time it was 2C still.

FWIW I don't agree with the 'let them shiver the weight off' school of thought. There are better ways to maintain good bodyweight like appropriate diet, sectioning off by strip grazing a field, turning out less hours, etc, etc.

There are many variables when it comes to deciding how to rug. One is age of horse or pony another is whether the field has shelter, another might be real feel temperature which is what I tend to go with but what so many people fail to realise.

 

[AmyMay]

I'd rug him, don't care if that makes me soft. Just because he was ok in winter doesn't mean he's immune to cold now

Absolutely agree.

 

[Annagain]

I'm rugging mine, mine had a 250g on overnight as it was forecast dry but cold at 2c (in our neck of the woods that usually means at least 2 degrees colder than forecast as we are in a dip).

When I left I was glad I'd put the 250g on as the clouds were black and it started raining. I bought in at 6.30am this morning and my horse was 'warm' but not overly hot, by this time it was 2C still.

FWIW I don't agree with the 'let them shiver the weight off' school of thought. There are better ways to maintain good bodyweight like appropriate diet, sectioning off by strip grazing a field, turning out less hours, etc, etc.

There are many variables when it comes to deciding how to rug. One is age of horse or pony another is whether the field has shelter, another might be real feel temperature which is what I tend to go with but what so many people fail to realise.

I've never taken "shiver the weight off" phrase literally. I think it basically means that keeping a good doer a bit cooler helps to burn more calories rather than you should literally be seeing them shiver.

He's got enough cover that he doesn't need to be mollycoddled (i only mentioned it as he's not a skinny oldie who needs food shovelling in to keep his weight up, he would definitely be rugged if that was the case) but doesn't desperately need to lose any either. The biggest part if it is he's still my old man whom I adore so I want him to be comfy.

 

[popcorn1]

A horse shouldn't be left to shiver violently.

It isn't being soft, it's not being neglectful.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The weather is currently bonkers. We had hail yesterday.

My 15yo PSSM IDx has her full summer coat, she was in a 350g turnout + 150g neck last night. Is currently nekked but I've got on standby for tonight everything between a no fill no neck, a 100g turnout , a Rambo summer series with liner to her 350g rug + neck again. I'll be making the call at 7pm.

 

[Red-1]

Mine has been rug-less sine February, but if he shivered now, he would have a rain sheet.

As it is, he seems absolutely fine, even when wet, despite the fact that he is frequently bathed. He seems to not feel the cold.

My old horse would still be in a 200g at all times ATM. Horses for courses.

 

[Rowreach]

I think there are no rules, and that this spring the weather has been off the scale bonkers. Mine has been out 24/7, rugless, for a couple of weeks now. Her rug went back on earlier this week, no way am I leaving her looking miserable like she did on Tuesday.

 

[Roxylola]

The thing with them keeping warm from the gut only works if they aren't so cold they're not eating. Charlie was out in a 100g until a couple of days ago because its spring and he's a cob. However he was just huddled under trees looking miserable, not eating and keen to come in. I've swapped him to a 200g with a neck, yesterday he was in the middle of the field, eating and shouted for his mates when I brought him in. He's not over warm under the rug and clearly happier so I'll carry on being soft ?

 

[chocolategirl]

Thanks, you've all told me what I wanted to hear! Now to dig out his lightweight rug, it'll be right at the bottom of the chest no doubt.

Just be careful with no fill rugs, most of them don’t keep out the heavy rain, and the horse ends up worse off. As a compromise, for my old arthritic mare, if the weather is particularly inclement, I put a 50 gr on her, best of both worlds ?

 

[Annagain]

Just be careful with no fill rugs, most of them don’t keep out the heavy rain, and the horse ends up worse off. As a compromise, for my old arthritic mare, if the weather is particularly inclement, I put a 50 gr on her, best of both worlds ?

Thanks - he's been in a no fill plenty in the past and it's usually pretty waterproof.

 

[Gloi]

Thanks - he's been in a no fill plenty in the past and it's usually pretty waterproof.

A no fill is fine when you are needing to keep them dry rather than warm

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would rug in that situation one of my Arabs has such a fine summer coat he can't tolerate rain at all, one summer when it was very wet he got rain scald that was terrible so I won't leave him naked to get soaked through now.

 

[GoldenWillow]

My cob, who has a chaser clip, has been out of rugs for about 6 weeks and until this week been fine. The combination of losing his winter coat, cold wind and rain, sleet and snow means he's been back in a rainsheet.

Shetland grows a very fine summer coat and in heavy rain and cold wind in the summmer can shiver. He's late teens and now he'll get a rainsheet on if there's prolonged heavy rain forecast. I went with my gut instinct to rug him but did feel a bit of an idiot rugging a shetland. I spoke to my vet in his annual review a few years ago and he was "if he's cold and shivering put a rug on him" in a why wouldn't you voice, and my vet is very matter of fact and would tell me, kindly, if he thought I was being an idiot!

 

[redredruby]

If a horse is shivering violently that is when you put the rug straight on not leave them out in the rain.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

One of those you know your horse and go with your gut situations. My native is rugless and done a pretty good job of shedding her winter woolies and it’s lightly raining all day today but not that cold. I stood at her stable umming and ahhing about putting her no fill rain sheet on whilst she screamed at me to hurry up and take her out. Decided against rug, felt guilty the whole way to the field and then took her headcollar off and off she trotted, cantered, bucking etc to her pals where she plonked herself between two rugged horses and by a hedge and settled down for a day of grass protected from the elements by her pals.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

My general rule of thumb to myself is if they're shivering in the morning I give them extra hay, but if they're shivering in the evening I put a rug on.

(caveat: if they're still shivering within 10 mins of starting on the hay in the morning, I would rug!)

 

[vmac66]

My mare came in shivering this morning despite having a rug on. She can stop in till tomorrow, rain here till tomorrow morning.