am i wrong, opinions?

This drives me mad.

I have a KWPN and I am on the scottish borders and it has been bloody cold! So yes she is in a MW full neck at the moment. (Mainly because I don't have a MW with no neck)

Natives IMO shouldn't be rugged like that!

You were right. On the yard I worked at, DIY or not, we saw a horse sweating they would be brought in, and rugs changed and put back out.

The owners need to be told that over rugging is detrimental to the animal. It is how the horse feels (If they feel the cold or not) and not how the human thinks the horse should feel!

P.s My horse is a poor doer and we are regularly getting frost overnight atm!!!
 
Last edited:
Rugging depends on the horse, & to make sweeping generalisations isn't accurate. My 2 arabs are in medium weights, & only just feel slightly warm under them, no way could they go without or a lightweight. My ISH (3/4tb) isn't rugged, & unless the weather is exceptionally cold wont be (hasn't been rugged the past 3 years). She generates a lot of heat & doesn't need it. It would be better to be specific about the OP situation, rather than just say horses don't need rugs yet. Your horse may not need a rug yet, 2 of mine do.


WRT to Op, I think you are very considerate to help them out. I wish I had someone around to change in the day if I had got my estimation of the weather wrong. At my first livery yard, where I kept my elderly girl, I needed to leave rug on unless I was sure it would be warm enough. There was a lovely YO though who's judgement I trusted, & if she felt it was warming up she would take rug off for me. Always apprecaited her keeping eye on old girl. How the owners take it could be influenced by how you pitch it to them. Rather than having a pop (in a nice way I'm sure) at their wrong judgement, put it across as an extra service to help them out.
 
Looking at it from a different perspective, would they expect you to put rugs on their ponies if they were seriously cold? Or would they be unhappy that you had ignored their ponies welfare and left them shivering?
 
I reckon you did the right thing, Id hate to see them all too hot and uncomfy, you where there you had to act on your best instinct, Id be pleased if you'd done that for me :)
 
I agree it is difficult! A friend of mine has a native type thick coated pony and on a day when my Warmblood was out naked she had put a med weight rug on! It was hot so I took the rug off and then she had a go saying she had put lice powder on and didnt want it to come off. Needless to say I asked whether she would rather have to redo lice powder later or be picking her horse up off the floor...... My boy is in a lightweight now but, if someone saw he was hot and sweaty, i would be grateful if the YO took it off :D
 
Is all this rugging up before the weather is really foul because rugs are so easy nowadays? In the olden days we only had extremely heavy canvas New Zealands and jute stable rugs. You left rugging up until absolutely necessary and then it was only the clipped out hunters.

Agree horses are individuals, my little cob is much more of a coley wimp than my warmbloods. But horses are waterproof and putting a rug on an unclipped horse just squishes down the hair and the air in it that keeps the horse warm. But try telling that to my liveries. I've got unclipped natives with a field shelter in medium weights now, sigh. I guess it makes the owners feel better nut what happens when it gets really cold??

I blame central heating!
 
Slightly Foxed said:
Is all this rugging up before the weather is really foul because rugs are so easy nowadays? In the olden days we only had extremely heavy canvas New Zealands and jute stable rugs. You left rugging up until absolutely necessary and then it was only the clipped out hunters.

Agree horses are individuals, my little cob is much more of a coley wimp than my warmbloods. But horses are waterproof and putting a rug on an unclipped horse just squishes down the hair and the air in it that keeps the horse warm. But try telling that to my liveries. I've got unclipped natives with a field shelter in medium weights now, sigh. I guess it makes the owners feel better nut what happens when it gets really cold??

I blame central heating!
Click to expand...

Thinking about it there is a dartmoor pony on the same yard who is in a med weight with full neck now :eek:
 
If I were you I'd get a contract in place that you are responsible for appropriate rugging. If a horse in your care is over or under rugged (without medical reasoning) it will be changed. Signed by the owner.
Make the point that each horse will be checked individually and not as a general temperature ruling and that the yard temperature may vary drastically to what the temperature feels like at home.

I'd probably get the owners over on a cold day and rug one up in a HW to show the speed at which they heat up (obviously not for hours, the second it goes on you can feel the difference), or walk them to a naked horse to show how to do a temperature check and that they are fine. Explain that horses coats are designed to let them cope with temperatures a lot lower than we cope with and that the horses welfare is paramount in your decision to rug appropriately.

Also talk about how rugging early can actually lead to the horse not being as warm when it really gets cold?

Pan
 
Last edited:
If my pony had a rug on and was sweating and YO changed/took it off I would be grateful. Or indeed if pony was cold.
Horses come first.
 
sandy3924 said:
That's awful. Spend time or get advice on how to get her used to clippers - Don't put two rugs on her just for your convenience.
Click to expand...


no it is not awful and it is something i do for my convenience but not at the detriment of her welfare.

my horse is NEVER sweaty under rugs - i work from home so she is checked very regularily (i have a rug ODC) BUT she is rugged up well to prevent winter coat - she is then clipped in november once - and that clip lasts till spring time (see below the xc pic is taken in spring and shows clip lines - shows how a clip helps summer coat through which helps spring HT's and shows etc) she takes 2.5x normal level of sedation to have a clip - yes i have tried everything to get her used to clippers and yes i can do most of her now witohut - but she reflex kicks so badly that she threw my RI accross the stable with a kick and she passed out with the pain - i will not risk injury to people.

I completely disagree with over rugging - esp for native types who struggle with weight - i'd rather them cool using their food to keep warm - than warm and their feed just pile the weight on and cause lami.

however - you can not use sweeping statements as the one i used above as some native types need rugs

Horses are all individuals and all used to how they are managed - you turn my horse out today in a LW and she'd have a chill by lunchtime. you put her field mate in a HW and she'd be dripping in sweat - they are different and managed differently. both are happy, healthy, correct weight and do not sweat or shiver

FWIW i think you did correctly - yes rug to keep coat away but never rug to make sweaty - it is then a welfare issue
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top