Another rugging question?

MurphysMinder

MurphysMinder

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Brave or what! I have an 11.2 native type, she is late teens, and winters out with a field shelter and has never been rugged. She has Cushings and has a huge coat, but very little weight and as temperatures round here are predicted to be minus low teens I actually wondered about getting a rug. She has a feed of hifi lite each day and at the moment is having virtually ad lib poor quality hay. Any thoughts folks?
 
Have you checked her temp? If she is cooler then I would rug, though if she feels warm enough then she might be doing just fine as she is. If you get a rug the lightweights can sometimes make them cooler as it adds no insulation, but does flatten their coats a bit. Perhaps consider a 40g or 100g turnout - there are a few about at that sort of weight and esp if there is a cold wind it would be enough to keep her warm, but not too much to cook her! If you are concerned about her weight could you perhaps change her chaff? Perhaps something oiled but with no molasses (low sugar or otherwise!), something like Alpha a oil?
 
Thanks for your reply, beginning to think I was invisible.:p She does feel warm enough at the moment, she has a lightweight because she is clipped in the summer and you can guarantee as soon as she is done it pees down.:( I wouldn't put the lightweight on her now as I am aware it would reduce the insulation properties of her coat. I am loathe to give her any feed that is not laminitis trust approved as she is so prone to attacks. For now I will just keep monitoring her and hope it warms up a touch, thinking about it if she does get chilly I could probably cobble something together with a blanket under the lightweight.
 
I don;t know anything about cushings, but re an elderly pony in general, I would say its a good idea to get a rug, she can be kept warm dry and toasty and won't need to eat mammoth amounts to keep warm.
 
MurphysMinder said:
Thanks for your reply, beginning to think I was invisible.:p She does feel warm enough at the moment, she has a lightweight because she is clipped in the summer and you can guarantee as soon as she is done it pees down.:( I wouldn't put the lightweight on her now as I am aware it would reduce the insulation properties of her coat. I am loathe to give her any feed that is not laminitis trust approved as she is so prone to attacks. For now I will just keep monitoring her and hope it warms up a touch, thinking about it if she does get chilly I could probably cobble something together with a blanket under the lightweight.
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I wouldn't put too much importance on what is lami trust approved. Alpha a oil isn't as it is high cal and lami prone horses and ponies often also have weight issues. Hifi lite actually has more sugar in it than alpha a oil so the lami trust stamp doesn't always mean totally safe! Alpha a oil has no added sugar so it would still be safe.
 
Thanks for that, might get some, I really would like her to have a bit more weight. In the meantime I suppose I could add some oil to her feed. Brandy, I don't actually consider her elderly, she is the youngest I have but it is just her lack of weight that makes me consider a rug. I have a 22 year old who is over weight and was unrugged to try and get some weight off her, I only relented a a couple of days ago when the temps dipped to - 10.:p
 
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