Anybody else NOT rugging their horse?

Absolutely! Good grief, if people are rugging them now, what on earth are they going to do when it does get cold, if, indeed, it ever does. Winters round here haven't been cold for about 20 years. It never snows any more. Yesterday it rained for the first time in about 6 weeks but it most certainly isn't cold. They are horses, for goodness sake.
 
Its been bloody freezing in cornwall today!! i wouldn't want to be outside without a coat all night and with heavy rain too!! its ok if you have horses used to it but you cant change a habit of a lifetime!!
 
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Absolutely! Good grief, if people are rugging them now, what on earth are they going to do when it does get cold, if, indeed, it ever does. Winters round here haven't been cold for about 20 years. It never snows any more. Yesterday it rained for the first time in about 6 weeks but it most certainly isn't cold. They are horses, for goodness sake.

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Thats what the thicker rugs are for
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. I wish it didn't snow up here anymore - everything grinds to a halt even if its only a cm!
 
Absolutely not, it's not even October yet. Ours are all out 24/7/365 and will be lucky to get light ones come mid-winter. It is so mild here in Cornwall, they really do not need them.
 
I'd say 4 degrees and 9 hours of constant wind and rain constitutes cold! When my mare is shivering its usually a good sign she'd like a coat on just like I would if I was shivering!!
 
Rads has a LW combo stable on at night with neck folded back, he is a TB who feels the cold he wasn't hot under that at 5 on sunday at all.
 
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Absolutely! Good grief, if people are rugging them now, what on earth are they going to do when it does get cold, if, indeed, it ever does. Winters round here haven't been cold for about 20 years. It never snows any more. Yesterday it rained for the first time in about 6 weeks but it most certainly isn't cold. They are horses, for goodness sake.

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I think it really depends on what horses you have! And what you need to do with them.
Glam is 21, and currently injured.
She has never lived out, she is a competition horse, and cannot get cold.
In the middle of winter, she will have 2 rugs on and a duvet! It is important for her to be warm and comfortable, otherwise she spends more time trying to stay warm, than saving her energy to get better (at the moment) or work.
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I think it really depends on what horses you have! And what you need to do with them.

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I totally agree, i had my horse duvet out today to clean and have washed my hundreds of stable rugs ready for this week when she is clipped. The other competition horses on the yard are definitly rugged at night now with at least a sheet....oh i hate winter.....
 
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Absolutely! Good grief, if people are rugging them now, what on earth are they going to do when it does get cold, if, indeed, it ever does.

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I agree, if thick rugs are being put on now, its gonan get colder!
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think it depends on where you are in the county really and your horses...lucky us in the mild south can imagine how horrendous the weather has been lately in scotland!!!...my IDX is rugged at night in a lw if its going to rain cos hes done a lot of showing this year and not convinced he has a good enough build up of oil back in his coat to hold off a good day or night downpour..personally i prefer to leave until I clip but tend to do what suits the individual horses..mine are out 24/7 most of the year so def rugged once clipped as also need to be able to keep them worked....
 
ditto GD, Rad is full TB and been racng al his life, where he has been kept rugged up lots and layers of rugs. We don't want him loosing condition now when he has the whole of winter to get through with much harder work, through the summer he was rugged on miserable days and cold nighs and really felt the cold, it is important he keeps good condition now so he does well during the winter.
 
In at night in a waffle cooler type rug, out during the day in a mid weight turnout if its cold/wet. Not exactly 100% necessary, but she was chilly when she was in a couple of days last week.

14 yo Connie who lets you know when shes cold/wants in/wants a rug.
 
At the moment i have 2 yealings and a 2 year old living out 24 hours still and they will live out all winter. I won't rug them up, i don't groom them, they will have a field shelter in winter to use if they choose to and i will probably douse some pig oil on them. The yearlings are quite fine coated.
At the moment its still quite mild.-temperature wise and they seem happy.

The worst months in my opinion tend to be january , february-i am normally putting haylage in their field by this time
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The older ones that we are showing and/or in work are stabled over night and out all day all year round. They have fleece rugs on but only to keep their coats flat and clean, they have lots of ventilation in their stables with good size open windows allowing lots of fresh air!
Obviously when the weather drops a few degrees i will add another layer.
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Mine isn't rugged and looks like a woolly mammoth (she's a bit fat too
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). The 3yo is un-rugged as she's always been, and is getting a bit chilly (but she won't be rugged anyway until she's grown up and part-stabled!). Those two are out 24/7 and don't do anything apart from eat.
Cookie's rugged as he's rumoured to be a bugger to clip, and last winter his owner avoided clipping (just) by rugging him well. So that;s the plan for this year. Cracks is a 19yo Anglo Arab and really really feels the cold, especially when it's wet - a few nights ago she was in her lightweight at night and was freeeeeezing by morning! She's now in her 200g middleweight and is just right and not running round to keep warm any more.
As for me, I'm rugged too! I have my winter fleece throw on my bed! Brrrr!
 
Harry the anglo arab is in a lightweight, and has been since it got colder last week. He is out 24/7 and has a nice winter coat coming through. He needs the edge taken off though and lots of feed or he loses condition pretty quickly. Anyone who has seen his 'before' pictures will know what I mean.
Dilly the Welsh D is neked
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, and will stay neked as long as she is comfortable. I have a lw and a mw on standby - its her first winter with me and I dont know how pampered she likes to be!
 
Mine aren't rugged yet. We are down in Devon and it's still quite mild. Also, there's plenty of shelter in the fields still. I think people rug too early. If you compare the weather now, with mid-winter...
 
TB in cagool and pony in fly rug still. The fields are very sheltered, there is loads of grass and I haven't turned my heating on yet, so it can't be that bad. Neither are loosing condition and both are being monitored closely, which must make me a good Mum. I want to see how hairy the tb can get!


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None of ours are rugged yet (not even the wimpy WB!) and are all out 24/7 still. They won't come in until the end of October/beginning of November and as i've said previously we can't even get to our rugs at the moment as they're behind a small stack of hay!!! Well Holly has her fly rug on but thats it!
 
My TB is wearing MW rugs now - she is really hairy and a bit poor at the moment, despite lots of grass
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She really does feel the cold and will happily wear a rug unless it's over 22 degrees (I'm not joking!)

My WB, however, seems to have missed the fact that it's now autumn and has his normal summer coat on, is fat as anything and is out in the day with no rug, in at night with no rug (he comes in all year round). The rest of the horses on the yard are in rugs, even the section D's!
 
Baron has his rainsheet on but thats all. He is still out 24/7 at the moment. I dont want to rug too early as he will be getting a full clip so if I rug now I will be piling them on in the winter.
 
i never rug until the weathers well and truly changed as there will be days when they'll be too hot with even a lightweight.
i rug quite late and only use the lightest rugs they need,it lets them get wooly and under a rug keeps them nice and warm when they do need it:) they're horses!!!
there are loads of people at our yard who rug their horses up pretty much all the year just to keep them clean! it's mad!
my arabs out 24/7 aren't rugged at all yet and don't seem to have felt the weather
 
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