My ponies just have lightweights on to keep the rain/snow off. They have not got very good shelter in their paddocks, just bits of hedges. They come in at night.
Mine are both natives and not clipped or in work but are rugged.
To be honest its easier, one in particular hates being groomed so would be in a bad mood all winter if i had to brush mud off everywhere and not just her face and legs
my sec a is in 2 MW turnouts at the moment, shes not in work or clipped but she has hip problems and needs to keep her back and hind quaters warm, plus she lives out as she has RAO and its pretty cold at the yard.
Genie is rugged because she's hunter clipped. Titch is currently naked in the day with a lightweight stable rug at night, and when the snow has gone she'll have a rainsheet in the day - for her rugs are just to keep her clean!
I'm rugging my unclipped welsh D who's in full work, she has a thin coat and some mornings feels a little cold but I'm trying not to put much more on her.
In the day she's in M/HW turnout and at night shes in a middleweight under rug with a fleace on top. I'm leaving myself a bit of room to manover if it gets much colder she'll be in underrug with a thin quilt on top.
I find it so difficult rugging because you dont want to be too soft.
Most of the horses at the yard atm have 4 rugs on and its only -1 here at night, we're due lower tempretures over xmas and wonder what they will do?!?
My big fluffy allsorts foal (hairy gypsy cob) is currently out with a rainsheet on and in at night with a light stable rug. Only got anything on during the day because she likes to chase the snow so ends up soaking....
Yes my cob is in a Medium weight with a neck, and his snuggy hood (Just because he has lost most of his main and it had only just started to grow ) He's got my own made up clip, quite high up his body and quite low on his front legs. His hairyness get's trapped in his grith so this year I made him his own sort of clip, oh and he lives out.
I do as both of mine are fully clipped out with legs left. But my 2year old Connie is out without a rug and is perfectly warm, do not want to rug him till he is ridden and clipped, so a few years yet.
We have a clipped and rugged in a MW shetty, clipped and MW rugged section A, clipped and in MW 7/8th sect C, an unclipped section C in a rain sheet, an unclipped section B in a MW and then 4 unclipped Bs, a shetty, an A and a couple of PBs unrugged. Depends entirely on the horse
My cob was fully clipped and rugged - was due to be done again just before the first d ow arrived - in the 10 years I have had her I have never known her grow a coat like it. Didn't clip her again and her coat is nearly 4 inches deep and she is naked after she was sweating under a rain sheet in -7 there is no chance of riding anytime soon so she is enjoying being au naturel!
We have two out 24/7 with access to shelter, who are unrugged. Two who are in at night also unrugged. None are clipped and the stabled two are only in light work.
I really believe that rugging hairy ponies plays a part in the massive increase of laminitis. They need to drop some weight and their bodies need to be allowed to work as they should to keep them warm. Rugging, except when clipped or for the ill/elderly, is largely for our benefit and not really for the horse.
Traditional Cob in MW with Neck as she does feel it as was rugged all the time I was showing her and is now 19 but this is probably the lowest rugging Ive got her down to so quite pleased.
Section D has an underug and HW over the top as she had lami this autumn and had to loose a lot of weight and couldnt afford for her to loose anymore and need the heat support.
Sec C x 26 year old has a MW full neck with a lightweight stable underneath she is part clipped and still worked.
2 Shetlands Naked
1 Sec A in Heavywheight Full Neck as clipped out.
1 Sec A Naked hates rugged and not worked as going blind.
1 Riding Pony Mare 24 and in 2 Heavywheight Full Necks and Stable Chaps as shes feeling it bless her.
I just give them a good check over every morning and evening and add or remove rugs as necessary
I do like to leave them unrugged wherever possible.
My welsh cob is not rugged. He lives out and has natural shelter. If it turns wet AND cold then I will probably rug him. At the moment it is cold and dry and he is fine without. He is not being worked and has a full coat of his own!
My dales pony is hunter clipped (but growing out), is being turned out in hw turnout and her thermatex, and then at night a mw stable rug is added. She is stabled at night, but hates the snow, today is the first day she's wanted to stay out for longer than an hour, she's such a wimp.
My fell has a no-fill turnout in the day and a LW stable rug at night. He had a little neck/belly clip before the snow and I started rugging then. Haven't upped the rug weights as he's a fatty and now hasn't worked for a month or more due to a bruised foot followed by snow.
Mine all live out 24/7 My Sec A currently resembles a small ginger polar bear, he's that hairy, I was rugging him at night with a rain sheet in the snow becuase i felt a bit bad but then he trashed his rug so he is naked now!
The 2 TBs however are wearing that many rugs im not sure they can move!
Its -14 here, the fields are like ice rinks, my daughters section d is in has two rugs on , well his jammies and a full neck rug. Its fine saying co they are natives they should be able to live out no problem , wild birds are drooping like stones and I feed them masses daily . I think its safer for any horse to be in this weather my 2010 warmblood foal hasnt been out since she was weaned the weather is so bad , and shes going no where until I feel its safe.
My Sec D is unclipped and rugless as he had laminitis last year and I am trying to do all I can to ensure it does not come back...so he is not being rugged this winter in a bid to make him burn the food he eats keeping warm! He is doing fine I might add, warm and happy.
I've had to clip my traditional and put a L/W rug on him as his coat grows so thick that he'll sweat just standing in the field. Unclipped he resembles a Yak.
I have recently sold my natives (New Forests) and they were most definitely NOT rugged, ever, they lived out 24/7/52 and were always perfectly happy. They did have plenty of hay but always preferred digging in the snow to get to the grass!
Glad I'm not the only one to rug natives My two Highlands are both fully clipped, except for legs on my gelding. Mare has two rugs in the day and another at night if it is really cold and gelding has one rug for day and two at night because he doesn't feel the cold as much. They are both kept in at night and have been kept in for a large part of the day too, since the weather got bad. They are turned out in indoor school for a few hours a day on the really icy days because it is too dangerous to walk them to the field. Our ice is inches thick and slippery as hell
We have NFs and Welshies out 24/7 unclipped, carrying lots of fat, maintaining weight, so unrugged.
My mum phoned this morning after texting her to say that we had 7 inches fall overnight and was mortified when I told her that the ponies were still unrugged!!.
We are the only owners with unrugged ponies in the village, and we hay them out of sight behind the hedge, to stop it blowing away, so to the dog walkers and passers by probably think that we are starving and freezing our ponies to death!
Am waiting a note on the gate from the RSPCA!! Bring it on!! they can come and visit our happy little herd anytime!!