Are we over rugging our horses?

Pidgeon

Pidgeon

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Ok have just read the post on what rugs horses are in at the moment, interesting reading.
So never one to skirt controversy are we becoming a nation of over ruggers? Bearing in mind its still pretty warm for the time of year should horses be in such high weight of rug/s? Are we turning our horses into wimps by over rugging for our own peace of mind?
What is wrong with an ISH with more TB in him than ID, fully clipped, being out in a sheet in a reasonably exposed field? And before anyone asks he's plenty warm enough as I check the base of his ears. He doesn't drop weight as he is fed ad lib haylage and has appropriate hard feed (not too much either
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). He doesn't look tucked up or have a stary coat, in fact his coat shines even when just clipped (thanks topspec
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So thoughts please?
And no I'm not criticising anyone just intrigued if we are turning our horses into wimps by over rugging?
 
Some people are definately over-rugging IMO but if that works for them then thats fine, I just think that it must be a huge strain on the horses back with so many rugs on.

My horse (3/4 tb) has lived out so far and naked but had to come in due to the fact we got the entire winter rainfall in 3 days...

I will rug my horse when he is clipped and he is hard enough to keep weight on anyways so he wears the correct weight for his temp - people seem to forget that sweating looses as much calories as shivering does.

However I have rugged all year round, i did that with my old pony because we dont have warm summers, and he always had a rug on even if it was just a rain sheet.
 
Depends on the horse imo. If your horse is warm enough in that then why put anything heavier on him? I have a wimpy tb in a mw stable rug and hw t/o and he is fine in that. I have a tb mare who is out in a lw t/o and rugless at night. She sweats if I put anything else on her.
I have known people putting 3 hw stable rugs on their horse in winter....well apart from not having the time to faff about with all that it is too much surely!!
 
I think if you over rug your horses they will surely let you know! the only time I have had a ripped rug was when I had to put a 450 grm to on when I only wanted him in a 350 (mix up at the rug cleaners - sent the wrong rug back)
Horse let me know he was too hot by kindly ripping the rug cleanly in half!
 
A yard i went to recently had up to 5 rugs on per horse- including fleeces, duvets and heavyweights. To save them having to clip all the time. I suppose it's whatever works and yes in a large yard with lots of horses I suppose that's practical. But seems like a lot of faff to be taking so many rugs on/off all the while. Plus what do you do when it gets really cold?!
But personally my Welsh is doing fine with just a lw rug on, my mums arab is a wuss tho and is in her mw rugs, but purely cause she does get cold (and therefore grumpier!) in lw rugs. So I suppose it depends on the horse and what he's doing.
But yes, it's very mild atm and it makes me wonder what rugs are going to go on the horses who are already in hw's?
I understand if the horse is clipped, in alot of work, drops weight etc but I do wonder if we condition them to get used to the warmer rugs, so even if we dropped to a thinner rug they'd feel it more?
 
i doubt theres much point me saying the same thing again, but one last time.....if the horse isnt hot, can still move about as normal and is in every way happy and healthy, then its not an issue.

there are wimps and toughies in every breed/type.

both my trainers, and everyone who comes to my yard for clinics, comments on how healthy and well my horses look so i cant be doing too much wrong.
 
Absolutely IMO. I have always said that all horses are different and I stick to that, Monty feels the cold alot more than Zoom due to age etc.

However, as I put on the other thread I don't think ANY horse needs the combination of rugs that some people put them in.
 
It is fair to say that if you rug up your horses then their hair doesn't grow in a similar fashion to being in a hot climate.

So I over rug on purpose so I only need to clip once or possibly twice a year. My horse has sweet itch so also gets rugged during the summer and has a very fine coat and is a) used to the rugs and b) doesn't sweat under his rugs.

Would be nice just to have the one rug though as takes too long to get him dressed!
 
i think we will all just have to agreee to disagree on this topic as opinions seem to vary so much! IMO yes we are, but there are people who think we're not, so who's to say who is right
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another thought (sorry only quick as just off to yard) for those that have over 600g on their horses at the moment what do you put on your horses in the summer? 200g? 300g? genuinely interested as if they are in such high gramms at the moment then surely they must be in some sort of weighed rug throughout the summer as we don't exactly have it that warm then?
 
last few summers they have been in fly sheetson the hot (ha ha!!!) and sunny days, and on the rainy and breezy days had those Horseware liners in, which worked really well.
the shetland just wears his fly sheet nearly all summer, he doesnt need a liner.
i imagine they wore LW rugs for longer than most people, (although i cant give you an exact temp referance), but again-they wernt sweating or distressed so not an issue IMO.

there were only a few nights all summer they didnt wear a thermatex-they have those lovely lightweight white fly sheets by thermatex, or a cotton sheet on when they came in, and then id go out around 10.30pm and swap them in to thermatexs.
 
I tend to use layers rather than huge heavy rugs... So my girl may have quite a few layers on but not very thick rugs... i do have a HW for VERY cold weather... but tend to just put more layers on if it gets colder... she seems happy and healthy so hopefully i'm doing ok
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You shouldnt leave a horse too long in a thermatex as it drys the coat out and is bad for them
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I will rug my horse through the summer to stop his coat bleaching - I like my horse bay not chestnut
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"You shouldnt leave a horse too long in a thermatex as it drys the coat out and is bad for them "

erm, surely thats not a serious comment?!

never had an issue, my horses all have great coats, and certainly when my sister was showing we used thermatexs all the time and never had an issue.

i dont think any sort of rug can dry the coat out, only topical applications of products?

(apologies for serious reply if that was a silly/spoof comment...)
 
yes. I have a 3/4tb poor doer out with no rugs on. And he doesn't grow a great coat. He has plenty of natural shelter and isn't losing weight (not gaining it either but that's winter!).
 
Actually it IS true. Sorry if you think Im being stupid, sadly mistaken.

Thanks for such a sarky reply when only trying to help.


You shouldnt leave the thermatex on too long as it WILL dry the coat out.

If no rug could dry the coat out, then why do we use thermatexes? why do we use wicking rugs such as coolex?
 
Personally I think that if you remove a horse's natural coat then you owe it to them to replace it with a decent rug. Their hair contains more natural warmth and oils than a simple rainsheet - they grew that winter coat for a reason.

If they are unclipped and have access to shelter, then I believe rugging is largely unnecessary... depending on their age and type of course. However as mentioned above, some people rug to prevent the coat from getting too thick in the first place, in which case rugs should be added as the weather gets colder.

It's mild for this time of year but with the combination of wind and rain that can lead to a very chilly neddy. I therefore have no problem with horses being well rugged provided they're not too hot (and it's not difficult to check) - those that get cold often drop condition in trying to keep themselves warm.
 
I agree many people do over rug their horses, but the way i look at it is as long as they are not causing the horses any harm, leave them to it.
But saying that i do hate seeing horses wearing 4 or 5 m/w, h/w, rugs one on top of other
 
I'm another one that uses light layers and I also rug my ISH so as not to have to clip him in the winter. He is happy and healthy and doesn't sweat under his rugs at all despite wearing some form of rug all year round (fly sheet in the summer).
Interestingly, I was recommended this route of management as my horse has muscle problems in his back and keeping rugs on and the area warm seems to have made a real difference to him.
Each horse is different and needs to be managed accordingly
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thermatexs dry the coat by wicking the water(moisture )out NOT by taking the oils (moisture) out ,thus i seriously doubt they can over dry the coat.

if you sit with a towel on wet hair it will wick the moisture away, and if you leave it after the hair is dry it wont damage it/over dry it.

ETA-im not being sarky! but as per the logic above, i dont see how your statement can be true.
 
I do think each to their own, but I do honestly wonder what some people put on their horses when its -10 degrees (as it was overnight for a good few weeks last december/january time where we are), when they have 600g on when its 10 degrees! Thats a 20 degree difference...so does that mean that they resort to putting on double/three times that weight?

I'm not taking the p*ss, I'm genuinely interested.
 
I worked at a stud and due to the nature of stud work, spring always means shows. Some shows being incredibly important to a stud's reputation. sadly, many judges won't accept a native with a winter coat (or even traces of one).
We rugged, but not necessarily to stop the winter coat coming through (heck, that would mean stabling from september onwards)but after being clipped at christmas, to prevent the coat coming through again. With appropriate rugging and lighting it's possible to make the coat think it's summer
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Including them going out nekked on warm anough days. We used layers, sometimes two fleeces, an under rug and a stable rug at night, maybe a bed duvet too. If one got hot we removed a rug, we kept a close eye on them, and not one of them over heated or dropped weight. The stud owner had years of experience though.

With my own, we tend to go for the full on shaggy muddy pony look till xmas. Then depending on workload and their comfirt (don't forget that a long thick coat can get sweaty and cause a chill) I will clip. I'll then rug appropriately. I don't hay until they NEED it either, they're natives, they forage, and all they get is a daily vit and min. They're happy
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once clipped they'll get hay daily, a small feed and appropriate rugs. 100 or 200g.... maybe a couple o fleeces under if it snows
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There's a few round me rugging unclipped ponies and feeding hay already. Don't they realise the grass is still growing?
 
Just to play devils advocate here - am not having a pop at all...
For those of you that really layer up with the rugs when it turns cold do you think that the amount of rugs you put on offers the same warmth that the horses natural coat would offer? Or more?
My thinking is that if it's warmer than their natural coat then it would be unneccessary wouldn't it? If they weren't clipped & were living wild they'd manage with whatever they grew?
 
Alsxx, that's the exact conversation I had with another livery when it got chilly a couple of weeks ago. At the time, my horse had a fleece on at night with a 100g full neck over the top (hunter clipped IDxTB) and I was wondering whether to increase the rugs. She said exactly what you said...fine, increase the rugs, but where do you go when it gets *really* cold in January. My horse still has a decent covering of fat so he is plenty warm enough despite his clip. I can't stand it when I see horses who are boiling under their rugs. I don't like mine to feel cool underneath his rug because he is fully clipped, but I don't like him hot either.

The other thing that gets my goat, as well as over rugging... "I can't turn out my horse, it's raining and he might get wet"...
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I'm afraid mine goes out whatever the weather, he won't dissolve in the rain, until YO says fields are too wet or similar.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't hay until they NEED it either, they're natives, they forage, and all they get is a daily vit and min.

[/ QUOTE ] How jealous is the girl whose horse eats half a bale a night after being at grass all day, two big feeds and still only just holds its weight. I want a native!
 
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cotton sheet, thermatex, wool blanket, LW full neck stable rug, normal neck HW stable rug, full neck stable rug.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which adds up to how much? LW stable rug - 100g? Two heavy weights, about 350g? so about 800g in total, plus a bit more for the blankets?

I only ask as a person who sits in the office in my coat because I'm cold, when I then go outside wearing same coat I feel the cold even more. So if a horse is used to wearing 600g of rugs when its 10 degrees outside, yet only gets about 800g of rug when its 20 degrees colder....surely its going to feel the cold....I may be talking nonsense, and this is not aimed at you, its just my view on rugging, but surely the more rugs you stick on a horse when its 'warmer' the harder it will be to keep it warm when it really does get cold?
 
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