Are we over rugging our horses?

I feel very sad for all the poor horses that are over rugged.

2 on my yard are wearing so many rugs that they are sweating really badly but the owner says its not a problem as a bit of sweat won't kill them!!!!!!!!!!
 
ALL horses are different as are people
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I see people about on the yard atm that are still walking around in t-shirts,yet i have a t-shirt,bodywarmer and coat on
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,and my layers will progress as it gets colder,my thick fleece will come out with a thermal vest t-shirt and bodywarmer underneath it!(it has nothing to do with weight either as i have enough fat on my legs,butt and belly to keep me warm
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),The fact is,we as are horses all individuals and therefore have individual needs,you cannot generalise and acxcuse people of overugging etc!
Providing horse isnt sweating like a pig then what is the problem?I think clipping them out fully is crueller than overrugging,I have never yet seen a moderately or unclipped horse try and rip its skin off itching as soon as you take a rug off,but fully clipped horses do
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,and this happens with the ones that are not rugged that well as the ones that are?And for them to want to itch like that when you take a rug off,how the hell have they felt all night with that rug on
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,am sure we have all had an itch we cant scratch?how infuriating!
Just an observation
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cotton sheet, thermatex, wool blanket, LW full neck stable rug, normal neck HW stable rug, full neck stable rug.

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Good god, sorry to single you out but you put all of that on one horse
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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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I've got a native who requires half a bale of hay a night after being at grass all day, eats as much hard feed as a person can stuff in her and still DOESN'T hold her weight
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I think clipping them out fully is crueller than overrugging,I have never yet seen a moderately or unclipped horse try and rip its skin off itching as soon as you take a rug off,but fully clipped horses do :confused

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Well I suggest there is something wrong with the fully clipped horses at your yard then! Perhaps they have an allergic reaction to clipping oil and they are not properly cleaned off after clipping, because my daughter's pony is fully clipped (bar halfhead and legs) and she doesn't itch at all!
 
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QR horses don't feel the cold in the same way as we do, the food they eat generates warmth. How would you feel wearing 6 coats and not being able to remove any?

over clipping and over rugging is a bit of a bugbear of mine. I hate it when people clip for their own convenience rather than for the horse's benefit. It's cruel IMO

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Was just about to post exactly this,, so thought I'd just quote yours as you put it so well
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My particular hate is seeing horses in more than one rug when outdoors. The under rugs always seem to slip back on the wither and sit low and tight on the chest,, can't be good for movement. Interestingly, my 4 horses are either naked or in LW's at the moment. I have two liveries who are fully clipped and turned out in MW with a stable rug underneath. My horses move around the field far more than the liveries, who just stand around looking miserable.
 
there is an elderly horse where I stable my horse (the one I posted a photo of) and although she is pretty much retired (maybe a hack in walk once a fortnight) she is fully clipped (except legs and half face) every year and then has so many rugs on she can hardly stand under the weight of them. Mine is not clipped (phobic anyway) but is a TB and has a lightweight t/o on during the day and either the same rug at night ot a fleece. I understand if you are out competing/hunting every weekend then you would need to clip but most people don't.

Also what's with clipping the bottom half of the face, it looks stupid?
 
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Also what's with clipping the bottom half of the face, it looks stupid?

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Our pony with half-clipped face (week after clipping) - she doesn't look stupid to me!

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cotton sheet, thermatex, wool blanket, LW full neck stable rug, normal neck HW stable rug, full neck stable rug.

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You seriously put this amount of rugs on? On ONE horse?At the same time?
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Mine is fully clipped with a MW combo-turnout. He'll stay in that until its knee-deep in snow or in minus figures....in which case my one and only HW rug will be dragged out of storeage. He is warm enough - according to the base of his ears- but not hot or sweaty.

One native has a trace clip and a LW turnout...the other is unclipped and unrugged.

I don't like layering rugs...especially out in the field....too much chance of a strap coming adrift, things getting twisted etc....or possibly thats just my horse. I prefer just the one rug of the approporiate weight for the weather.
 
Some horses need more than others, no question about that - and frequently there are valid reasons for rugging a horse in a particular way, although with mine I freely admit to prefering the minimalist approach when it comes to rugging and I look at some other people's horses and find myself feeling quite sorry for them. So yes, I do think that many people over-rug.

What really does get me is the showing scene - when in many cases how sleek the horses's coat will appear to the judges is far more important to the owner/producer, than the horse's actual physical wellbeing. It's money and winning that comes first - definitely not the pleasure of keeping happy horses. It's about time that the rules were changed...

I've also known several people who will rug a horse simply to stop it's colour from fading - whether it be for showing purposes, or simply because in their eyes a faded colour doesn't look so good. In other words a person's pride is far more important to them than their horses' welfare.

And as far over-clipping. Well, just don't get me onto that one. The amount of people I know of who clip far more off than is necessary because another girl in the yard has her horse that way, because it looks smart, because a certain clip is fashionable etc. etc., or a fully clipped horse (with no health issues) in "hard work" (hard work according to that particular owner being about twice a week schooling for an hour a time).

I could go on - but I think I'll stop now.
 
if my horse was turned away over winter i'd try to have her naked...

as it is she's hunter clipped (and hunting) (oh and with half a face
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) and lives out 24/7 in a hilly field on the edge of the highlands - wind chill here is currently 2'c - outside temp is 7'c, humidity is high (can you tell i have a weather station lol?! work for a farmer
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she's in a HW full neck, a wool rug and a LW stable rug - amounts to about 450gms (350 HW, 70gm stable + wool)
over night if it's frosty she has a 220 combo under the 350 HW instead - if milder she has less on.

when it gets to -9 like last year she'll have another rug under the 220 combo - possibly a sherpa, possibly a fleece - depends on how her clip looks by then as she's not being done again.
 
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Also what's with clipping the bottom half of the face, it looks stupid?

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I leave half a head on my lot. I don't like unnecessarily clipping their ears nor around their eyes/muzzles but I can get rid of my hairies unsightly beard which would look a bit silly if the rest of him were clipped. If you clip to just below the cheekbone then the bridle will hide the line but my main reason is for warmth. I hate to see horses rugged up to the ears with a bald head sticking out
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QR:

On the subject of clipping again, at a recent PC rally we attended, the instructor remarked during a stable management session that there was no need for children's ponies to have more than a blanket clip. (This was immediately after a ridden session where my daughter had been riding her fully clipped pony
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). What a ridiculous comment to make - the decision to clip should be based on workload, coat quantity etc, not what type of animal it is. In fact, ponies are often hairy so you could argue they actually need more clipping. My daughter then informed the instructor of the pony's workload which in that week alone had included bloodhounding, tetrathlon, showjumping and dressage - instructor went rather quiet after that!
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as it is she's hunter clipped (and hunting) (oh and with half a face
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[/ QUOTE ] Oh poor love - she must be traumatised and humiliated by her 'stupid' appearance. What a bad mother you are!
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as it is she's hunter clipped (and hunting) (oh and with half a face
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[/ QUOTE ] Oh poor love - she must be traumatised and humiliated by her 'stupid' appearance. What a bad mother you are!
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i know - i feel soo guilty... she has to now suffer the cold wind in her field with a front face of hair rather than naked face...
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she's mortified btw
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poor girly - i have suggested councilling but she turned her nose up at it

look - she wont even face the camera when out hunting she's that embarrassed by it!!
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mine has a sheet with neck, a mw with neck and another mw at nighttime and he is lovely and warm
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i wouldnt put anything less on him, he is such a woss he loves to be cosy
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he is already in a hw in the day
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he does lose a bit over the winter so id rather keep him warm
, he also has to have sedalin to be clipped so id rather keep his hair short ha!
 
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I think clipping them out fully is crueller than overrugging,I have never yet seen a moderately or unclipped horse try and rip its skin off itching as soon as you take a rug off,but fully clipped horses do :confused

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Well I suggest there is something wrong with the fully clipped horses at your yard then! Perhaps they have an allergic reaction to clipping oil and they are not properly cleaned off after clipping, because my daughter's pony is fully clipped (bar halfhead and legs) and she doesn't itch at all!

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ditto, mine never itches. I know of a full clipped horse who itches in her rugs, usually bcos she is too hot!!
 
mine is 18 and clipped, if she's cold she's cold and thats that! I try not to rug her up too much as I prefer her to use her body to warm up - helps control her waist line.

I was told though that doubling up of 2 rugs in the same material doesnt trap the heat so there is no point in doing it. I.e an under rug+ stable rug works, but 2 x stable rugs on top of each other doesnt insulate as well.
Hence if temp is really diar (sp) then I use combination of fleece, duvet, under rug, stable rug etc - not all at same time!
 
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