Are you putting rugs on?

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marinitagsd

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This weather stinks! I have three acres for my 2 TB girls, they are fed twice a day and I'm even putting hay nets out as the grass isn't growing but also they are looking totally fed up at bedtime with all this rain! They currently have lightweight rugs on and out 24/7 but wondering if I should start bringing them in at night. Whats everyone else doing?
Anita
x
 
I refuse to put anything but a fly rug on in August.
Weather where I am isn't too bad actually and we're lucky that although we haven't had huge amounts of rain the grass is growing, infact it's making L rather round :rolleyes:
 
No rugs for mine! The earliest either them will wear a rug is when Genie's clipped end of September. Before that the only time they will see a rug is show days.
 
Leaving them out with out rugs... You have made me feel guilty now but we haven't had that much rain?

I am not feeding hay yet but the big boy is getting hard feed. The shetties can whistle if they think they are getting anything!
 
Everything out au naturel 24/7 not a rug in sight - it's not cold. BTW this a herd ranging in age from 1 - 27 of different breeds inc a retired TB.
 
We have had alot of torrential rain here and its still raining now!! My girls look totally fed up, Pheobe looked really cold the other day as it was hard rain and very windy, hence the lightweight rugs, she can be hard to keep weight on. I thought this was supposed to be summer! lol x
 
No rugs on any of ours yet but they are all fat :o. It was raining today but I mucked out in a T shirt as I was too warm. I think they are ok with rain or wind or cold, its when its rain and wind and cold when they feel it.
 
This is the first time in 4 years that mine haven't stayed out over summer, they are all ready for in at 7pm (they go out at 6.30/7a.m). They have lightweight turn out rugs on because Touchy feels the cold (IDxTB and shivers when wet!), Sov (big rawboned TB) gets a wierd rain rash if he gets rained on and Emerald (TB normal proportions) has a rug on because he is a dirty little minger and if I had to brush him every night before riding it would be dark and not worth going to bed!
At night they all just have lightweight quilt or fleeces on to keep the flies off.
I am not an 'over-rugging' person so I figure if mine need them on then others do too!
 
my TB is out at night to avoid the flies with a lightweight on. Did feel guilty last night it got down to about 12 degrees. if it was 12 degrees in winter he's have a middleweight at least! 12 is the same temp winter or summer!
 
My fat TB is rugless but i have been popping on a lightweight turnout on my thinner TB.
But thats only been at night and only as the temp dropped a bit, we have had no rain.
If mine looked mis i would put in with lots of hay, but i'm a real softie :D
 
No rugs, just a flysheet on the TB, it's not been really cold and it's not like we've had prolonged heavy rain where we are, so they can made use of their water proof skins for the time being.

Nothing against those that choose to put light weight water proofs on if they wish, in some cases they need it, providing they don't get too warm.
 
It's only rained on and off here, nothing very heavy. My fat section a is out 24/7 with no rugs on- I only put her rug on if it is seriously cold because she's used to being up on the mountains. I'd actually prefer it if the grass didn't grow because atm my fields are full of lush grass, something she really doesn't need!
 
august it may be, but that wind is cold, and its damp.
mine have been in fly sheets with waterproof liners and cotton sheets at night (in), but today have upped it to LW in day and thermatex at night when in.
 
Pleased to hear that I'm not the only "softy" on here! lol I'm currently looking into getting a field shelter as think that would stop my girls looking so fed up and standing with their bums to the rain all the time. They have even learning to graze and walk backwards at the same time! ha ha
x
 
Mine has just had a light weight on over night the last two nights.
If it's rainning during the day (as it has the last week) she has a rain sheet on. This is purely so I can ride when I finish work.
 
I bring mine in at night and last couple of days I have been putting sheets on any that have been cold in the morning, not all though. The foals, fatties and oldies are all out rugless, even the tb's but we have loads of grass. None that live out have hard feed or hay, they had enough over winter!!
Every horse is different if yours are looking cold, rug them!!
 
All my 3 are out 24/7 naked 24/7.
However one of those is a competition horse on enforced rest, had he been in full work/fitness I suspect he would be in a LW overnight at the moment
 
We get all the elements where i live so my TB mare has been having her lightweight on when it's raining & the wind combined as she stands there shivering.
This has been going on since mid July, the weather hasn't been great this year at all & tbh i can't see it getting any better.
It's bad enough having to keep her rugged in the winter (6months that we get) never mind at this time of the year.

XxX
 
hi :D

to all you people who are saying 'rugs in august ?!?' the temps at night are the same as some days in november, by boy has a rain sheet on a night as he likes to lie out flat every night and comes in if rain is forcast.
 
Four of my ponies are still naked but my 36 year old now has her rain mac on as I found the cooler weather is causing her to drop weight dramatically this summer, poor old bugger needs all the help she can get these days.
 
Ours are cold so we are rugging everything at night - in and out and some during day. Can't believe its August! Ours are also so fed up with the limited grass situation. They ask to come in early.
 
not on my pony! he lives out 24/7 march - october wont have a rug on for a while as he would rip it off and dart around the field until i took it off
 
My SSh mare and foal are out 24/7 naked (the field is really well shelteredhowever she has really started to lose weight this last week so will be changingher feed to a conditioning mix and giving her more. Trying to put off rugging up due to her naughty colt who likes to be into everything
 
Yep, ive had a waterproof sheet on my horse for the past few days, or on sunny days a fly rug.

At night he has a MW rug as it gets very cold here at night! :)
 
This evening I put a thicker lightweight on my TB as it was quite cold last night and he loses weight if the temperature drops. The Sec D x TB is fine without.
 
Only fly rugs on ours. They come in at night due to us having FAR too much grass and one suffers sweet itch badly.. Most other horses in the area (various types) are happily living out. I'm very jealous!

We are in Lancs/Yorks?Manchester area, and its poured down all month, but they cope fine. Its actually NATURAL for a horse to stand with their bums to the wind and rain - thats what they do... with their heads down. Any horse in the wild would do that. If they are shivering and shivering then perhaps put a rug on, but then how many layers would you need by Xmas?? I feel very sorry for "humanised" horses, whose owners rug them up at the drop of a hat (or rain). Let them be natural, and use their grease and hair to keep them warm.
 
In a fly rug atm but it is waterproof. If your boys are cold and looking miserable I'd put a rug on but if there happy leave them, no point fixing something that isn't broken :)
 
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