Bib clip and leave naked??? advice please

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chestnutters

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Hi guys
I have a sec d that lives out all year, naked and is in medium work. She gets very sweaty when we ride out and I really want to give her just a bib clip but she hates wearing a rug.
would she be ok to be left naked and rugged only if we have very cold/freezing weather? Does anyone ever do this? she has access to a field shelter.
thanks for any advice
 
I would say not. Sorry, even if it is very small, when you get into the deepest winter it will affect his temperature control. My cob has a bib at the moment and no rug, but I wouldn't leave naked all winter.

Best of luck,
 
Similar thoughts as the others really. A small bib clip in this weather when its reasonably mild would be ok I would think. But you get into minus temps and a wind and he'll notice it. I bib clip my shetlandxfell and she has no rug at mo but i even rug her up once temps drop and im not that soft with them, they live out as much as possible.
 
A few years ago, when I worked for a riding school, the ponies that got sweaty had a bib clip and were never rugged no matter what the weather. They all coped fine.
 
Did this to my new forest last year and he survived...
He grows a huge coat and didn't drop an ounce of weight, he was perfectly happy. He could still fluff up the rest of his coat instead of me squashing it down with rug, he never felt cold.
I may be mean again this year too...
 
I wouldn't have thought a bib clip would stop you turning horse out unrugged. Especially as your horse has free access to a shelter and therefore doesn't have to stand in the wind and rain if he doesn't want to.I'm pretty sure that is why bib clips actually exist!
 
jesstickle said:
I wouldn't have thought a bib clip would stop you turning horse out unrugged. Especially as your horse has free access to a shelter and therefore doesn't have to stand in the wind and rain if he doesn't want to.I'm pretty sure that is why bib clips actually exist!
Click to expand...
Exactly, since it is just the underside of the neck and between the front legs. If it was a full belly clip then I would say no.
 
OP did say that she would rug in the worst of the weather!
I have bib clipped ponies for donkeys years and not rugged them. I go by the rule of thumb that anything below the soak line is usually fine (when I say soak line - think about unclipped hairy in the rain, their undercarriages tend to stay dry, and you can see a clear line where wet hair ends and dry begins.
A native pony is designed to withstand british weather, and a little clipped bit isn't going to make much of a difference. Also, if you clip now, it will have grown a bit by the time it gets really cold, so even less need to worry!
 
thank you everyone for your responses. much appreciated.
think i might get the clippers out tomor and clip her neck.
She grows such a think winter coat and if i clip now a bit might have grown back before the really bad weather arrives. my cobs tend to only use their field shelter in the summer to get away from flies and sun and then in the middle of winter they are happy being out in the field in the cold, wind and rain. Odd things!!
thanks everyone.
 
I bib clipped my 21 year old last winter. She was on box rest until December then out in the daytime after that. She never wore a rug and she was perfectly fine all winter even in the coldest weather with no hard feed only hay, maintaining her condition perfectly well. I would say it depends on the individual horse and if it is a naturally 'hot' horse as mine is in a sheltered field with plenty of fibre to eat and a sensible owner who is prepared to change plans and rug if need be then it will be absolutely fine.
 
That's my plan of action for thursday. As Auslander said I just make sure it's below the water run off line. It's help him loose a bit of weight too!
 
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