caring for the veteran

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ohboy

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help need advice with my old boy, hes 31 and im in a dillema with rugging him in this very unpredictable weather, hes currently living out 24/7 as he hates being in and only box walks, but do i/dont i rug him of an evening?? i say yes others up yard say no!!!!
 
It depends on your local conditions I guess:) - here it is still really warm at night so any rug would be to much. Personally I would rather give him some more fibre to keep him warm rather then start rugging - is it possible to give him some hay/haylage or bring him in for trug of chaff/speedibeet/hi fibre pony nuts?:confused: By leaving rugs off you give his coat a chance to grow through to cope with the changing conditions and winter approaching then rug when it is really cold and wet. :)

If its any help the oldies here are all naked 24/7 with extra hay - both are TB's and in their late 20's. The oldest here (was 40 when we lost him:() was never rugged before September but just got extra fibre.:)
 
My horse is 31, he is out during the day, if rain is forcast he has his mack on no filling, if not fly rug, if he was out at night I'd do the same :-) he is spoilt but I don't care

You should do what you feel is best for the weather in your area :-)

He is in in the night with nothing on, summer sheet if its a chilly eve
 
I rug mine according to the weather - she hasn't needed a rug on for months, but may have to give in when I put her out this evening! At the moment she lives out at night on decent (not great though) grass, and comes in during the day for some hay and a bucket of mainly fibre based feed.

If it's any help, I contacted the Veteran Horse Society recently who said that old horses really do suffer with feeling the cold so it's important to keep them warm and dry.

Totally depends on your local weather conditions though, and what type of horse he is - mine is a thin skinned TBx who has always hated being wet although she can cope with cold easily enough. So if it rains, I'm usually the first to put a rug on :)
 
I struggle with my oldie pony (28) she's welsh/arab.

She hates being in,will just stand with head over door not eating.....literally. She also gets really hot easily so I try not to rug until I really need too. She drops weight when its wet....but still gets too hot even in a LW rain sheet and literally gets upset with it.....

Nightmare!!
 
Rana said:
I rug mine according to the weather - she hasn't needed a rug on for months, but may have to give in when I put her out this evening! At the moment she lives out at night on decent (not great though) grass, and comes in during the day for some hay and a bucket of mainly fibre based feed.

If it's any help, I contacted the Veteran Horse Society recently who said that old horses really do suffer with feeling the cold so it's important to keep them warm and dry.

Totally depends on your local weather conditions though, and what type of horse he is - mine is a thin skinned TBx who has always hated being wet although she can cope with cold easily enough. So if it rains, I'm usually the first to put a rug on :)
Click to expand...

This is why mine has nice big jammys in the winter :-)
 
thankyou all for your replies, its so hard when there old its always a case of do i dont i, everyone says how well hes looking so must be doing right, its just annoying when people up yard interfere and keep saying he doesnt need it, yes hes spoilt rotten but hes my baby.
 
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