Census of opinions please?

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Seville

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Hi All,
I have worked with and owned horses for many many years, and I have always changed a horses outdoor rugs for indoor stable rugs..I admit drying turnout rugs can be a huge issue as we all know.
Just lately, several people I know and even picking up from various conversations at events, its popular now for horses to remain in their turnout rugs when brought in for the night. The rug dries on the horse without the horse being either cold or wet..I can understand that. I am having trouble equating all that on a filthy night, or when the weather drops below freezing, to leaving the horse, albeit in a stable with a deep dry bed, in its outdoor rug.
Can I ask what others think of this? Do you do this? Is the horse perfectly ok to leave overnight in its turnout? (I have a thing about horses laying down with leg-straps causing possible trouble) Am I worrying about nothing, and the horse will still be comfortable going out the following day? I would have to remove it daily anyway to groom simply because I could not bear NOT to!! I am interested to know how others deal with this and whether or not they think its actually ok to leave the turnout on? (I have good heavyweight rugs for winter, medium for Autumn/Spring). Thoughts and opinions please!!!!!!
 
Premier Equine Outdoor rugs can also be used as indoor rugs also. I do, however, have one of each. Though when the nights were just starting to drop in temperature and Miller was coming in for the night I'd leave his light sheet on. He came to no harm.
 
I started doing it as it was a done on the yard I was at. The person turning out in the morning didn't swap rugs. It was a bit alien at 1st but worked out well. Rug dried well on him. Never a risk (they strap on the same as stable rugs anyway).
I now have them at home and living out most of the time. If they come in I do either depending on what I'm doing and what my morning plans are. I tend to bring them in and let the rug dry on them before removing it. Easily done when they're at home
 
>>>>> Never a risk (they strap on the same as stable rugs anyway).
Thanks for that LovesCobs....none of my stable rugs have leg straps but I take your point. I am just trying to get up the nerve to do this...you are absolutely right, it really DOES seem alien!!! But goodness me the time and effort it would save is so tempting (3 on this regime..and I am lucky, they live at home)
 
I really struggle with the thought of it! If my husband is turning out the following morning I have left them in their turnouts to save him time (and save my rugs - he turned out in a brand new Thermatex once!) but I change over to stable rugs where possible

When its really cold I leave a snuggy suit on (body only) so even when changing rugs the pony stays warm when a fresh cold rug is put on him
 
I do this too. Most turnouts now are breathable and suitable for inside use too. The rug dries quickly on the horse without the horse becoming cold or wet. Otherwise you are removing a nice warm turnout rug, putting on a cold stable rug. Likewise for the morning, removing a nice warm stable rug and putting on a cold, probably still wet and heavy turnout. I do remove the rug still and give the horses a once over, re-adjust the rug etc. I only do this with good quality and well fitted rugs. Once had an owner that wanted me to leave a very ill-fitting leaky rug on, I decided it was best to change it!

Don't know about the straps, my straps have always been the same on stable and turnout.
It used to seem very alien to me, but having done this at many yards it has become very normal!
 
I do this. I'd rather leave a warm rug on than swap to a cold stable rug. I take all the leg straps off my turnout and attach fillet strings anyway, so no worries re tangling straps.

I do make sure rugs are taken off periodically to check over (if horse isn't in ridden work), as it's easy to miss if a horse is losing weight when not changing rugs.
 
I do this in winter as my YO turns out for me in the morning and charges extra for a rug change. It saves me £7.50 a week to let him stay in TO rug overnight so I do it! He has always been fine however I do use rugs with fillet string rather than leg straps so I couldn't comment on that.
 
I'm sure some of the modern rugs are perfectly ok as stable rugs, but I could never put a horse in the stable in a wet rug! Just seems lazy to me.
 
I don't as my stable rugs weigh a lot less so probably are more comfortable and he generally doesn't want the same thickness on for 24 hours - I will leave it on him for a few hours once he is in to dry his turnout out though if possible! Pros and cons of each- especially if you have one that likes to lie in poo, mine is far too tidy to do that! plenty of others on the yard keep turnouts on fine.


cobgoblin, but does the horse know the outside of it's rug is wet?
 
I have done this with a loan horse i had last winter as i was doing 2 horses on 2 different yards so time was limited!! Rugs are breathable nowadays so its fine. I dont do it with my own horse now as he comes in and gets ridden 6-7 days a week anyway so has his TO stripped off and i dont see the point in putting it back on if its wet after he has worked so he has a nice cosy stable rug on instead!
 
Have done for years with no issues. I also use fillet strings rather than leg straps. Normal routine is to whip rug off once in for a quick brush off and check over underneath and then back on, quartering rather that removing completely if it's a very cold night.

The only exceptions are if the rug has leaked; if I want to change for a different weight; there is more mud than rug. With the latter, I still might leave on until the morning to dry and then swap for a cleaner one while I scrap the worst off.
 
Rug changes come from the days when there were 2 types of rug. A Jute canvas for indoor with whitney blankets for extra warmth and a New Zealand for turnout.
New Zealands were hardy but my god did they get heavy when wet and prone to leakages. They also where not terribly breathable. So rugs were always changed.
A lot of the racing yards and studs still use they NZ/Jute and it is a hard habit to break :) especially when they do last so long.
This is just no longer necessary with advances in design. Good quality outdoor rugs are perfect for indoor and outdoor. Even if a horse was to never put a hoof outside I would use an outdoor indoor as they have a hardier exterior and easier to manage stable stains.
95% of our liveries leave their outdoor rugs on. We will whip off under layers/insulators in the morning which can be put back on under the outdoors at night temperature dependent.
Some of our stables are 'garden boxes' which means the horses have access to their own outdoor areas. Obviously outdoor rugs are required for these boxes.
Otherwise if a rug is warm and dry on the inside the outside of the rug is irrelevant.
We encourage liveries to buy the best rug they can. Horsewear, you just cannot go wrong. Rambo's last for decades not years.
Also if a rug has leg straps it tends to be for a reason. In our experience they just do not fit as well as they should.
 
I was talking to the physio about this last night - if you have a good rug and it is dry inside but wet outside, surely it is more sensible to leave it on the horse to dry it out than take it off, let the wet get through to the inside and then put it on the horse wet in the morning? The rugs dry a lot quicker on the horse than off it!!
 
My horses all live out 24/7 atm, but when I had one come in a few years ago I did swap him to a nice light amigo insulator overnight. Rightly or wrongly I thought it was more comfortable for him. However I don't see a problem leaving turnouts on overnight to dry or save time as long as horse is dry underneath. As mentioned above, leg straps can usually be removed if that is a concern.
 
As long as the turnout rug isn't wet through, then I would leave a horse in one overnight. But I do like putting them in a snuggly stable rug, even if it's actually a less warm rug than the turnout. I think it's one of those rugging issues where we like to treat the horse as we do ourselves, even if the horse doesn't actually need it.
 
Seville said:
Hi All,
I have worked with and owned horses for many many years, and I have always changed a horses outdoor rugs for indoor stable rugs..I admit drying turnout rugs can be a huge issue as we all know.
Just lately, several people I know and even picking up from various conversations at events, its popular now for horses to remain in their turnout rugs when brought in for the night. The rug dries on the horse without the horse being either cold or wet..I can understand that. I am having trouble equating all that on a filthy night, or when the weather drops below freezing, to leaving the horse, albeit in a stable with a deep dry bed, in its outdoor rug.
Can I ask what others think of this? Do you do this? Is the horse perfectly ok to leave overnight in its turnout? (I have a thing about horses laying down with leg-straps causing possible trouble) Am I worrying about nothing, and the horse will still be comfortable going out the following day? I would have to remove it daily anyway to groom simply because I could not bear NOT to!! I am interested to know how others deal with this and whether or not they think its actually ok to leave the turnout on? (I have good heavyweight rugs for winter, medium for Autumn/Spring). Thoughts and opinions please!!!!!!
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Yes I have been doing this with mine for years. The only time I will change them is if the water has ingressed somewhere then they have a dry outdoor on for that night. Mine all have several. If it's just wet on the outside, unless I'm riding, they keep it on for bed! Modern rugs are breathable so it shouldn't be a problem IMO. My horses are all happy and healthy with no skin problems using this system.
 
Seville said:
>>>>> Never a risk (they strap on the same as stable rugs anyway).
Thanks for that LovesCobs....none of my stable rugs have leg straps but I take your point. I am just trying to get up the nerve to do this...you are absolutely right, it really DOES seem alien!!! But goodness me the time and effort it would save is so tempting (3 on this regime..and I am lucky, they live at home)
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i don't like the back leg straps so I don't use them on turn out rugs. my amigos don't have them either (turn outs)
 
For the last 2 winters my horses have come in in their turnouts. It's really no big deal. I found it a nightmare hauling cold, wet, muddy rugs on to them in the morning before work. And I think it must be freezing for them having a warm dry stable rug taken off and replaced with a heavy wet cold one! Wet rugs are dry within about 20 mins when brought in :)

ETA turnouts have the added bonus of not become wee soaked like non-waterproof stable rugs do!
 
cobgoblin said:
I'm sure some of the modern rugs are perfectly ok as stable rugs, but I could never put a horse in the stable in a wet rug! Just seems lazy to me.
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i suppose i don't see it as any different than leaving them out with it on when the rain has stopped they still have a wet rug on and it dries on their back then? it dries really quickly :)
 
Personally, for me - when mine used to come in I would always swap rugs. Several reasons:
1) gives a better chance to notice any problems with the rug or rubbed areas of hair - easy to miss if you just bung the horse straight in
2) I like to think that swapping rugs also can give a chance for any areas of pressure to be relieved for a bit so less likely to have rub problems
3) indoor rugs tended to be lighter and not so much padding needed for insulation while indoors
4) the ponies did seem to appreciate a change of 'clothing'!
5) they are more likely to sit in more poo and possibly wee soaked bedding (messy blighter one of mine) when indoors so the waterproofing would get wrecked on an outdoor quite quickly
6) if they are really wet, say after heavy rain just before coming in, a dripping rug can make quite a puddle before it dries, so lots of drips = wet bedding (unnecessarily)

Even now that they live out 24/7 rugs still get changed day and night. If they do need the same ones on because of the weather I still remove and replace them morning and evening so that I get a chance to spot any signs of rubbing or problems with the rug before it can get out of hand, i.e. rub becoming sore or a small tear becoming a huge rip!
 
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Agree with 3oldPonies.

Benefits of changing to a stable rug means-

1) Relieving pressure on withers and shoulders.
2) Stable rug is much lighter and not weighed down by water/mud.
3) Horse doesn't get outdoor rug covered in urine and poo.
4) Horse gets checked during the rug change and a well aired rug is less likely to harbour bacteria.
 
For those of you who don't like leg straps but have them, do you not worry about turning them out, then? Most of my yard is grass livery with shelters and most of the horses lie down to sleep in the field. My last yard had stables only, but again, the horses would lie flat out for a sleep outside! Is there another reason why they might be more dangerous inside?
 
i leave them in them if its wet or if im running on a tight time the next morning....they are warm underneath and the wet rug is dry by the morning. I did this with the wet weather last year for the first time and it work brilliantly. although I do change into their pjs for the odd nights and if fields are closed they have stable rugs on.

Most rugs theses days are made with anti rub patches and are breathable.
 
3OldPonies said:
Even now that they live out 24/7 rugs still get changed day and night. If they do need the same ones on because of the weather I still remove and replace them morning and evening so that I get a chance to spot any signs of rubbing or problems with the rug before it can get out of hand, i.e. rub becoming sore or a small tear becoming a huge rip!
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even when I leave the outdoors on I still check underneath morning and night to check no rubs etc and re adjust the rugs if needed. they aren't left on for days on end with out checking
 
I prefer to leave turnouts on for several reasons: they dry better, the horse stays warm and you are not taking off a nice dry stable rug and replacing it with a cold wet turnout before they go out. Many horses really object to it! The horse stays cleaner, especially if they are very wet or messy in their stable or like to sleep on their poo. Downsides are: Turnout rugs get more grubby looking and are harder to clean, and you still have to check the rugs to make sure there is nothing caught under them and they are not rubbing. However, I do what the owners wish and will change rugs if that is what they prefer. Most however don't. I don't like leg straps personally, and will convert the rugs to a filet string instead as I feel these are safer.
 
3OldPonies said:
Personally, for me - when mine used to come in I would always swap rugs. Several reasons:
1) gives a better chance to notice any problems with the rug or rubbed areas of hair - easy to miss if you just bung the horse straight in
2) I like to think that swapping rugs also can give a chance for any areas of pressure to be relieved for a bit so less likely to have rub problems
3) indoor rugs tended to be lighter and not so much padding needed for insulation while indoors
4) the ponies did seem to appreciate a change of 'clothing'!
5) they are more likely to sit in more poo and possibly wee soaked bedding (messy blighter one of mine) when indoors so the waterproofing would get wrecked on an outdoor quite quickly
6) if they are really wet, say after heavy rain just before coming in, a dripping rug can make quite a puddle before it dries, so lots of drips = wet bedding (unnecessarily)

Even now that they live out 24/7 rugs still get changed day and night. If they do need the same ones on because of the weather I still remove and replace them morning and evening so that I get a chance to spot any signs of rubbing or problems with the rug before it can get out of hand, i.e. rub becoming sore or a small tear becoming a huge rip!
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Absolutely agree with this.
 
Slightlyconfused said:
even when I leave the outdoors on I still check underneath morning and night to check no rubs etc and re adjust the rugs if needed. they aren't left on for days on end with out checking
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I wasn't implying that everyone just bungs their horse indoors or never takes a rug off for days, but having said that I do know of a lazy livery near me who has been known to do exactly that. I would hope that the person is in the minority.
 
I'm sure many people do check under turnout rugs but equally, many don't, particularly those who have unridden horses. Several times I've seen owners get a shock in the spring when they find the horse is dropped a lot of condition or has a skin problem.
 
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