Cold TB, Should I add Another rug?

3Beasties

3Beasties

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I went to the yard today for the first time since Wednesday and Charlie felt quite cold
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He is hunter clipped and is kept on high ground were it is colder and windier then what he is used to (first winter at this yard). They have a big barn that they can access 24/7 and have pretty much ad-lib hay.

He was wearing a heavy weight Combo Turnout (370g) with a 300g Duo Liner underneath, as well as a snuggy hood turnout hood. I was quite surprised that he was cold TBH.

Anyway I have given him plenty more Hay, a warm feed and changed the Duo liner to a 400g one. so he is now wearing just short of 800gms. Would the extra 100g make that much difference to him?

He is prone to dropping weight and since I saw him on Wednesday he seems to have dropped a bit off his back end and is slightly ribby. No need to panic yet but obviously I want to stop him from dropping anymore due to being cold.

So tomorrow if he still feels cold should I add a light weight stable rug/fleece or should I just leave him to get on with it?

Never had to use so many rugs before
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If he's cold then yes! Is he getting plenty of oil in his diet? That's great for weight gain - as is linseed if you can be bothered cooking it! Is the barn draughty?
 
To be honest are you sure that he's loosing weight from being cold and not sweating it off under that weight of rugs!!! Personally a heavyweight rug with a lighter liner underneath should be more than enough especially with the extra hay. My mare always has cold ears but the rest of her underneath her rug is always warm. It is more important that he has enough food in the form of fibre than being stiffled under too many rugs.
 
Last year I rugged mine to the gunnels and he never felt warm, and also drped loads of weight, not helped I, I think by the over load of heavy weight and under rugs.

ATM he is in a MW and a fleece and TBH feels cosy warm every day.

I think the key has been, for him at least, lots of thin layers rather than big heavy ones.

Iwill be changing to heavy weight this week, if it comes as cold here as they say, but will keep away from the under rug and stick to his fleece plus rug, he also has a neck cover but not really sure how much good that does as it keeps flipping over.

He lives out 24/7 BTW
 
Yes. I've been reduced to adding another rug to my fully clipped cob. (He now has 4 - he too was cold when I came up this evening) We've had him 3 years and I've only had to do this once before.

It is the really prolonged cold I think. Our paddocks and arenas didn't unfreeze at all today - normally they soften in the middle of the day. I chucked ice out of thier water three times today - but now the automatic watering has finally frozen. Thermoses of hot water from now on.

Honestly - I can't believe how cold it is - and for how long. (I know those in the north will think me daft - but it doesn't get this cold this long in surrey!)

On the plus side it hasn't rained so the horse walker is still OK to use. Just as well - I'm not riding in this!
 
Another Rug it is then
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Feel a bit better about it now though!

Saddlesore - I don't add oil to his feed at the moment, I cut it out when he became fizzy but he is settled down now so I could put him back on it. I'm changing his feed at the moment as I am not happy with what he is on.

Yes the barn is quite draughty as it is attached to 3 other barns that have open doors
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Tictac - Yes he's definitely cold, not sweating at all. He usually only gets clipped once a year but has has had two so far and will need another one before long.
 
add more fibre to the diet .. fast fibre sugar beet etc. digesting fibre creates heat all hind gut reactions. dont forget that horses can shiver to generate more heat! keep the rugs light if worried put a single duvet underneath to add puff not weight to the ruggage! standing in and not moving around will make them colder!
 
I agree with layers. You might find it better to keep the 2 layers you have at the moment but add a summer sheet and that will be the first 'close' layer that will keep the contact on the skin and then add the warmer layers. Works for Will who is a bit of a fairy about life.
 
I find that some TB's require 'special' rugging!! Its not the weight of the rugs that matter, its the materials. A lot of rugs nowdays have this very tough plastic/waterproof outer layer which I believe actually stops the layering effect from working properly.( I am sure somebody will say thats not physically possible but its true, somehow!)

Anyway- what works best is a more old fashioned method- layering with lots of cotton/wool or soft materials or rugs that do not have that tough outer material.

So say a summer sheet on first, followed by a newmarket woollen blanket, maybe even 2 newmarket woollen blankets, then a nice fat long duvet that goes right over the neck finally followed by the stable rug on top of all that...
So you see what I mean, all the inner rugs have the soft layers on the outside which allows them to get REALLY warm...

Try this method and compare it with layering up with today's rugs that have the tough outer shell- and you will notice that the old fashioned system is MUCH warmer!
 
If he's in at night add legs wraps- it warms them up as much as adding an extra rug but without the extra weight/ tangle of straps. It also meens another area where heat could be lost is covered.
 
My 22 year old TB is hunter clipped & wearing the same stuff as yours, right down to the snuggy hood. Only difference is I haven't yet added the 300g liner. He has a 200g under a 360g HW Orican rug with neck. He's in at night though & I then remove the snuggy hood. He's not too cold as he will shiver if he is. If you feel the base of their ears it is a good indication of how warm or cold they feel.

What I would say is DON'T add a Thermatex or fleece as an under layer if he's living out. I did this with a Thermatex last year & it pulled back & put pressure on his high TB withers, resulting in him getting very sore & chafed. I didn't realise at the time, but eventually a massive scab formed & came away.It took quite a while to heal & the hair grew back white. The duo type liners are actually cut quite high up the neck & are nice & light, so should do the trick. If not, maybe a summer sheet won't stretch & pull back.
 
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