Do we mollycoddle our horses, to much?

Absolutely.

Years ago you never saw fields of horses in rugs. Good to keep them clean..warm??? probably if elderly poss etc but otherwise I often see horses in rugs when the night time temp has dropped and then they have not removed them in the morning as temp rises. Sometimes I think people are being cruel too(sweating etc).

Trouble is people humanise animals!

The different supplements etc. Someone who works with horses said to me recently do we worm our kids as much as our animals get wormed!

The only thing I do think is that horses do seem to live to a ripe old age these days?? I remember a horse years ago getting to 28 yrs and it was unheard off! Now we have 37+! So perhaps its having the balance
 
Mine aren't molly coddled but they are well cared for.
Living out 24/7 all year round, the TB X's and cob are rarely rugged, free access to hay and shelter, no muzzles or restricted grazing and all get the same feed, a token amount for vitamins and minerals.

Only shod if needed, cob does miles of road work daily barefoot quite happily.

Only clipped if they can't cope with thickness of coat in relation to winter workload.Thats usually the cob, not the TB's.

They are worked everyday to keep fit and healthy, and are condition scored regularly. Don't wear boots/bandages unless for a specific reason.

Perhaps the mollycoddling is by having regular checks for saddle fit, teeth, jabs, wormers and farriery.
 
I think possibly we are guily of "humanising" our horses, eg I left the boy out over night the other night, only to wake at 4.30am listening to wind and rain wondering if I should go and get him in (!) only to find him the next morning happpy as anything (lightweight rain cover only). Whereas I was thinking, "poor boy, out in all of that"

That said he came from Warwickshire to Scotland and HATES HATES HATES midges, he has been known to jump five bar gate and bring himself in to stable if they get too much (Estate worker had such a fright when he appeared and brought himself in), so I keep him in when it's midgey and also shut top stable door, I know him, he prefers this and I would prefer he was safe inside rather than doing his escapee act. Reckon we all know our individual animals and treat them accordingly (he also loves being pampered and I also have been known to put 4 rugs on in minus 10 conditions *hides in corner with red face*
 
I think in general we do mollycoddle our horses far to much and that the majority of owners (myself included) are guilty of humanising our horses.

I can't remember the amount of times I've been called mean or cruel for leaving my two out over night (rugged in a rain sheet when necessary, in a field with ample grass and shelter) during the winter because all horses perfer to be in nice warm stable with loads of rugs on especially as it's dark and so cold they needed to wear a coat themselves :D
 
Our horses live out all year round with no rugs. In the winter those that are clipped wear rugs but if it is nice sunny morning they will go out for an hour or so without a rug to have a good itch. Also one of our night fields has better drainage that the other but not much shelter so if it is very wet they go in there but with rugs on as they cant squeeze under the hegde!
 
I don't care what anyone says....over rugging hairys is bordering on cruelty, it flattens their coat so they can't fluff up and keep warm. I've seen hairy cobs so over rugged to the point where I have the urge to ripped the rugs off them!

Even in this warm weather we've had I've seen horses with their rugs on...why?

Also, I love the saying 'when your horse is sound when shod, then he is lame'

Don't mean to offend anyone but thats what I think.
 
Many people would probably say mollycoddle my TB...and they'd probably be right :D However, basically everything I do is either in the interests of his welfare (such as rugging him up when I have rudely removed all his hair :p ), or in the interests of me being able to enjoy having and riding him- such as having shoes with road nails and stud holes etc done regularly so that I can ride him on the road and on slippery grass!
I do take preventative measures such as booting or bandaging most times I ride- and that is certainly not mollycoddling, in my eyes it's pretty practical- if I can do anything I can to avoid injuries (which could well lead to time off and expensive vets' bills/treatment) then I'll do it..especially as he is a stereotypically self-harming TB.
I hope that I don't over-humanise him- I am fully aware that he probably only really wants to be fed, watered, feel well and be given company...and I reckon I do that pretty well. :rolleyes:
ETS I do strongly agree though that both under- and over-rugging are bad!- and by over or under, I mean either extreme to the point that the horse is uncomfortable/unhappy.
 
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Depends on the horse.

Fany was out in the winter snow and ice rugless, but Captain did not even go out! He refuses point blank to go out. If forced he will remove the gate and bring himself in!

I have loads of rugs for him, around 15, stable and turnout. He will stay out in reasonable weather if rugged suitably. He is a KWPN.

Fany has a fleece and a very lite turn out from when she was poorly. The fleece is for bath time. She is a cold blood, Ardennes and gets incredibly shaggy, think over grown Shetland! It would actually be cruel to rug her, it would make her incredibly uncomfortable.

Captain has loads of toys and is given treats. Fany gets absolutely no treats, she doesn't really like toys. Why the difference? Fany is an extremely good doer and is permanently on a diet, to treat her would be to abuse her. However, Cappy is a very poor doer and is very fussy therefore needs a lot of encouragement to eat his feed, so gets carrots/ apples/ pears/ and swede, also the odd ginger biscuit and apple juice to wet it.

Both of mine are bare foot.

I genuinely think that you must suit rugging, feeding etc. to the horse in front of you.

FDC
 
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Magicmillbrook said:
Yes - horses are designed to be outside in all weathers
Click to expand...

They were, but we have mucked around with them, and their habitats. My Ardennes, which is one of the oldest breeds, is happy to live out unrugged as are Arabs, another ancient breed. It is the WBs, generally the continentals, that seem to feel the cold. I know my lad thinks anything under 60degrees is torture! Whereas Fany loves playing in the snow and went unrugged right through the winter.

FDC
 
One persons mollycoddle is someone elses basic care. There are many routes to taking care of our horses but to me, as long as you choose a route and are consistent, that is what is important. I had a horse living out and partly clipped who did really well on that. I have an much older mare who would not cope (proven) and is happier part stabled. But then I am older and grumpier and would not take kindly to someone telling me how many rugs I can have for/on my horses! if I want advice, I pay for it!
 
Some people certainly do!
I think it is because many people don't understand equine physionomy and metabolism. Fit, healthy horses grow their own thick waterproof coats, they digest their food to keep warm and they are not comfortable when they are too warm. Horse should NOT be 'toasty'. I blame the rug manufacturers for creating a market and the horse magazines for perpetuating the myths, particularly the 'toasty' one.
Horses do not need 'muesli' type feed but thrive instead on forage/fibre=based feed but these do not look as appetising to humans, so many people feed mixes - again the feed companies have created the market.
I doubt if any-one would accuse us of mollycoddling, lol!
We live in a very exposed area of the high Pennines. The horses are usually out 12 hours per day in winter but have to come in overnight to save the land. We have a 30 yr old cob mare who has been unrugged for most of this winter, including in lying snow. The new mare was clipped out before we got her. We want her to lose weight (she's massive), so she too has been out in all but the wettest weather unrugged since January.
They are all happy and healthy, even if a bit overweight!
 
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