Do you Change rugs and Pick out feet?

windand rain said:
there is a school of thought that picking out feet should only be done before riding and before turnout in the morning apparently the mud in feet actually protects the feet from the urine/poo in the stable
Click to expand...
I think I would rather my horse stood on some poo/urine than have a big stone digging in the frog all night, and what if they have trod on something in the field and its punctured the foot, you wouldnt find it until the next day in some situations.

And if the horses bed is deep enough urine shouldnt really soak right through.
 
I pick out hooves when my pony comes in from the field because we have gravel between the field and the stable. If you leave mud and gravel in the feet it sets like concrete and can't be very comfortable. It's a PIA to remove if you get to it after it's dried too! I also pick out when we've been in the indoor school. The surface is fine sand and my poor pony comes out on stilts! :D

Another reason for doing it is because she is very sensitive with her back legs, and handling her back feet daily has helped to desensitise her. If you are into IH one of the things they advise is moving a horse's feet - either by making the horse move or by physically picking up their feet and putting them back down where you want them. I do feel this has helped my relationship with my pony, so picking out hooves is just an extension of that.
 
I dont change rugs but I ride most nights so they get taken off & put back on most days, but I religiously pick feet out
However yard I worked at never used to, nothing happened
 
I don't bring in unless horrid out, so I will leave turn out rugs on so they dry out from their heat! I pick their feet out before I ride and when I bring them in but I don't pick them out when they are pottering around the field! only when they come in for a brush or for the night!
 
Another that doesn't change rugs - I have no way of drying out wet turnout rugs and as our horses are ridden daily they are always removed.

I pick feet out before turning out in the morning, though as much to prevent bedding being dragged across the yard, as checking their hooves!
 
I change rugs every day unles the turnout is very wet-I tend to put heavier weight rugs on at night when it drops colder. Pick out feet every day too, and give them a proper scrub, dry and apply silver feet hoof balm at least twice a week to try and ward off thrush etc.
 
If the rugs are wet they stay on to dry and then I go and change them at bedtime. However I have left them all night in their turnout rugs and its not a problem at all (stables are well ventilated. I don't pick mud out of the feet as they then just fill them up with poop which I think is worse for the feet so I just do them in the morning :)
 
I think modern rugs can be left on now and do no harm.
I do like to check/pick the feet every day, who knows if I'm helping the feet but if nothing else it gives me some exercise
 
I pick/check hooves regularly each day.

As for rugs, I am so posh that I have bought this very expensive "thermal-system" that only needs the innermost layer taken on and off should the weather need it. Since the temperatures have been so mild, its still in its box. :D
 
I change rugs and pick out feet before coming in and before riding. Called me old fashioned but I thought this was standard practice!
 
trary said:
I've recently taken up riding a friends pony twice a week having moved house and sold my two after having babies, but I have some concerns.

I could just be showing myself up as naïve or inexperienced... they don't change rugs from outdoor to stable. The horses come in every night and sometimes stay in during the day if it's wet. I always changed rugs as they can slip and become uncomfortable, also surely the needs of an outdoor horse are different to the needs of one inside?

They also don't pick out feet which was something I did before and after riding and every day. Another friend admits she doesn't do this either and that her farrier advises not doing this if you have barefeet.

They also expect a horse who might hack out for 25mins twice a week at walk to go hunting or jump in a hired out school for an hour. it seems a bit much for an unfit horse... but if you don't have facilities I suppose it's difficult to get a horse fit.

What do you think?
Click to expand...


No my horses live in turnouts in the stable and out, i pick out feet most of time but sometimes no just leave it, pick liveries out tho, the donkey i rarely pick out same with pony they are barefoot and rarely mud sticks in
 
Last edited:
ihatework said:
The rugs and feet picking aren't biggies to me. I do generally change rugs, but if they come in sopping wet they stay in their outdoor rugs - the reason being they are good quality rugs (so not wet underneath) and leaving them on the horse dries the rug off better (if you take the rug off they generally get damp/clammy and you end up putting a cold/wet rug on the horse the next morning).
Feet picking - again frequently, but if it gets missed/forgotten every now and again it's not a handling offense.

The hunting/jumping an unfit horse is to me the the significant offense ;)
Click to expand...

I say I don't change rugs or do feet but I obviously do both when I ride so they happen most days. I just don't do them as standard if I am just dragging in, only if there is a problem.

I agree with the last bit though. I would want my horse fit to go hunting!
 
I dont tend to change rugs when they come in unless they are wet. They are warm and cosy in their rugs when they come in and I dont want to remove a warm rug and replace it with a cold stable rug. So I leave them in their t/o and pull the neck down if its not that cold overnight. I pick out hooves everytime they come in and also before I ride.
 
I never change a wet rug as it dries far quicker it's a modern breathable rug so nice and comfortable. If it's dry I might change it just to justify having fleeces and stable rugs and will give her a nice brush too :D. Always pick her feet out and check legs etc she holds each foot up for me in rotation automatically bless her heart :angel:
 
I've only picked Ms feet out once in his life... I look every day but they are always without exception clean... the one time I picked them out was cos he had a stone in his foot... I've never had another horse who kept his feet so clean... but I've never had a fully barefoot horse before so I've put it down to this (and his big flat feet.)
 
I'm another that doesn't change rugs - the ones I have fit well, and it halves the selection needed! He has 2 lights, 2 medium combo & 2 heavy combo to allow for drying/cleaning, plus fleeces etc and that's it. His rugs fit well and don't rub, they come off at least once a day, and they keep the stable stains at bay! If they were rubbing or leaking, he wouldn't wear them.

Mine is barefoot and I pick feet multiple times a day - I think if anything it is more important, especially at this time of year. It isn't just stones, but if his feet are packed full of mud etc, it isn't good for the condition of the foot.

I think workload depends on the horse and how well they hold fitness... Mine is fitter and I wouldn't take him hunting or jumping as is, since we don't use fast/jump muscles with slow hacking and schooling, but he would be perfectly capable of doing more. i.e we generally only hack c. 5 miles once or twice a week, mostly at trot, but he can easily do a 17 mile loop with lots of cantering and not be tired on the way home.
 
I hardly dare reply....... I change rugs twice a day, I like to think they will have different pressure points. Yes, I have very nice rugs (Rambo and Fal Pro outdoor rugs and Mark Todd stable) but still they sit differently on the horse. If the rug is wet it comes into the house and sits on 2 dining chairs to dry out overnight. Yes, my husband is a saint!

I brush my horse twice a day, and pick his feet morning and night, and before and after work. I also hoof grease inside and out before going out and when coming in. This makes a barrier against wet of outside, or ammonia inside.

I have a sensitive comp horse, and he is in tip top condition, and he would easily rub or have mud fever. (in addition he is turned out on the arena in winter!).
 
I leave turnout rug on during the week as it makes it quicker to turn out in the mornings, but he has his pjs on at the weekend :D

I pick out feet everyday though
 
I've always changed rugs and picked out feet...it's just the way I like to do things. I can't stand leaving a horse in a wet and muddy turnout rug overnight, even if it is dry inside. I don't like wearing my coat inside, so I don't like my horse to :p. As for picking out feet - yes, maybe people get away with not doing it and maybe their horse's are fine and never have a problem, but personally I'd rather check feet daily so that I'm aware of any problems immediately.
 
I dont change his rug as I turnout in the morning for another livery and her horsey is rugless constantly, so I'd feel bad asking her to change his rug when she brings in! I pick out feet for both of them in the morning and presume she does the same in the evening. I do also pick them out before and after riding when I've actually got the time in winter, with no floodlights and a flooded school and TROT rides atm, and flooded bits the whole way to the yard! but his rug fits him very well and doesn't rub him. Not picking out feet is asking for trouble though with risks of thrush etc significantly being increased. I wouldn't not pick feet out under any circumstances though.
 
I pick out feet when I bring in from the field and check again after I've ridden. Only my mare gets rugged overnight, and she has a stable rug on, plus she wears a combination of fleece and waffle rugs during the day in the stable depending on temperature and if she is a bit sweaty after riding (she's not clipped but not hairy either). I have several turnouts for her, so always have a dry rug to put on her. The two little ponies have turnouts, the shetland only gets his on if it's raining, but the welsh is a mudlark so gets hers on everyday, and I leave them on through the afternoon in the stable if they are wet, then take them off at evening stables when they are dry.
 
Last edited:
Was always taught to pick feet out before I ride and always do still. Also check them when been hacking as we go over some Stony areas so like to make sure there's no stones stuck. Change rugs but only because we have somewhere to dry them and if t/o rug is wet it gets really heavy and can rub. Re the fitness thing...not sure about that one, but what I would say is that I persevered with an intermittently lame loan horse for a few months whilst his owner insisted he would be fine and always had excuses like 'oh he's just a bit sore on the hard ground', I'm now much more happy with a new horse and I like to think she will retire him when she realises (old horse). Anyway, point is, if you're not happy with what they say\do you don't have to go along with it. It sounds like early days though.
 
I always pick out feet after riding, just in case something has got wedged there. Having had bits of wood, fir-cones and also the odd stone, I always check.....

Rugs: lifted daily, tho wet rugs left on when going in at night UNLESS temps are drastically changing overnight.
Usually I bring in at night, whip rug off & quick quarter over with brush & replace rug. In morning, same proceedure, plus poss add neck hood if weather v wet or change for lighter weight rug.
 
Blimey, you will all think I am OCD. Feet are picked out every time my guy comes in and after all hacks and schooling. Rugs are changed too. I also wash all mud from his legs and dry them at night/before exercise.
It's so ingrained in me that I check my horse's feet I could not hack out without doing it.
I wash a lot of old towels....LOL
 
Feet are picked out daily- they come in from heavy London clay over hardcore to get to rubber matted stables- as ponies they're on hardcore stilts!
Rugs changed too, tbh he only has mid range (weatherbeeta etc- all 'hand-me downs') rugs none of which leak or rub but I still think he's happier in a lighter stable rug with his delicate Araby skin and it makes sure he gets looked over every day as he doesn't get worked in the week. We have a rug dryer so rugs staying wet isnt a problem.
 
I pick out big reds as he comes in daily, mostly to keep him free of thrush as the field is filthy but the two yearlings I only bring them in once a week to give them an MOT I check and reposition rugs daily but don't change them they are waterproof... :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top