Do you change your horses rugs?

[PingPongPony]

On another thread, a lot of people were saying that they chaqnge rugs when bringing in and turning out. I personally leave me horses rug on, if i start undoing the straps and shifting the rug and just basically messing about with it , the horse will bite me, she hates her rugs being put on and straps done up, same with taking the rug off. She does however get a good groom before i ride her which is 5 days per week and this has not changed despite her being on box rest atm, she still gets a good groom and a massage. Ofcourse i change her rugs appropriately to the weather.
Do you change your horses rugs daily?

 

[acw295]

Same as you really, although this time of year she's ridden about 4x a week (6 when clocks change).

I do check her temp underneath twice a day, re-adjust if needed, and she has her neck off in the stable overnight. But I only take rugs off to groom/ride/change for a different weight.

All my rugs ft her very well and are breathable, dual purpose

Molly's only stable "vice" is making a fuss about rugs - she can't stand being faffedf with!

 

[WSF]

Have you considered that your horse bites u cos u leave it's rugs on all the time, so it's uncomfy and therefore bad tempered? It associates rugs in a negative way.

 

[charlimouse]

Yes. My horses wear stable rugs when they are in at night, and turnout rugs when they are out durung the day. The horses that live out get their rugs taken off, groomed and put back on daily. I am a little OCD about rugs, and I don't think I could sleep at night if I knew my horses that are in at night were still in their turnout rugs! I like snuggling them up in their stable rugs, to the point where I bought a heated rug dryer so I can pre warm their rugs before I put them on!

 

[doodleberry]

if i am bringing horses in late afternoon and then turning out the next morning i sometimes leave them on especially if its cold as i think why take them out of their rugs that are nice and warm in to put cold ones on!! actually sometimes it is me being lazy!! but there is absolutley no reason as long as they dont get too hot that you have to change rugs from outdoor to indoor !! when its really cold i find the outdoor rugs and a liner are prob more warm and more comfortable than 4 rugs which can get heavy!!

 

[Ginger Bear]

Yep, change him into turn out rug in mOrning and stable rugs at night unless I know I'm not going to have time to change rugs before work then I put him in his turnout rug ready the night before.. Have no idea why I do it.. No reason why he can't stay in turnout at night..

 

[flying solo]

I do, both horses come in get groomed and rugged according to the weather forecast for that night. It's hard work! Preferred it last year when it stayed frozen, least it wasn't -2 st night then 9 degrees during the day!

 

[GypsyGirl]

Im always changing my mares rugs, shes not fased about having them on/off .. Shes out in the day and in at night, when shes out shes in her heavy full neck turnout then when shes in shes in a medium weight no neck because shes in a big american barn, if i left her heavy weight on she would get too hot and itchy .. I personally think its nicer for them to have them taken off, but it varies if its mild out she will go out in her medium weight depending on the temp obvs.. my mare gets all itchy in her rugs around her shoulders and is better when rugs are changed!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I'd address the biting! That's unacceptable.

Rugs are left off if I want to groom massively.

I leave creature's rug on when I bring him in if it's heavy enough and/or wet. He's warm underneath and it dries the rug quicker than any other way.

 

[darkhorse123]

i take my horses rug off everyday when i bring him in so i can groom him and check for injuries - diy, lots of new horses lateley and injuries - i also check for rubs - i do put it straight back on after but just couldnt leave it day in day out without checking underneath

 

[TrakehnerFilly]

I am obsessive about checking my horses so all rugs are taken off daily and horses checked before rugs being put back on. They probably don't need it but it makes me feel better doing it.

The ones living out and wearing rugs (most are unrugged but three are rugged for various reasons) I will bring into the yard to take off their rug and check them over to make sure everything is how it is supposed to be, weight wise and health/injury wise therefore I don't miss anything and know whats going on.

The ones stabled overnight have stable rugs therefore it makes sure they are checked when their rugs are changed. If it is seriously cold then they are left in their turnout rugs in the stable to make sure they don't have to go out in a cold rug but they are still checked.

 

[DosyMare]

I change my rugs morning and night. I like my horses to feel the benefit when they are stabled over night.
Night/stable rugs are thicker than turnout - I know they play and roam about in the fields but at night they just stand and sleep/eat and temp drops at night.
If they stay in for the day then again I put a lighter rug on or two rugs that night.

 

[VixieTrix]

Our horses during in the week wear their turnout rugs overnight - always make sure they are dry and never too muddy - as I put three out in the morning so a bit pushed for time. They never seem uncomfortable though, i quicly check them in the morning and i would ALWAYS make time to change a rug if they were too hot / itchy etc. they have their rugs off every evening even if its just for 5 mins so they can have a scratch, but usually half hour or so while i brush and fuss them

 

[violethillx]

I have always changed rugs into a stable rug or fleece when theyre in at night with my horses in the past, but my loan pony at the moment is used to having her turnout rug left on with the neck turned down, so sticking with that for this winter at least if it's a mild evening i'll put her in a lighter weight rug though, even if it's only for the night. x

 

[PingPongPony]

Have you considered that your horse bites u cos u leave it's rugs on all the time, so it's uncomfy and therefore bad tempered? It associates rugs in a negative way.

Yes she does associate rugs in a negative way but not because of me leaving them on but because of one of her previous owners who just sold her pony (14.2hh) and put all the pony rugs on the poor beast (16.2hh), she's supposed to have 6ft3 rugs which she does now but the girl used to put her in 5ft6 rugs, she got rubbed and it hurt every time she moved the rug would also be yanked forward pulling all the hairs with it, she kept biting the girl hence she was sold. Surely if she associated the rugs with a negative thing she would be instantly happy if i were taking the rugs off, whereas she is just the same as when i put the rug on.

I'd address the biting! That's unacceptable.

Dw, it has improved 100% since i got her, she now only very ocassionaly threatens which she does get a firm 'no' for, she then picks up on of her ears and tries very hard to look as if she hasn't noticed that i'm putting the rug on I just have to throw the rug right over her neck, do up the front straps and then pull the rug down so it goes with the hair and she's happy

 

[Queenbee]

Mine wear their turnout rugs, I like the fact that their body heat will quickly dry a wet rug, I also don't understand the thinking behind taking a warm rug off and putting a cold one on, nor do I see the sense in putting a cold damp turnout on in the morning. I check them once/ twice a week underneath and check the rugs every morning and night.

 

[Jaycee]

I've always changed rugs when mine come in for the night it was how things were done many years ago and its just stuck with me.

I personally don't like idea of leaving them in damp rugs to dry the rugs off, another reason for me not to do it is that I've seen a horse get it's legs caught in the leg straps during the night having been left in it's turnout rug, left it with some nasty looking friction burns,

I'm almost afraid to say that they do have more than one turnout rug so they get dry ones on the next day. They don't suffer having a cold stable/turnout rug put on as they get a fleece/summersheet underneath.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Ours are unclipped, only the oldie wears a rug and then only in the very worst weather. We always adjust her rug to make sure that she is comfortable in it,, no rubs etc.
It does concern me that some people appear to leave rugs on their horses without checking underneath them for days at a time - perhaps this is not really the case, just that forum shorthand doesn't give the full picture.
IMO the best way to help a horse get over a dislike of being rugged is to un/fasten every day and reward for good behaviour.

 

[Gracie21]

It depends really! Like many others I leave his on if it is wet (like last night!) as long as he is dry under the rug-he dries it off much better than the metal rug rack

I also leave it on if I am really late or don't want to get my hands covered in mud!

I always feel a bit guilty if I leave it on. However he always seems happy

He has some nice stable rugs but the clips on the front of one drives me up the wall, sometimes I can undo them, sometimes I can't, I HATE starting the day in a bad mood because of a rug! haha!

 

[Natz88]

Mine have their outdoor rugs left on. I only leave them on as my mum puts them out before work so it's once less thing for her to worry about. I do check them & re adjust if need doing.

 

[sisco]

Yes, mine are changed into stable rugs every night, takes a bit longer in the mornings but I've always done this.

 

[Alimac19]

I change mine and I am quite fussy about it (although the odd night in a turnout is not too bad). He once lived in and had the same rugs on 24-7 although groomed and exercised daily. Unbeknown to anyone until it was too late he had a pressure sore growing under his skin on his withers, note that there was no loss of hair whatsoever. Eventually his skin turned hard which is when it was noticed and rugs amended (was fully clipped so couldn't take them off). His skin just the literally fell off leaving a big hole in his withers, vet called and 3 months off work. needless to say I now feel quite strongly about not regularly changing rugs. Some of the horses on our yard wear the same rugs day in day out with no grooming/adjusting as they are not ridden and only seem to have their rugs removed if the weather adversely changes and a thicker or lighter rug is required. I've had endless "discussions" with them about this but they still insist that this is OK and call me for changing mine despite the lasting white withers on my chestnut horse.

 

[Abbeygale]

It depends a bit tbh. If the girls rugs are damp (not soaked through) then I will leave on so that they have dry rugs to go back out with in the morning. If they are soaked, I will remove, and put stable run on over night, and dry rugs on for the morning. If they come in dry or only slight dampness they are changed for stable rugs. On the very odd occasion that my mum does the girls in the morning, I will usually leave T/O rugs on, so that she doesn't have to struggle with rugs

 

[*hic*]

No. Mine don't really even possess any stable rugs - i can always find something to make do for box rest etc but I cant see the point of changing from av warm rug to a cold rug in order to put a cold damp rug back on in the morning. I loe to see them all snuggly in new clean stable rugs but sadly in my stables the image lasts for such a short time I really cba.

 

[martlin]

Mine live in their turn outs, are checked daily. The liveries live in their turn outs too, unless the owner desperately wants their horse to be changed, then I do - their horse, their money, if they want it in a cold rug that is fine by me

 

[Scoutie]

A friend's horse got a nasty rug rub, this got infected with an anerobic bug which spread quickly. When seen by the vet the advice was not necessairly to change the rugs morning and evening but to remove the rug at least once a day i.e. to be groomed or ridden so that the air could get to the skin, this simple action would have prevent what became a very large wound. The infection has left a scar where the hair does not grow back and the horse needs SPF 50 on it over the summer to prevent sun burn.

 

[PolarSkye]

I usually change rugs when the boy comes in, but if he has an under-rug on (and it's dry) then that stays on under both (I do check for rubs and injuries). Only exception is when (like today) the rugs are really wet . . . as long as he is dry underneath, I leave the rug on - dries much better on a warm, dry horse in a warm, dry stable than on a cold rack alongside a bunch of other wet rugs .

P

 

[Ibblebibble]

only one of mine is rugged and she's out 24/7 so no she doesn't have a special bed time rug, i check underneath to make sure it's not damp or too warm every morn and eve but i don't change it unless it needs it. She too hates her rugs being faffed with and will give you the evil eye but that's all, my old TB used to bite at her lead rope when you rugged her, you knew she'd rather be biting you but she obviously knew that was a step too far

 

[cornbrodolly]

Now that rugs are so comfortable, we no longer change to indoor ones at night.Cant undertand why you d take wet rugs off , because surely they re dry underneath ? The horse heat dries them best anyway, then they are fine.
When I groomed [ 1970s] the N Z rugs were horrible - heavy and board like , so there was no way you could have left them on overnight. Night rugs were blankets , curcingled or worse anti-cast roller-ed , and I dont think they were very comfrotable either. Modern rugs are lovely in comparison. But i think thats why its still practise to change rugs , because it was needed before the invention of quilted rugs and cross curcingles

 

[sakura]

yep I take them off daily and use stable rugs at night

I'll leave a turnout on if it's really soaking wet but normally they're changed