Do you think horse people are getting softer?

Flame_ said:
Have you tried gradually and consistently? If you wanted to rug him he would probably just adapt and grow a thinner coat. Maybe I'm soft but I generally like rugs, and absolutely hate rainscald.
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why would I want to rug him? he doesn't need a rug and certainly doesn't have problems with rainscald. :confused:
 
Dee O'Dorant said:
No, SamanthaUK your first reply was clear, I suspect what you intended to say in post #24 was "Actually now I think about it I'd be better off learning what is appropriate to any horse I own and rugging accordingly". An altogether more healthy state of affairs for you and your horse.
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Yes, that's what I meant to say..
 
Flame_ said:
Have you tried gradually and consistently? If you wanted to rug him he would probably just adapt and grow a thinner coat. Maybe I'm soft but I generally like rugs, and absolutely hate rainscald.
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Never suffered with rainscald, hand on heart, and it's only this year that all mine are rugged, purely for ease of tacking up for sis-in-law who rides one of my husbands horses, and the others that are clipped. The new boy has a rug on now because from where he came from he was stabled at night, and now he's not, and with it being frosty last night, he would have gotten a bit of a shock! If he is clipped next winter, he will wear a rug, if he's not, he won't.
 
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last year my mare was only 4 and unclipped so she spent the winter totally unrugged or on the rare occasion, in a basic rain sheet to keep her dry if it was raining heavily and I was planning to ride later that day. she was never cold or unhappy

she's fully clipped this year so rugged accordingly

some people do prefer to rug, which is fine, so long as the horse's health and well being isn't compromised
 
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Okay, So i've learned my lesson. Never over rug a horse. Like I said i'm a softy. But it's the horses welfare which comes first. I understand that. Luckily, I don't own a horse.
 
SamanthaUK said:
Okay, So i've learned my lesson. Never over rug a horse. Like I said i'm a softy. But it's the horses welfare which comes first. I understand that. Luckily, I don't own a horse.
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Luckily, you appear to be willing to learn from your mistakes, so by the time you do own a horse, you may well not screw it up - unlike many first time owners who believe they know it all.
 
JFTD said:
why would I want to rug him? he doesn't need a rug and certainly doesn't have problems with rainscald. :confused:
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I've no idea but lots of people do want to rug for loads of reasons, I can't begin to imagine them all. I'm just saying that if you did want to rug your horse, you probably could. Lots of rugged horses could be fine without them, but there are reasons why people choose to put them on. :)
 
JFTD said:
Luckily, you appear to be willing to learn from your mistakes, so by the time you do own a horse, you may well not screw it up - unlike many first time owners who believe they know it all.
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Oh don't you worry! I'm always open to learning about horses and how I can provide them with a healthy and happy lifestyle. I know you weren't suggesting I 'know it all' but I will just say that I certainly don't think or know that I know it all! :)
 
:eek: :eek: How cruel am I then?

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He's not even a cob - he's a warmblood (actually 3/4tb). And he's ancient :eek: :( Poor boy ;)
 
SamanthaUK said:
Okay, So i've learned my lesson. Never over rug a horse. Like I said i'm a softy. But it's the horses welfare which comes first. I understand that. Luckily, I don't own a horse.
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JFTD said:
Luckily, you appear to be willing to learn from your mistakes, so by the time you do own a horse, you may well not screw it up - unlike many first time owners who believe they know it all.
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These two posts need a like button:)
 
Ok, I admit I'm soft but I do know when to rug and not to rug up. Common sense plays a huge part in this. I'm constantly checking that they are neither too warm or too cold.
As for panicking if I see 1 of mine lying flat out - only with one of them as she only ever lies flat out in the filed when she starts with colic :(. The rest of the time she's too busy eating. :D
 
Flame_ said:
I've no idea but lots of people do want to rug for loads of reasons, I can't begin to imagine them all. I'm just saying that if you did want to rug your horse, you probably could. Lots of rugged horses could be fine without them, but there are reasons why people choose to put them on. :)
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Normally, in my experience, people choose to rug their working horses for convenience - I do, they're clipped and rugged appropriately. A small number of owners have issues with rainscald and rug sensibly to avoid that problem.

Others, however over-rug their horses out of guilt or falling for the advertising con that horses "need" them, which is ridiculous. I could , of course, rug my two year old if I felt inclined to make him so uncomfortable that he grew less coat and I could continue to rug him, donating money to rug companies for no apparent reason. I'm not sure why you think I would want to do this...
 
Syrah said:
It is, people would have self combusted if they read a thread the other night where some had duvets on underneath 450g rugs :D
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Those of us who have had to deal with numerous horses over many years will know that some horses NEED that amount of rugging, but in the next stable there may well be a horse that's happy with none. The problem, for me at least, comes when people dont understand which horses need a rug and when and that it's not a matter of saying "Oh what's yours wearing, I'll do the same" but of assessing the individual.

That takes experience and understanding.
 
Samantha, you haven't necessarily made any mistakes! It is possible to rug the vast majority of horses, should you choose to, without over-rugging. They make rugs in all different weights and we aren't in Barbados.
 
rhino said:
:eek: :eek: How cruel am I then?

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He's not even a cob - he's a warmblood (actually 3/4tb). And he's ancient :eek: :( Poor boy ;)
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About as cruel as I am I reckon! I don't have any photos of Nits looking like a drowned rat but I shall get one next time it rains and post it so people can tell me how awful I am!

How's he doing Rhino? How much longer of box rest has he got left or has he gone out already?
 
SamanthaUK said:
Oh don't you worry! I'm always open to learning about horses and how I can provide them with a healthy and happy lifestyle. I know you weren't suggesting I 'know it all' but I will just say that I certainly don't think or know that I know it all! :)
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I'd gathered you don't think you know it all. That's one of the best qualities a prospective horse owner (and indeed, a current horse owner) can possess ;)
 
Flame_ said:
Samantha, you haven't necessarily made any mistakes! It is possible to rug the vast majority of horses, should you choose to, without over-rugging. They make rugs in all different weights and we aren't in Barbados.
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I see both sides to the argument (which I started by accident). I really do need to stay on HHO for longer and read up and learn more about horse care before I even consider getting my own! Mistakes are made to be learned from!
I do look after an elderely welsh pony also for the woman with the thoroughbreds and he's more hands on. So I am learning more and more every day! :3
 
jesstickle said:
How's he doing Rhino? How much longer of box rest has he got left or has he gone out already?
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Thread hijack :eek: :D

He's ok, going out in the school with a buddy all day :) Is ready to go out properly but waiting until 'buddy' is better, so hopefully this week sometime.

*whispers, I was really naughty and had a sit on him this morning when he was in the school, just for a minute or two :eek: :o *
 
rhino said:
Thread hijack :eek: :D

He's ok, going out in the school with a buddy all day :) Is ready to go out properly but waiting until 'buddy' is better, so hopefully this week sometime.

*whispers, I was really naughty and had a sit on him this morning when he was in the school, just for a minute or two :eek: :o *
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now that is deserving of the *like* button :D
 
SamanthaUK said:
I see both sides to the argument (which I started by accident). I really do need to stay on HHO for longer and read up and learn more about horse care before I even consider getting my own! Mistakes are made to be learned from!
I do look after an elderely welsh pony also for the woman with the thoroughbreds and he's more hands on. So I am learning more and more every day! :3
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I dare you to mention barefoot, flashes or martingales, hard feed :D;):p
 
rhino said:
Thread hijack :eek: :D

He's ok, going out in the school with a buddy all day :) Is ready to go out properly but waiting until 'buddy' is better, so hopefully this week sometime.

*whispers, I was really naughty and had a sit on him this morning when he was in the school, just for a minute or two :eek: :o *
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It's my thread so it's fine to hijack it :p :D

Agreed that this needs a like button! I bet he'll love being back out :D
 
Syrah said:
I dare you to mention barefoot, flashes or martingales, hard feed :D;):p
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lol

mine are barefoot and don't wear flashes or eat hard feed but I put a martingale on everything, would shoe them if they needed it and would feed them straights if I needed to feed them anything (they're fatties!) Does this mean I am very confused? :confused:
 
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