Enough rugs on? Am i bad!?

C

ChestnutConvert

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 September 2010
Messages
1,135
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
I'm in Herts amd we haven't had too much snow bujt temp isn't going over 0 c really, my warmblood is unclipped and out 24/7 with big barn shelter full of straw. He's only got a Turnout rug on, is it time to get a fleece or stable rug underneath or should i wait untill it really has snowed and been cold longer??
 
If he's warm then I would leave him be until he starts to get colder.
My friend has a Welsh D who doesn't grow a wooly coat and also shivers at the drop of a hat and he's toasty in a mediumweight rug, some gorse for shelter and temperatures reaching around -6 c.
 
I ride him for someone so don't have too much to do with his feeding but there is no hay right this mo, still on grass and hard feed, its a medium weight and he's got enough weight on him, not really lost much yet.
 
general principle...

If you rug to replace natural insulation = exactly enough.

Apart from bringing the horse indoors then what else can you do??? If it's gonna get cold, it'll get cold. Then, you've fed so, it'll warm up just digesting.

Look, go home, have a beer and your horse will be alive in the morning. Trust me.
 
Totally depends on your horse. If he is warm enough then leave him as he is. My loan mare (also a warmblood) has got a trace clip, is out 24/7 and has got 2 mediumweights on and she is fine. So your boy unclipped, with one mediumweight should be fine too.
 
If he feels warm enough (warm base of ears) then I would leave him be. Just becuase we feel colder doesn't mean horses will. He has a winter coat and fibre in the form of grass to eat - this feeds their gut which gives off plenty of heat. Horses do very well at keeping warm, it is cooling off under too many rugs that they really struggle with! My blanket clipped mare is warm in her medium weight - she could prob do with something between her lightweight and her medium weight as she does run warm, but she is comfortable and certainly not cold!
 
Every horse is different. My last horse was a Hannoverian x and she was fine in nothing more than a MW. My new horse is a Westphalian and he's a chilly beast who looses weight very easily. He's wearing two 300gm Rambo liners and his turnout with a neck over the top. Go with what your horse is telling you. If they are bright, happy and not losing weight then you've probably got the rugging about right.
 
I guess sometimes we worry too much! He does seem fine and feel okay so there's my answer really! Will wait see what happens and how he changes, ok maybe was a pointless post but puts your mind at rest!
 
I saw pics on here of horses that have more than one but then had to rationalise with the fact that we have barely had snow here yet and things will get much worse, well colder. I think we sometimes feel guilty too with our clothes, duvets, warm houses etc...silly to relate the two really.
 
I am just the same. My mare is just in a medium weight stable at night, and a medium weight without neck during the day. She is def warm enough in this. But when I am in a million layers and her neighbouring horses are in 5 (yes, FIVE!!) rugs of a night - then yes I do feel cruel and question my choice. But then a late night and early morning visit to the yard (in addition to my usual morning and afternoon visits!) to check her temp confirms that she is perfectly comfortable and warm enough!
I think when it comes to our girls, I just need something to worry about so that I feel I am doing the best by them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top