Extremes of cold & rugging

[only_me]

We have recently had very cold weather, unusual for us tbh as we are more of the wet and mild winters in Ireland lol.

I have a dilemma with rugging - horse lives out 24/7 and is in his winter field which has best drainage, with lots of natural shelter plus an actual shelter and has a big bale of Haylage open for him and the donks to eat as they please. Thankfully they all don’t gorge!

he has been in a 100g and is still fully hairy but when I checked him today he was just about warm with a hand under rug at 3pm. I chucked a liner under, so he’s at 200g now but checked forecast tonight and it’s to be -4 overnight and stay around 1 during the day with -8 on Saturday am. I may need to up his liner to 200g.
After that weather is to warm up with 5* lows.
my dilemma is that I work away and not always at home to check, parents are doing a grand job and dad could put a rug on/off but I think taking off/adding a liner on or removing/adding the neck part might be a bit too far.

Do I take the risk that he’ll be too warm for a few days until I can check him again, or should I keep him at a lower liner weight and hope the Food is enough to keep him warm?
There’s a bitter wind as well.
the other option is to leave a Completely different rug out at a lower weight so instead of a liner needing removed dad could just change the entire rug?

Usually I would keep him on the side of cold but due to the extreme lows & wind not sure which is better, plus the ground is frozen solid. Our weather has been so odd the past week it’s hard to predict & prepare!

 

[Tihamandturkey]

I know where you're coming from - Co Clare resident here ?‍

I would go with the option of leaving out a lower weight rug for your Dad to put on once the weather warms up as it's promised to do on Sunday and for the rest of next week (atm anyway)?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I'm not sure about the logistics but I would definitely keep him cooler, rather than risking him getting too hot. Our 2 are out on the top of the Pennines, in a very exposed field with very little natural shelter but with a deep man-made shelter. The last 2 days they have been seen standing out in the snowy weather enjoying cooling off, they are neither rugged nor clipped and they go back into the shelter to dry off and eat.

 

[Apercrumbie]

I know where you're coming from - Co Clare resident here ?‍

I would go with the option of leaving out a lower weight rug for your Dad to put on once the weather warms up as it's promised to do on Sunday and for the rest of next week (atm anyway)?

This sounds like a good option. Otherwise, I wouldn't overly worry if you're not due rain or sleet. This cold weather is far easier for horses to deal with than persistent rain, provided they have plenty of forage.

 

[Cortez]

Is the horse clipped?

 

[Widgeon]

I've been surprised by how well my cob has dealt with freezing cold and rain - I went up the other day after a full day of 0C and sideways sleet, fully geared up for him to be a bit miserable and need a bigger rug or bringing in. He's trace clipped and out 24/7 in a no fill. He was fine, warm under the rug, stuffing his face with hay. So my only input here would be to say what sort of horse is he - if he's something chunky with a naturally dense coat he will probably be totally fine and you don't need to feel guilty! With ad lib haylage he can probably warm himself up from the inside.

 

[ihatework]

Honestly, they are much better in the cold than they are in the wet.

My sports yearling/2yo are out naked and it’s been -6oC, they are fine stuffing their faces with hay

 

[Goldenstar]

The cold does not bother them the wet does and then if you add in wind they get miserable .
I probably would not rug your horse unless I needed to clip him .

 

[teddypops]

My Unclipped horses are unrugged and my others have a max of 200g turnouts. It was -4 and they were fine. I have never used 300g rugs on anything, anywhere, so I don’t think an unclipped horse would need that heavy a rug. I would probably just leave with 100g rug and make sure he has plenty of hay.

 

[AUB]

Better a little too cold than too warm, imo.

Mine is full clipped and in 300 grams.

 

[only_me]

Thanks all, think I’ll just leave an alternative lighter rug for dad to change when warms up.

He was on the cold side with a 100g during the day hence the addition of a liner yesterday. As he lives out 24/7 it’s a bit different to a fully clipped horse who is out during the day and stabled at night.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thanks all, think I’ll just leave an alternative lighter rug for dad to change when warms up.

He was on the cold side with a 100g during the day hence the addition of a liner yesterday. As he lives out 24/7 it’s a bit different to a fully clipped horse who is out during the day and stabled at night.

Horses are generally more comfortable on the cold side than being warm, so long as they are in normally good health. I usually check their temp by putting my hand on the skin behind their elbows, once you get through the hair, you can get a good idea of how hot the horse feels

 

[Cortez]

My Spanish horse is out, unclipped and unrugged, unless there is driving wind and rain. He will be out tonight when it is forecast to be -8c as it will be clear and dry. He's happy as Larry.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Dr david marlin wrote a good piece on rugs and how the horse can regulate its temperature. Might be worth a read to put your mind at rest .

 

[Red-1]

Presumably the rugs are being taken on and off every day anyway, so I would just leave instructions that on Monday the liner is to be removed.