Faulty rug? Not breathable?

[doodle]

I bought a Saxon medium weight rug at the end of august. Didn’t use immediately but he has had it on quite a few times now. However every time he wears it he ends up sweating considerably. Initially I thought I was over rugging but when I think about it he only gets sweaty in this rug and it seems to be every time. He has a 220grm without neck that he has never sweated in, I put this rug on, 200grm but with a hood as it is raining and he sweats. I’m wondering if the issue is it isn’t breathable. I wonder if I have any come back. Or just buy a new rug? He is generally not a hot and sweaty horse.

 

[brightmount]

The weather is still very warm to be using a 200g full neck rug imo, unless he’s had a full clip. But Saxon are a budget brand so maybe you get what you pay for, not sure, as I haven’t had a Saxon for a while. My horse is plenty warm enough in a 40g Premier Equine at the moment, she’s not clipped but doesn’t yet have a winter coat either.

 

[TPO]

I've got a 200gm saxon and never had that issue. I'm on my third because the first got ripped and then he outgrew the second. They suit me being a budget brand because it means they are a bit shorter and it suits my wider than deeper or longer horse.

Although it's been wet and we catch the wind even the TB has rarely been in a 200gm, mainly just his 50 or 100gm.

The other has been in a rainsheet of 50gm.

It might just be that Robin is too warm in the rug? I've never had an issue woth sweating under it but I've only used it in cold weather.

I think I'm down the road from you and where we are catches the wind, cold and rain but even still it's been relatively mild.

 

[Goldenstar]

My horses are clipped and out at night and a 100 gram is heaviest rugs we are using
I think he’s too hot.

 

[Quigleyandme]

My two aren’t clipped and are in at night without rugs.

 

[AmyMay]

I’d say he’s simply too hot.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

Its pretty cold up here! Was frosty with us yesterday morning and we're not as far north as KK. Its been wet and windy most of the week.

 

[doodle]

4 degrees means he was cold in a thinner rug. I did think I had simply over rugged but when I think it is only ever this rug he sweats in. He has a 300grm Saxon which has been great which is why I got the 200 grm. By this afternoon it was a bit warmer but pouring with rain. It has been very foggy and damp and cold this morning. Normally by now he would have a chaser clip and be in the 300grm. I have put his 200grm stable in altbough it has been washed multiple times I don’t think as warm now and he was cool.

 

[Chuffy99]

So he’s not clipped and in a 200grm rug if I’m reading this right, not surprised he’s hot, over tugging is a welfare issue and just because you’re finding it colder I bet he’s not

 

[doodle]

I am not an idiot. I know how to tell if my horse is cold. In a thinner rug he is cold. As I say this time last year he had a small clip and in a thicker rug. I don’t understand how a 220grm rug he is fine but a 200grm with hood down he is sweating.

But point taken. My horse is a welfare issue.

 

[AmyMay]

I am not an idiot. I know how to tell if my horse is cold. In a thinner rug he is cold. As I say this time last year he had a small clip and in a thicker rug. I don’t understand how a 220grm rug he is fine but a 200grm with hood down he is sweating.

But point taken. My horse is a welfare issue.

I don’t think you need to get defensive.

If he’s unclipped, then a 200grm rug with a neck cover is simply too warm.

 

[doodle]

When I’m told it is a welfare issue then I will!

It was 4 degrees overnight rising to 5 degrees in the day, it was thick fence fog which turned in to torrential rain.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Is the rug leaking in the rain? Could that be why he is damp while wearing it?

Otherwise, I’d agree that he finds the rug + neck too warm atm.

 

[Carrottom]

I try to avoid rugs with necks on unclipped horses unless it's really cold, or a lightweight rug if the rain is horrendous. My view is that a bare neck can let some of the steam out?

 

[ozpoz]

It is a different climate altogether where Kamikaze is, as I'm about to experience next week. It might be that it isn't breathable, or leaking if he is comfortable in similar weight rugs.

 

[honetpot]

I look at it this way, if I am hot in a coat outside, even if there has been a frost, the chances are a horse which has a winter coat would be, and I live in a very exposed windy area. Within ten minutes of walking across the yard my yard fleece was off, twenty minutes, and I was down to my shirt sleeves.
My yard coat, which has no lining keeps the wind out, I only wear it when it's raining, as just stopping the wind makes you warmer, often underneath I am in just a polo shirt. All mine are out with no rugs, some days when it rains you can see the evaporation, as steam coming off them. I wonder what sort of rugs they put on their horses in Siberia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151228-the-horse-that-can-endure-siberian-winters

 

[Littlewills]

Why do people insist on telling other people how to rug their horses? Every horse is different. She said her horse wasn't too hot in a 220gm rug but is sweating in this one, which indicates its a specific rug problem and not a welfare issue

 

[Littlewills]

I wonder what sort of rugs they put on their horses in Siberia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151228-the-horse-that-can-endure-siberian-winters

None. They have lived there for 800 years and adapted by growing a 10cm long coat.

 

[ester]

I look at it this way, if I am hot in a coat outside, even if there has been a frost, the chances are a horse which has a winter coat would be, and I live in a very exposed windy area. Within ten minutes of walking across the yard my yard fleece was off, twenty minutes, and I was down to my shirt sleeves.
My yard coat, which has no lining keeps the wind out, I only wear it when it's raining, as just stopping the wind makes you warmer, often underneath I am in just a polo shirt. All mine are out with no rugs, some days when it rains you can see the evaporation, as steam coming off them. I wonder what sort of rugs they put on their horses in Siberia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151228-the-horse-that-can-endure-siberian-winters

Meanwhile my musto fleece lined coat stayed firmly on, and my fleece, and my thermal

 

[teddypops]

It is a different climate altogether where Kamikaze is, as I'm about to experience next week. It might be that it isn't breathable, or leaking if he is comfortable in similar weight rugs.

A different climate? She’s in Scotland isn’t she?

 

[Carrottom]

The difference between the rugs is the neck cover, ime this can cause sweating as this is one of the first parts of the horse to sweat.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I use detachable neck covers in a variety of weights (no fill upwards), and they can add significant warmth over a standard no neck rug.

 

[mavandkaz]

Could it be that the 220g is older and so has lost a bit of thickness/isn't a true 220g?
Plus, having a neck does make a huge difference ( think how much warmer you are with a hat on, even in the same coat for example. I also try to avoid them and think that at least if they don't have a neck they can vent some heat off that way.
Some rugs are just different. I have two 100g stable rugs and the horse is always hotter in one then the other
My TB is having his second winter unclipped and I don't expect him to be in more then a 50g, unless it snows. When he was clipped he did have a 300g Saxon rug, which seemed true to weight. But he only wore it a handful of times.

 

[doodle]

I repeat. It was 4 degrees overnight rising to 5 degrees in the day. It was thick fog and miserable which then turned into heavy rain. He is generally a cold horse. I have had him 5 years and can gauge by previous years what he needs. In the coldest weather he needles his 450 combo on. When lightly clipped he had a thicker rug on this time last year. A rug of the same weight, a year old so yes perhaps flattened, did not make him sweat. He also was not sweating on his neck instead it was along his back and his bum.

I don’t tell other people what to rug their horse with never mind telling them it is a welfare issue.

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

[ozpoz]

Teddypops I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed the weather down here,in Englandshire instead of being 1 hour from ski slopes.

 

[doodle]

.

 

[teddypops]

Teddypops I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed the weather down here,in Englandshire instead of being 1 hour from ski slopes.

It has been -1 overnight in Gloucestershire this last week and OP said 4/5 degrees with her. Colder in England!

 

[Jellymoon]

back to the OP’s actual question:
It probably is the rug but I don’t think you will have any comeback.
My horse has been sweating in his 100g PE but not in his 100g Amigo. I’ve been sweating in my cheap mountain warehouse coat but not in my expensive musto one ?

 

[windand rain]

I would guess that there is an element of both. Rug isn't as breathable as it should be the horse is reacting to that by sweating so may or may not be too warm but it is obviously feeling damp under it. Hazel is in a 100 grm with hood and coat like a polar bear but she is old and is often cold armpits are cold and if damp shivers so is rugged a lot more than you would expect the two youngsters are naked and will remain so until at least Christmas then it will not depend on how cold it is but how wet and windy it is

 

[honetpot]

Could it be that the 220g is older and so has lost a bit of thickness/isn't a true 220g?
Plus, having a neck does make a huge difference ( think how much warmer you are with a hat on, even in the same coat for example. I also try to avoid them and think that at least if they don't have a neck they can vent some heat off that way.
Some rugs are just different. I have two 100g stable rugs and the horse is always hotter in one then the other
My TB is having his second winter unclipped and I don't expect him to be in more then a 50g, unless it snows. When he was clipped he did have a 300g Saxon rug, which seemed true to weight. But he only wore it a handful of times.

Our house has a breathable coating, applied by a recommended contractor. Our house is so well insulated it doesn't breathe out heat fast enough, a problem in exposed areas, so the brick work is holding moisture, Your horse is generating moisture faster than the rug can let it out, and the evaporation is condensing on the rug.