Heavyweight rug already?!

Moomin1 said:
Ah what a lucky horse. So long as his coat's nice and beautiful, doesn't matter about anything else.
Click to expand...

thats bull.
im quite sure the owner cares about every other single thing that YOU do, ie correct feed, correct work, vet attention as needed etc etc.

if the horse is not made to suffer there really isnt much wrong with encouraging less winter coat to grow. For any horse in work it makes NO sense to encourage a thick coat to grow only to clip it off?!

carrots & mints-give up. I totally get what you are doing but some on here never will. FYI the 2 x TB's are in full neck MW in the day and Fig has got a LW stable rug plus a magnetic sheet on at night, and leg wraps.
the 99% retired one that only hacks in walk is a furry bear and in a LW in the day and a thermatex at night.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
thats bull.
im quite sure the owner cares about every other single thing that YOU do, ie correct feed, correct work, vet attention as needed etc etc.

if the horse is not made to suffer there really isnt much wrong with encouraging less winter coat to grow. For any horse in work it makes NO sense to encourage a thick coat to grow only to clip it off?!

carrots & mints-give up. I totally get what you are doing but some on here never will. FYI the 2 x TB's are in full neck MW in the day and Fig has got a LW stable rug plus a magnetic sheet on at night, and leg wraps.
the 99% retired one that only hacks in walk is a furry bear and in a LW in the day and a thermatex at night.
Click to expand...

Thanks princess sparkle. I also struggle to keep weight on him so another big reason for the rugging up.

I dont see it as over rugging, just no point growing a thick coat, especially when he still has to be worked and he cannot be clipped (showing reasons)
 
Rugging has never made any difference to the amount of coat Frank grows, so it does make much more sense with him to clip it and rug him ;)
 
C&M i think youre fighting a losing battle, we both know you would have got very different responses elsewhere lol

Whilst i am a huge fan of showing i do think there are a lot of unrealistic expectations over the winter, ive just bought a yearling and had literally a couple of days to decide whether to try and extend his summer coat - i decided not to in the end and will aim for May shows by which time his fluff will be gone. Even at the 'winter woolies' type shows its expected that there will be summer coats! And those usually win too. I am of the opinion that good condition shines through any coat length but it seems many judges dont agree so my boy will be staying in his field this winter.

Having said all of that i see at first hand the heavily rugged show ponies but have yet to see one that looks uncomfy - not saying they dont exist but even strolling down the stables at summer championships i havent seen one. Not saying that makes it ok but an overheated pony is not likely to be performing and winning after all

My other pony will be clipped out and rugged soon but even today is in his fly rug

Live and let live and all that....
 
mine is not clipped yet therefore not wearing any rugs, one at work is fully clipped and he had a heavy weight rug on last night and it is still on as he was only just warm enough this morning-he is fit and healthy but carries no extra weight so cannot afford to loose any.

i don't understand why people clip off a whole coat of fur and only replace it with a light weight unless the weather is warm, if I fully clip a medium weight goes straight on at least until the coat has come through a little so maybe for at least 2 weeks
 
Mine are out in light mediumweights since the weather turned wet and cold. One TB is in a mediumweight. He really does feel the cold and will be getting his heavyweight with neck on tonight if he's shivering when I go and feed them at teatime. He really is an exception though. I have to say I thought his owner was being a little bit precious with him when she told me he really felt the cold. But she was absolutely right. I found him shivering this Spring when it drizzled a bit and all the others were nice and toasty out naked. He had to have a rug on most nights during the summer too. Never known one like him in all my years with horses though. But just wanted to say you learn something new all the time with horses. I never thought any horse could be that cold sensitive.
 
I do wonder whether the trend for rugging our native ponies, who are designed to grow a thick coat and 'rough it' a bit over the winter months, is partly responsible for the huge rise in metabolic disorders though. I know quite a few vets certainly think so, my ancient dad, bless him, hates messing with their ability to regulate their own temperature and has always said that the natural growing and shedding of a winter coat without us interfering keeps them right. I'm beginning to think that he may well have a point. :/
 
I wonder how many of us would stand around all day wearing our clothes, with a jacket and duvet on top, in temps like we have currently? How comfortable would we be?
 
Moomin1 said:
I wonder how many of us would stand around all day wearing our clothes, with a jacket and duvet on top, in temps like we have currently? How comfortable would we be?
Click to expand...

We dont have seasonal coats that grow! What a stupid ridiculous comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Moomin1 said:
I wonder how many of us would stand around all day wearing our clothes, with a jacket and duvet on top, in temps like we have currently? How comfortable would we be?
Click to expand...

Well, personally I'd love it (currently under duvet with laptop, cat and 4 layers of clothes on and warm enough to work) ... but the pony wouldn't thank me if I did the same to him. He's out 24/7 naked/unclipped and perfectly all right. Could do with shedding a few pounds tbh! Of course if I clipped half his coat off I'd have to think again, but he won't be clipped this year as he's not doing enough, and when he does come in at night (not for a while yet, I hope) he'll remain naked.
 
I hate over rugging with a passion, FFS it's a horse, it can regulate it's body tempreture, stop being so bluddy cruel by wrapping it up because YOU feel chilly. Even fully clipped horses can overheat and be seriously uncomfortable in the mild climate we have at the moment. These owners should be slapped VERY hard and make to walk around in very thick cloting themselves, rant over.
 
me moomin I hate being cold so have tea shirt, jumper, fleece and waterproof thick jacket on today but I usually do make sure the ponies are rugged according to how cold they are not how cold I am. If the duvet wouldn't have got wet I would wrap myself in that too I hate the cold so much
 
My girl is 4 years old I've had her 3 years and know she winters badly , obviously she's never been in proper work ver a winter and last year started work Nd then cut herself in half in the field so stopped for box rest , she needs to be wrk or drops weight , I can't clip her without sedation and she's already got a coat to rival
Our Shetland . She came in Saturday morning shivering in a lw , put her medium weight on now she's much happier , if temps increase and she's happy she will be in lw again l last night we had sideways rain and wind l pretty glad she was in a mw . Like us different horses feel colder than others . I just wish that if I got a chill o could shiver off some pounds ;)
 
Spring Feather said:
Lol! Two things on HHO which can provide much entertainment are rugging and riding without hats :D

PS. I live in Canada where we get -40c winters for months and months on end. The heaviest rugs I own are M/Ws.
Click to expand...

How about shoeing / barefoot...

Bitted vs bittless

And treeless vs treed

Definitely all 'popcorn' subjects
 
Last edited:
Spring Feather said:
Lol! Two things on HHO which can provide much entertainment are rugging and riding without hats :D

PS. I live in Canada where we get -40c winters for months and months on end. The heaviest rugs I own are M/Ws.
Click to expand...

In minus 40 though it would be dry cold and furry coats work better when they are dry the issue is cold wet wind but you are right I only have m/w too once it gets colder it will get drier
 
windand rain said:
In minus 40 though it would be dry cold and furry coats work better when they are dry the issue is cold wet wind but you are right I only have m/w too once it gets colder it will get drier
Click to expand...

At -40c it doesn't matter whether it's 'dry' or 'wet' - it's ridiculously cold! Anyone who thinks -40c is much better than wet warmer weather is deluded lol! and has clearly never experienced it (no offence W&R). Eyes tear up and freeze immediately. Nose hairs are like barbed wire, and god forbid you get a runny nose. It's difficult to breathe and if you dare to try to breathe through your mouth then your lips will get severely chapped with the frozen moisture on them. Wrong gloves on, and stay out for longer than you should results in blackened, seriously painful fingers. Oh the joys :D
 
There's one on our yard in a mediumweight overnight (naked in the day, if it's dry). He's a total wimp and weight drops off him if he gets even the slightest bit cold. All the others are still naked (3 spend the winter naked and unclipped) - or still in their sweet itch rugs as the midges are still as bad as ever. I'm wondering about putting a 40g on my boy as he's dropped a tiny bit of weight which is unheard of normally so I wonder if he's feeling the cold a bit more as he's 18 and it's dropping to about 4 or 5 overnight. Normally he'd be naked until about the start of November (unless it's a particularly wet October as he's grey and LOVES the mud) and then in a lightweight until he's clipped at the start of December.
 
not the same at - 15 I agree siberian winds are the issue here in a bad winter nowt to stop them Hope we have a warm wet one this year too I hate snow although I do love Canada in the summer don't fancy it much in winter
 
If we have another warm wet winter I will sell up. Cold snowy proper winters I can deal with, constant rain and flooding of last year - no, the horses will have to go. I would much rather the snow and ice as mine live out I just give plenty of hay, but the rain of last winter meant having to get them in and alot of messing around with mucking out.
 
windand rain said:
not the same at - 15 I agree siberian winds are the issue here in a bad winter nowt to stop them Hope we have a warm wet one this year too I hate snow although I do love Canada in the summer don't fancy it much in winter
Click to expand...
-10c is my most favourite temperature in the winter, which generally means blue skies with big fluffy cotton wool clouds and sunshine :) We're also on very high hilly ground and boy that wind just whips around you. The constant wind is great however in the summer as it keeps you cool and keeps the flies and mosquitoes away. Our winter last year was the worst in 40 years apparently, certainly the worst I've experienced and it just kept going on and on and on. The forecast for this winter is a more stable and normal winter (thank goodness).
 
My welsh pony is fully clipped and he has been in a 200g overnight a couple of nights when it's been 5 degrees...he's arthritic and gets stiff when he gets cold. IMO it's not fair to clip (he's clipped for medical reasons) then not replace it with a good rug when it gets colder/stormy... I'm not advocating overheating the horse but I don't think a medium weight when it's below a certain temperature is molly coddling, if they don't have their coat/don't have a thick coat then they need some help from a rug.... Personally I don't get out the heavyweights until it's a lot colder (that's why I have found my 180g rug to be an excellent stop gap between a sheet and a medium weight) but really it all depends on the horse... My welsh pony is a colder pony than my Connemara for example....
You can tell it's winter when the judgemental rug threads come out....
 
Last edited:
Spring Feather said:
-10c is my most favourite temperature in the winter, which generally means blue skies with big fluffy cotton wool clouds and sunshine :) We're also on very high hilly ground and boy that wind just whips around you. The constant wind is great however in the summer as it keeps you cool and keeps the flies and mosquitoes away. Our winter last year was the worst in 40 years apparently, certainly the worst I've experienced and it just kept going on and on and on. The forecast for this winter is a more stable and normal winter (thank goodness).
Click to expand...

I would take sub-zero (although not -40!) with crisp blue skies and snow any day over wet, warm(ish) and windy. At least if it's just cold you can rug as you wish, and not have to factor in mud fever, wet feet, leaking rugs and general misery. Happier owner too! I loved a winter spent in Colorado - frequent 4ft snowfall over night, life carries on, you can still ride during the day. And the horses weren't clipped despite doing competitive cow wrangling and 5 hour trail rides. The thing I dread most about winter in this country is MUD.
 
Mongoose11 said:
My freshly and fully clipped/hogged cob was out in a medium weight turn out last night as it was between 7-5 degrees and raining all night. Now the medium weight is out it doesn't mean it will stay, if it's back up in temp tonight then her lightweight with neck will go back on. She could have been put out naked...clipped...in the rain, but then she would have shivered all night. Despite being a cob, she's ***** in the rain when I take off all of her hair!

Live and let live?
Click to expand...

I will be doing exactly the same with my clipped and hogged cob too... rain sheet on today, will change to a slightly heavier one tonight as heavy rain and wind forecast..
 
Last edited:
maisie06 said:
If we have another warm wet winter I will sell up. Cold snowy proper winters I can deal with, constant rain and flooding of last year - no, the horses will have to go. I would much rather the snow and ice as mine live out I just give plenty of hay, but the rain of last winter meant having to get them in and alot of messing around with mucking out.
Click to expand...

Wow, really? I can't imagine parting with my mare whatever the weather brings. :-(
 
maisie06 said:
If we have another warm wet winter I will sell up. Cold snowy proper winters I can deal with, constant rain and flooding of last year - no, the horses will have to go. I would much rather the snow and ice as mine live out I just give plenty of hay, but the rain of last winter meant having to get them in and alot of messing around with mucking out.
Click to expand...

I actually find it easier in the winter when it's really wet as the horses go out in the all weather turnout which is right next door to the courtyard and stables. Turning in and out is so much easier and they are handier for when I want to ride. I hate it when it freezes though as the automatic drinkers and outside taps all freeze up. I also hate snow because the first thing I have to do every morning is clear the concrete in front of the stable blocks and then clear a pathway to the turnout and the muckheap which is 150 metres away, so backbreaking work before I even start on the horses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top