How can I tell if he is warm enough ?

[gingerarab]

I have an old pure bred arab who at the best of times feels the cold, he is thin skinned with a thin coat. He is in fab condition and has been wearing an outdoor rug at night for the last month.

He is now in at night, when I take his outdoor rug off he feels nice and toasty, however when I take his stable rug off in the morning he does not feel quite as warm. He is showing no other signs of being cold ie. not tucked up and ears are not cold , so my question is how do I know if he is warm enough overnight ?

 

[Cocorules]

I was taught that you tell by the ears. But especially when stabled I think hooves and legs could get colder first. I don't know though how you reliably tell that the hooves and legs are cold.

 

[fatpiggy]

In theory if the base of the ears are warm, the horse is warm but in my old girls case, I've had her shivering her head off because she was mildly damp on a windy day,but those ears were still nice and warm!

Don't forget that what you feel as warmth when you take his rug off is heat which has been lost by him. A horse in the field is moving about more so is burning more calories, ie. heat, Horses standing around in "nice cosy stables" may therefore be colder. However they are out of the wind which is an important factor. I would say that if your boy seems relaxed, is holding his weight then he is probably just fine.

 

[Paddy Irish]

I suppose that when he comes in at night , he's been out mooching through the day and is naturally warmer , then after standing still all night , with not much option to move himself , he's bound to be cooler. Unless he starts to lose condition , i wouldnt worry too much , just plenty of adlib hay to keep the central heating system working is the best way.
A good stable rug , perhaps one with a neck would be good , although my arab used to get a bit over heated and itchy sometimes. The skin will almost always feel cooler if the blood has to move to the organs to keep them warm , but it's not always an indication that your horse is cold.

 

[gingerarab]

I checked his ears tonight and they felt quite warm, also his armpits !

I have left him in his outdoor rug tonight to see if that makes a difference, for the last couple of nights I have tried different stables rugs and that had no effect. I guess I am a little worried that if I cant keep him warm enough now what on earth will he be like in the worst of winter

 

[FairyLights]

Its a good idea to bandage the legs , stable bandages over fibregee,takes time but keeps them warm without resorting to thick rugs. If the base of his rugs are warm he should be ok,especially with ad-lib hay to eat.

 

[FanyDuChamp]

I checked his ears tonight and they felt quite warm, also his armpits !

I have left him in his outdoor rug tonight to see if that makes a difference, for the last couple of nights I have tried different stables rugs and that had no effect. I guess I am a little worried that if I cant keep him warm enough now what on earth will he be like in the worst of winter

I would try layering rather than heavier rugs the air between gets warm and is trapped. I use a fleece then rug, but you can use duvet or blanket of even 2 rugs.
FDC

 

[skydancer]

I always put a fleece on and the rug if she gets cold

 

[BentleyBelly]

Ad lib hay and leg wraps = toasty warm. I always check the armpit/girth groove. My boy is the opposite and is a very warm beasty, I can't decide whether to clip even though I can only ride at weekends now and I really don't want to have to rug him.

 

[Maddie2412]

few years back bought thermatex leg wraps cost nothing and worth their weight in gold: keep theire little legs warm and dry them off when it starts to get wet. personally i prefer layering as long as the rugs dont ruck-up as find layering more efficient for heat trapping. and yes ears and armpits are the best check (also checking is a nice excuse for a good cuddle with the warm pony!!)

 

[Liostro]

Aw this is so cute, I love making sure my boys warm and cosy and glad I'm not the only one overly protective and fussy as to how warm he is!!!! Will definately looking into gettig leg wraps as thought his legs 'looked cold' last night ;-) lol x