How do you dry your rugs without a heated rug room?

Of course I always check my horse in the evening!

And When he is wearing a turnout rug, he is usually clipped, meaning he is back in work so its not like he wears the rug 24/7 :o

Thing is, when he is in the field he is moving around so generates warmth. When he is in the stable he can still move around, just not to the same extent; There is no wind chill factor in the stable so it wont feel as cold - and there is no rain etc. So it will be warmer than in the field (with wind/rain etc.) so there is no need to change rug.

Dosent help that my stables have tin roof so the condensed water drips onto the rugs in the morning :o

And Ive used the turnout rug in the stable for years, never had a problem with the horse getting cold :)
 
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I must be old school then I don't like leaving wet rugs on my horse and have never done so. I appreciate I am lucky as he is in a barn and rugs draped over the hay/tractor dry pretty quickly. In the event of a real onslaught I do have back ups which I have acquired over the years (and also for owning 2 -3 horses previously, never just 1). We also have a heated rug room (thought I had gone to heaven when I got to this yard and found it!). I also have a horse who needs to be rugged carefully because he is ISH. Thats not being precious its having to take into account his rugging needs vary wildly between outdoor rugs (absolutely freezing - we are on top of an open hill) to a lot less needed when in the barn. So, each to his own, and as long as the horse stays dry, does it really matter? Mine is also a compulsive mud monster - has to be, hes gray, so rugs come back in with a layer of mud on them anyway!
 
I leave the turnout on to dry unless it is wet underneath. He has a second heavyweight turnout rug for when it's saturated. I dry them by hanging them on baler twine washing lines over a very old oil filled radiator in the tack room.
Whether you can store rugs in the stable depends on your horse. Our stable's previous occupant had ropes fitted and hung rugs and numnahs two or three deep. It must have increased the insulation considerably.
 
We use FAL dual purpose rugs and have never had a problem with leaving damp or wet rugs on our horses. They are always toasty warm and dry underneath.
 
Oh well, I must be different.

Prefer to have stable rug under turnout (weight depends on weather so it can be a lightweight cooler or a heavier stable rug) so I can take turnout off over night.
 
guido16 said:
I dont see the logic as turnout rugs are designed for outside/bad weather. So therefore if your horse wears it in a (warmer) stable then it wont get the full benefit of it when its outside in the colder weather.

Same way that you or I put on extra layers to go outside, a horse generally needs extra layers/thicker rug to go outside.

I presume people are removing these rugs each night to do a check of their horses.
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think about it, would you be colder standing still in a stable all night, or moving about and hooling around the field and being able to generate some body heat? Stables do not have heating like our houses do and whilst I would put on more layers to go outside....for the horse I would put on more layers when it is in at night as he will be colder in his stable at night and not being able to move about much.

TBH I have not left a turnout on my horse to dry it out, and have had the trouble of putting on a cold wet rug in the morning when I have not had a spare, but in the future I think I will be leaving my wet rugs on the horse to dry out so long as he is warm and dry underneath!
 
Yep, I was met with the scenario yesterday that her rainsheet was soaked through and she was wet underneath and I couldn't keep it on her as it was still tipping it down, so needed to dry the rug (didn't want to keep her in - arthritis, she gets stiff in stabele). Luckily I had another to put her in, original didn't dry overnight, though.

As for leaving them overnoight in stable in turnouts, many of my Premier Equine rugs are designed specifically for that dual purpose:)

Is there a cheap heated option, anyone can think of?
 
guido16 said:
I dont see the logic as turnout rugs are designed for outside/bad weather. So therefore if your horse wears it in a (warmer) stable then it wont get the full benefit of it when its outside in the colder weather.

Same way that you or I put on extra layers to go outside, a horse generally needs extra layers/thicker rug to go outside.

I presume people are removing these rugs each night to do a check of their horses.
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But horses are not people. Most of the time the stables are colder than outside anyway! Horses can move around when they're outside to keep warm (or in the case of my horse, spend all day in winter galloping around and playing). You actually probably need *more* rugs at night in the stable since the horse will be standing in more or less the same place for 12-16 hours.

Even if my horse comes in soaked, his rug is dry within an hour usually.
 
I think people need to realise that the breathable turnout rugs are actually designed to be used inside and outside so its not a case of leaving an outdoor rug on when inside :rolleyes::D
And yes my horses rug comes off each night and he's thoroughly checked over as I ride him each night throughout the winter, apologies he rarely gets a day off bad mum that I am :p
 
Maybe a freak accident but thought it worth a mention, a horse on yard near us was found hung one morning. It had somehow got strangled by the leg strap on a rug hung drying on a make shift rug rack in the stable.
I used to do this too as I had no where else to dry them, Im now using dual purpose rugs, as said earlier took some getting used too but best thing I ever did. No more damp cold rugs in the morning.
As for putting different weight rugs in the day and night. In the depths of winter I use a Rambo which is 370g I think, my heaviest stable rug was 350g so not much difference. It may be colder at night but in a stable you are out of the wind and rain/snow so cant see much difference, I would only be replacing rugs like for like. I do think we are a nation of over rugging to be honest. How did they cope years ago with a canvas turnout and a thinnish jute rug for night.
Just my opinion :)
 
Ive just had a rug reproofed for the winter and had to use it yesterday, and horse soaking wet this morning ! Wouldnt leave this on him to dry as he already has arthritis, I wouldnt like to be stuck in a soaking wet coat all day . Takes days to dry a rug at the yard, usually end up takign it home and putting it in the airing cupboard. Yeah, its really smelly in our house in the winter!
 
I think most of those "for" leaving outdoor rugs on have said they only leave them on if the horse is dry underneath, if the horse has gotten wet underneath its turnout then it has to come off!
 
I NEVER leave turnouts on inside - mine wear an under rug - thickness depending on horse, which they wear day & night (comes off for a groom/ride every day) so they always have a warm layer. I hate the idea of putting a cold rug onto a clipped horse.

Rugs then go into the garage where they are hung out next to the boiler and are lovely and warm & dry come the morning. If by any chance they aren't dry, then they wear spare rugs.
 
I have never used the Turnout/Stable combo and i must admit I'm a bit of a rug addict and do have various rugs for various degrees of temperature and in the case of them getting ripped/damaged or still wet.
We have however got heated drying rack but it's expensive to run so gets used on the coldest/wettest nights. The rest of the time we chuck the wet rugs over the hay and to be honest they are normally dry in the morning.
I can see the benefits of the combos but as a personal preference i like to know that my horse is in a warm dry rug that isn't heavy due to being wet and covered in mud.
I also have different weight rugs for different temperatures. I'm not sure how the combos work as in if you buy a heavyweight would they be too warm in the stable?
I have read peoples comments that the horse if outside can run/move around to keep warm but surely in a stable they are warm as they are out of the wind and rain...it's frosty on the ground in the field but i don't get frost in my stables bedding. The water tap freezes outside but his water bucket inside is still fluid. There might be some technical reason for his but know i feel warmer just by walking in to the stable block out of the elements.
I'm sure my hubby would love for me to be a one rug combo kinda girl but it would take allot to be weaned off the rug fetish!!!
 
alma said:
Ive just had a rug reproofed for the winter and had to use it yesterday, and horse soaking wet this morning ! Wouldnt leave this on him to dry as he already has arthritis, I wouldnt like to be stuck in a soaking wet coat all day . Takes days to dry a rug at the yard, usually end up takign it home and putting it in the airing cupboard. Yeah, its really smelly in our house in the winter!
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Despite being in the dual purpose rug clan, Id never leave a rug on that had got completey wet through. Id like to think no one would.
To be honest this has never happened to any of my modern rugs. The dual purpose ones do seem to be the dearer ones like FAL and Horseware though. Never had a problem.
 
I'm another one that leaves a wet turnout rug on my horse overnight, he's 1/2 arab but a very warm horse even in the winter when fully clipped he wears a medium weight full neck weatherbeeter as anything heavier than this leaves him sweating even in the snow!
if it's been raining I can put my hand under his rug and he is toasty warm underneath, he is still toasty warm in the morning when it's been on him all night and the rug is totally dry. I normally then ride him and put the same rug on if he is going out again.

I don't see the point in taking off a wet muddy rug that won't dry overnight then putting a cold wet rug on a horse and putting him back out again. Surely that will make him colder.

When I worked in a dressage yard we put wet turnout rugs in the boiler room of the house and they would be dry and warm in the morning.
 
i hate leaving wet rugs on !

turnout rugs are ment for the field, i dont agree with all the people saying i dont like putting a wet rug back on in the morning---you left a wet rug on all night---??? so y does it matter putting one back on

personally i use stable rugs and have enough spare turnouts.
 
hannah28 said:
i hate leaving wet rugs on !

turnout rugs are ment for the field, i dont agree with all the people saying i dont like putting a wet rug back on in the morning---you left a wet rug on all night---??? so y does it matter putting one back on

personally i use stable rugs and have enough spare turnouts.
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There is a difference between leaving a wet rug on when you bring the horse in, and putting a damp rug back on in the morning. When your horse comes in from the field, the rug is wet on the outside and warm and dry on the inside, therefore all the horse feels is dry and warm (if your TO rug is wet inside then you need to change the people you use to wash and reproof them!). The outside of the rug then dries with the horse's body heat. Presumably you all leave your horses enough forage for the night so he will not get cold because of a wet rug - digesting the forage in his gut will keep him warm.

If you take the wet rug off, you replace it with a cold rug firstly. You leave it to dry and chances are it will still be wet outside in the morning, and usually damp, clammy and cold inside. When you put it back on, you are therefore putting a cold, damp rug on your horse.

The difference is that if you leave the wet rug *on* overnight, it is warm inside. If you take it off and put back on in the morning, it will be horrible and damp inside.
 
hannah28 said:
i hate leaving wet rugs on !

turnout rugs are ment for the field, i dont agree with all the people saying i dont like putting a wet rug back on in the morning---you left a wet rug on all night---??? so y does it matter putting one back on

personally i use stable rugs and have enough spare turnouts.
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I agree!!!

And you dont have to put a cold rug on your horse in the morning if you have a light under rug on.

Plus, as someone above said, I am also a rug addict. ALWAYS have a dry one to put on in the morning.

NO, I`m not made of money (far from it), just spend my money on rugs!! lol
 
The whole point of the "combo" rugs is THAT THEY DONT GET WET ON THE INSIDE, excess water runs off the rug and the breathable qualities of the rug dry it from the inside out, therefor the horse stays dry and its body heat dries the rug.

I always change my rugs from outdoor to indoor when they come in, this is not because i think i am being mean if i leave their outside rugs on its because i can, i have a heated tack room and a rug dryer and plenty of spare rugs. If i didnt have these facilities and spare rugs i would leave the outdoor one on untill it dried.
 
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