How many RUGS??

[HLB]

I know the post on here earlier said about medium rugs and all. BUT mine have 2 heavy weights on

and i thought i might have to put a 3rd on one, and they are NOT clipped!!

is everywhere else warm, are you all living in spain?? or do my horses have no blood!!!

mind you 2 of mine dont grown winter coats they have summer coats all year - so yay for me in that respect as i hate clipping and these two wouldnt like to be clipped, so its just as well.

but im shocked that most of you guys only have 1 rug and some have lightweights

 

[clairefeekerry1]

just goes by what your horse is like, whilst my sec d mare is fully clipped and lightly rugged and still very warm my other is unclipped hairy and cold so presently has 3 rugs on!! so deont feel bad just depeneds on the horse. its freezing here

 

[Cop-Pop]

Mine has her HW with her MW under it tonight. She isn't clipped but her stable is matted out so it stays quite warm. My little section A pony has a cooler, a MW and a HW on tonight

 

[MissSBird]

It really depends on the horse. One of mine is not clipped and has 2 rugs and she feels the cold. The other is fully clipped and in a middleweight only and is happy as could be.

but it has not been above -2 at our yard this last week.

 

[sueeltringham]

In the last week the ground here hasn't thawed at all and we've had two days of snow, but my boy has had a medium weight rug with a trace clip but is still toasty. The field has lots of shelter and there's lots of grazing and adlib haylage so I think that makes a difference.

Sue

 

[Tinypony]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's easy for us to judge what we think out horses need based on our own reactions to cold. For example, if a horse is shivering it doesn't necessarily mean we need to put a rug on them, they are just keeping warm naturally. If you've rugged up your horses this heavily for some time then maybe this is what they are going to need, as you say they don't grow winter coats. However, I've never met a horse that needs that much on them, in fact too much weight flattens the fur and inhibits their ability to stay warm naturally. Modern rugs are designed to be very warm and light and not need that much layering...
Anyway, everyone does what they think is best.

There was a very good post on here a while back titled something like "How horses keep warm", very interesting.

 

[Tinypony]

Oh yes, they need plenty of fibre through the gut to keep warm. I couldn't keep mine on one of those yards that turns out on to bare fields in the daytime, in winter we have round bales out, so they have the fibre they need to be warm.
This is an interesting thread too http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/3760663/an/0/page/0#3760663

 

[karsteine52]

All mine has on at the mo is a HW, she not clipped yet either but will be soon so i'll be put on a LW and her HW on just to give her that little bit exra warmth.
She does how ever get plenty of fibre.

 

[HLB]

Mine are on adlib hay

and im a fibre believer

.

My summer coated horses: well one i have had since yearling hes 3 now and he will pull his rug into the stable

and his poor little ear are frozen - cos in the 80's it was always if the ears are cold add a rug

plus he is actually cold and since he doesnt grow a coat even when i left him as a yearling i now the coat will not grown whether i rugged or not. the other is my new mare, came from holland with 1 rug and a summer coat, she got genuinly run down so another went on, shes happy as larry.

my horse that would need the 3rd rug just feels cool, not warm and not hot but hes dropped a bit of weight and is eating like an elephant so may have to add one just to see.

i do have an arab that refusses a rug, hes naked and fine and fluff ball and eating loads but hes happy.

i just was shocked at the mount that had light to medium weight rugs on - but some have replied as having heavy so im cool now.

oh and the hole shivering horse thing, foals do it to generate heat when born

muscle tense to warm the blood etc, just like use getting goose bumbs and chattering teeth. Doesnt mean where not cold though

 

[Puppy]

I am shocked that any horse would need 2 HWs on!

What do you term a HW??

 

[HLB]

eer a HW weatherbetta the new tartan (red looks fab on the chestnut

) and an HW fal high neck, others have say WB and an amigo HW over top.

 

[Puppy]

Goodness, I've never owned/known a horse who required that amount of rugging!

 

[HLB]

no i know.... strange, with out horses i only ever used to put one big rug on, but then i moved here!!! everything seems colder so ive put it down to that. but my old guys still have just one large one. Seems the blooded ones want the rugs

ne mind so long as they are happy

 

[pottamus]

My lad is native and un-clipped but needs to loose some weight, so he will stay in his medium weight all winter. He is warm but not overly, so it keeps him from getting grumpy but is enough for his body to work a bit. He has ad lib hay and a field shelter if he feels cold.

 

[miss_c]

Genie has a blanket clip, and has a heavyweight on while it's cold, but the second it warms up she'll be back in a medium weight.

 

[Silverspring]

HLB - one of the dutch WB at our yard has 2 Heavy weight NZ and a stable rug on 24/7 so I wouldn't worry about the amount of rugs you have on it seems quite normal to me

I have 1 fleece and a HW (420g) hood rambo. Planning on adding an insulator stable rug to the equation tonight!

 

[GT_02]

My shetland with a (bib clip) is NAKED!!!!
My old warmblood, on box rest has a lightweight stable rug on.
My fully clipped TB has 1 HW turnout on.

When I checked them all this morning, they were warm as toast and it was -5 here last night! I keep thinking that maybe my TB should have another rug on, but when he's so cosy as he is, why would I bother?

 

[Enfys]

I am most certainly not in Spain!

MW's, unclipped though and nice and warm, just the one. Wimpy mare has just had her full neck put on, but that's all they'll have all winter unless they really need more, it is just to keep the wind off them more than anything, with windchill here we are down past -15 right now and winter has only just begun.

 

[LankyDoodle]

HLB - I live on the Devon/Somerset border as well (Wellington), and I keep my horses in Huish Champflower (near Wiveliscombe and at the foot of Exmoor). It was -6 when we got there this morning. George is clipped and in a heavyweight stable rug with no neck and a heavyweight turnout with a neck. L is not clipped and is in with a heavy stable rug with neck and a Newmarket fleece underneath, then he goes out on a heavyweight with neck.

I don't put morethan one rug on when they go out, and am careful about going up to HWs (G doesn't usually need them, but we have never kept him somewhere where it gets so cold - back towards Wellington it was only -1 or -2 at worst), as they move around a lot more when out and I don't want them getting too hot. When they are in, however, they are restricted in movement and I do not want them getting too cold - L was cold in just his HW so I put the fleece under it, especially as he's been dropping off again.

Do what is best for YOUR horse!

 

[HLB]

your only about 15mins from me. im tivy way and then up high so really cold.

 

[Stinkbomb]

[ QUOTE ]
but im shocked that most of you guys only have 1 rug and some have lightweights



[/ QUOTE ]

I must be awful then as my two are naked

 

[Gorgeous George]

Every horse is individual, George is a 3/4 TB 1/4 shire with a fine-ish coat and isn't clipped, he is in a high neck MW turnout and a MW stable with no neck, but he is in a barn so not as cold.

 

[Ebenezer_Scrooge]

Oh I must be a cruel mummy then. Mine is unclipped and in a rain sheet

He's not in work at the moment though as am waiting for saddle and he lives on fresh air so hopefully his energy is going on body heat production rather than fat forming!! He is warm though but will wear more rugs when he is clipped and back in proper work.

 

[badgerdog]

My two year old has a standard heavyweight on, she lives out and we still have some snow. She's actually a bit warm in it, I've only just replaced her mediumweight one as it had got too small for her. She has quite a thick coat and if the temperature goes up I'm going to have to buy her another mediumweight.
Three rugs seems a bit excessive to me, it's a wonder the horse can move! Please don't take offence, everyone knows their own horses the best and they can judge what they need.

 

[Lulup]

Like you I am constantly amazed at the posts on here regarding rugs (or rather lack of!). My ISH mare is fully clipped/pulled/hairless and has a LW rug then two MW rugs under a HW and most of the other horses at the yard have similar but they are all competition horses. In fact all the horsey people I know have their horses heavily rugged but again they are mostly comp horses (tending to mean that they are hardworking, fit horses and also, perhaps more relevantly, their owners are relatively experienced/professional horsemen/women). I strongly believe that if we clip off our horses coats & confine them to stables where their ability to move about and generate warmth is restricted then we are under an obligation to ensure they are warm enough. And as for the post regarding horses shivering as a way to keep warm - you have got to be having a laugh?? Obviously that is why they shiver but the point is they shouldn't have to - are people honestly saying they watch their horses shiver and don't add a rug?? Remember that horses cannot just decide they are cold and move closer to the fire or add another layer as you yourself would - we shiver for the same reason as horses so would you be happy if your kids were shivering in their beds at night? Ok, rant over - but honestly guys - check your horses warmth (by ears and under rugs) and add/takeway as required. Common sense surely?

 

[JessPickle]

Mines clipped with one medium weight stable no neck on. He was toasty warm in that. Anymore and he sweats. 2 HW's!

 

[LankyDoodle]

HLB - kept them in West Buckland for 6 years but then moved to Holcombe Rogus for 9 weeks. Small world

 

[Donkeymad]

Our cob is elderly has a very fine thin coat, is clipped and is still extremely warm in a light/medium weight. We have never owned anything heavier than a medium weight. (my donkeys (desert anmals) are all unrugged and very warm.

 

[chriscrogul]

My TB/Welsh is clipped out and competes most weekends, he is alternating between a medium no neck turnout (on dry days) and a medium combo. He's in at night and wears his combo turnout in the box.
My 18 month ID/Welsh is naked in his greasy fluffy baby coat.
My unclipped TB alternates between his medium no neck and combo too.
Modern rugs are designed to NOT be layered. And just as my shoulders and back ache if I've been wearing a heavy coat how must horse feel if the combined weight of their rugs is (sorry, not got the scales out)! is blooming heavy!!!

 

[ihatework]

I'm afraid I'm amazed when I see someone saying their horse has a LW, 2 x MW and a HW on. To me that is utter madness not common sense and I pity the horse.
And I have a fair background in working with competition horses, and that volume of rugging certainly hasn't been in force on yards where I have been.