I will not rug my horse, I will not rug my horse, I will not rug my horse :-)

Supertrooper

Supertrooper

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It may be cold and raining but even if i have to tie my hands together i am not putting a rug on him!!

Isn't it stupid worrying about them as i know he'll be in middle of field eating xx
 
Trouble is all this rain makes the mud stick. My horse is grey - picture the colour of her left to her own devices. Other is a coloured and he likes the mud too. Plus both are clipped so do need to have their rugs on, good excuse anyway. Going to be -1 tonight where we are brrrrr!
 
I must admit, i was tempted this morning :o It's not that cold just yet and their field has plenty of grass so they'll just have to keep themselves warm for a while longer! :p They're only out during the day after all. They'll come in tonight and then they have rugs on.
 
I have held out until now, but the lightweight is going on this evening. Temperatures are set to drop here.

If nothing else, it's getting dark so early I have less & less time to ride. She's a mucky madam, so saving those few minutes grooming all helps! :o
 
I'm wavering here. Although mine were all toasty warm this morning I'm thinking it's going to get pretty cold tonight... But they have thick coats, access to their stables and natural shelter and are out so can move around. I HATE this time of year!!!
 
I was feeling the same until I saw how fat he was getting, even with a muzzle on every other day. It's going on every day now and definately no rug!
 
i'm toughening up on not rugging too early. my boy lives out 24/7 and i didnt rug him till 1st nov last year but that was due to rain and wind. he doesnt seem to mind frost or cold, its the wind and rain he hates, so till that starts he stays naked for as long as poss. altho he has a complete new wardrobe to show off this year :p
 
My section a is still a chunky monkey and has got a very thick winter coat. She's out 24/7 all year round, I hate putting rugs on unless it's arctic conditions, so she's going to have to use up her fat for a while yet. I learn my lesson last year, I rugged her up too much and she didn't lose the weight she should have over winter and consequently got very fat this summer. So no more rugs for her now :rolleyes:
 
Charlie has been rugged since beginning of september. He is a fine tb, who can shiver and drop weight very easily. But he is still living out and thriving on it, so far. He is wearing a fleece and a m/w turnout. Wont go in to anything heavier until at least december!
 
I gave in today but my excuse is that my grey mare looked more chestnut (even my farrier said 'gawd, give the poor lass a wash') and it was embarrassing hacking her out with a brown tail and looking like that. We are also seeing the vet tomorrow and I didnt want him to think that she looked such a scruff. So I was a mean mummy and bathed her, have put a lightweight on and tailbag on to keep her clean. I want to clip her out in a few days so at least she will be clean for that. I suspect that she will now stay rugged until spring as the mud becomes unbearable and I quite like not spending hours getting mud off her and having something that resembles more of a well looked after horse rather than a bog monster, and she seriously needs washing everytime we want to go anywhere at the moment.

I seriously think the little mare is a bit of diva as she seemed very perky and happy once she was all clean....(a horse communicator once told me that she is a very proud horse and is proud of her breeding and likes to look good! LOL not sure horses really care whether they are brown or white tbh!) Plus she is very soft and cuddly now - cant believe how much dirt and grit came out of her coat even though she gets groomed regularly!
 
I have 3 cobs and they are all rugged, and have been in at night for weeks! I couldnt sleep if I thought they were out in all weathers!

I am aware that they *would* survive without, but they dont have to, and I feel content that they are warm and dry!
 
I generally much prefer to under-rug when possible but Belle will be in a m/w tonight! I don't really want to clip her and last year she got overly fluffy and a bit too lean as well. This year I started rugging mid September (just a rain sheet at night) then upped to a l/w. From now she will be in m/w at night and l/w in the day, unless the weather changes quite a bit. It will be 2C tonight and I figure if she can't wear the m/w at that temp, when can she wear the really really cosy one (in the South East so it doesn't really get that far into the minuses in general)? She is not too hot and keeping a nice weight.
 
Mine are still naked. Meg will get rugged when the rain and wind arrive with force, til then she is nice and 'brown bearish'! Juno will not ever wear a rug again, she hates rugs and I don't want to upset her now. If she suffers, along with her arthritis, I will call it a day. For now, she has plenty of fat (almost too much) and a nice thick coat.
As for Penny, she will stay naked too, although I will have to get her used to wearing a rug at some point. Just don't want her to out grow one in seconds!!
Biggles (TB aged 29) is rugged, now in a LW. I went to see him last week, he is looking well, he will appriciate his rug, although he has a nice thick coat too. He had his feet trimmed but is also suffering from arthritis which has got massively worse over recent weeks. Sadly his tail has been chewed by the pet calf and/or goat, so he looks docked too!! (not that he seems to mind!)
 
haha, I could have started this post !! Shy actually had his brand new lite rug on tonight for fitting, and I was going to leave it on..........but then had a "pull yourself together" moment, and took it off.

I am worried about the sweating up tho - and think he may get a bib clip if it carries on. And then he'll HAVE to be rugged.

With my last horse I was totally and pathetically wound up about rugging, and it was very stressful - with Shy I think that he's half dales/half gypsy cob, and he will survive.

But he came close to being dressed up tonight !
 
People make me laugh with their "I won't rug until such and such date"... so when snow comes down in November with thick frosts, you won't rug cos you're not rugging until december, when it's got warmer again... ;)

Mine is rugged to the weather. She is 100% clipped and is in 2 rugs at night (a 300g and a 200g) and a 300g turnout in the day at the moment, as there has been rain lashing down, and it was very cold this morning! She had her rugs off on Sunday and had 2 hours out naked as the sun was beating down, so it gave her chance to have a good scratch :) If it gets milder again, her rugs will reduce in number :p

Simples!
 
Toffee rugged coz of arthritus. Samba rugged coz she is a poof and she really hates being groomed so its easier to keep her clean. My boyfriend has refused to buy his cob a rug as he is COB and therefore no rug needed lol. They have shelter.
 
I have one rugged and two naked - still out overnight at the moment (and will be until the fields are waterlogged). The dumbblood is rugged because we are trying to keep his coat down (apparently he needs sedation to be clipped), we want to keep him relatively clean, and because I think he was probably mollycoddled before we had him, so trying to break him into our routine gently!

My 7/8 TB veteran is still unrugged and will only need rugging to protect her from the wet. My Connie X porker doesn't need rugs, and hates them anyway, so she will stay naked all winter.
 
KatB said:
People make me laugh with their "I won't rug until such and such date"... so when snow comes down in November with thick frosts, you won't rug cos you're not rugging until december, when it's got warmer again... ;)

Mine is rugged to the weather. She is 100% clipped and is in 2 rugs at night (a 300g and a 200g) and a 300g turnout in the day at the moment, as there has been rain lashing down, and it was very cold this morning! She had her rugs off on Sunday and had 2 hours out naked as the sun was beating down, so it gave her chance to have a good scratch :) If it gets milder again, her rugs will reduce in number :p

Simples!
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I wish there was a 'LIKE' function for posts..! :D
 
I have a TB and have to admit that I'm quite pathetic and she has been wearing a H/W with a neck at night, she's turned out 24/7. She worries me though, because she will NOT stand under the trees and will happily get soaked through, but when I get her in she's freezing and shivering. Also, I live in a caravan and know just how cold it gets up here. We are on the top of a hill and her field is quite open. Tbh I do think I need a slap to put her M/W back on :o
 
my 2 youngsters who were in at night and rugged in Koolcoats or lightweights all summer as they were shown are now out 24/7 scruffing about the field. They are hairy and greasy, we have plenty natural shelter and plenty of grass, so much so the older one is having to wear her muzzle at night as I swear the grass is still growing. I nearly gave in tonight and rugged but then I remembered when we hardly rugged horses and ponies and you know what they survived because hey! they are ponies and have evolved over many many years to grow a coat and withstand the weather. I hate to see them when they are wet all round and their coats have gone curly, if they still have a dry area where they would be trace clipped IMO they are fine and their coats work better without a rug in keeping them warm. Also as youngsters they like to play and flee about the place, rugs just restrict them.
Obviously its different if they are clipped.
 
Katb - I totally agree with you! I don't know what people think is so fantastic about seeing how long they can go without letting their horses wear rugs?! :confused: I understand some horses are fine living out without rugs at this time of year but if you have rugs then you may as well use them and rug according to the weather! Mine are all rugged now. Veteran welsh mountain pony is living out 24/7 and is wearing a MW Turnout rug tonight and my two boys (one is clipped and one is unclipped at the moment) are out during the day and in at night. Clipped one is wearing MW Turnout rug during the day and a thick fleece and LW Stable rug at night and unclipped one is wearing LW Turnout rug during the day and a thin fleece and LW stable rug at night.
 
I too can't understand the desire to leave horses unrugged......? Please feel free to explain the health benefits of not rugging till date X?
 
All mine are rugged now. The 31 year old has a Fal, some just have summer sheets and others lightweights.

Years ago we had during May freezing nights and hot days. I rugged at night only. One night I was delayed at work and my two were caught in sharp cold shower. When I got to the yard they were shaking with cold.

One of my mares got caught in a summer thunder storm and although I got her in quickly she developed a cold.

Since then I don't worry too much about cold but I do protect them against cold and wet.
 
I've been working out when to rug my WB, i get it out and then it warms up again. He isn't and won't be clipped, loves to hide under trees when it rains, has natural shelter and a 'communal' one to hide in with another horse and donkeys and had a fluffy coat which admittedly looks a bit bear like on his rear! He definately hasn't lost any weight yet, was a bit surprised today when i looked at him, think the fresh grass is showing in him.
I think the weather will really dip this weekend so will put his on then, have been waiting for coat to develop as it itself is a blanket, putting rugs on too early won't allow this to grow.
 
foxy1 said:
I too can't understand the desire to leave horses unrugged......? Please feel free to explain the health benefits of not rugging till date X?
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I think there are actually two questions here.

1. KatB's valid point about some people who will not rug up until a certain date in the winter. I quite agree that seems a silly principle, as the weather fluctuates so much - you can have snow and freezing temperatures in November and April, yet often mild weather in November and February. Definitely is wise to rug (or not rug) according to the weather not the date.

2. What are the health benefits of not rugging? Well, a large proportion of the horsey population tend to be obese these days, and long-term obesity is thought by experts to substantially increase the chances of a horse being susceptible to laminitis, not to mention the increased wear and tear on joints etc. A lot of these obese animals are the native or cobby types who in years gone by would not have been rugged at all if unclipped, and the chilly weather would have encouraged them to lose much needed pounds. Unfortunately, these days many owners feel they are expected to rug their neds whether they need it or not, and these hardy types are rugged to the nines (and often fed hard feed as well), so never get to lose their extra poundage over winter.

Personally, I think one should rug to each individual animal's needs. However, it does seem that a lot of horse-owners seem to fall into one of two camps - either rug everything up to the hilt at the slightest hint of rain or chilly temperatures, even if it is an overweight native, or the total anti-rugging types where even the poor-doing, shivery TB, on an exposed hilltop in a sleety gale is left un-rugged.
 
My 20year old cob mare is still unrugged as she is not feeling the cold as yet. It is the wind and rain that makes her shiver not the cold and dry conditions. She always gets hay, so this keeps her centrally heated. I think it wont be long until I pop her lightweight on, I really need to give her a small clip as she is a sweaty girl but we still have no electric even though it was supposed to be done 2weeks ago :(
 
My 34 yr old is rugged and so is TB I have on loan.:) He is very thin- skinned so needs a lightweight to protect from the rain.
My other two arent rugged yet as they aren't clipped, it really isnt that cold here and they have a good field shelter.
Once Dozzie is clipped she will be rugged but will hold out on my Sec B until she starts to feel the cold.
 
ISHmad said:
I'm wavering here. Although mine were all toasty warm this morning I'm thinking it's going to get pretty cold tonight... But they have thick coats, access to their stables and natural shelter and are out so can move around. I HATE this time of year!!!
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Mine are not rugged yet, and the 3 i have now have never been, yet!! Now, 2 of them are only yearlings/2 yr olds, (nearly), so def wont be. my 3 - nearly 4 yr old is just being ridden, so am betwixted and between clipping him, as he wont really be doing too much, but saying that, he looks like a grizly bear, and sweats up mad even after minimal work. He's in at night, all of them are, so dont really know what to do for the best. If i didnt really think about it, i'd already have him clipped out to the ears, but am being lazy, and thinking i might leave clipping him til next year, where he'll be in proper work.
At the moment, they are toasty, happy and dont look at all miserable, even when it's raining and cold.

Dont feel guilty, there coats are designed for the weather.
 
I dont follow the crowd and rug my lad when I believe he needs it a bit of extra help. He is a native granted and so far has not had a rug on but I know him well and am fully aware of the personality change he undertakes if he gets cold and wet, so he had a lightweight no fill rain sheet on today because we were due wind and rain. I checked him tonight and he was a fair temp, deffinately not too warm but comfortable and dry, so I feel a good call for him.
He is in at night every night throughout the year anyway so I have left him in his rug as it is due to be 1 degree tonight and then I will make a call in the morning as it is supposed to be cold but dry and sunny tomorrow so he will likely be naked again. He is growing a good coat and is the right weight for him, so can afford a few cool days naked.
 
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