Interesting article about temperature regulation in horses. Worth a read

Oh, oh, hang about
1)who is puddicat?
2) can I have a chocolate hobnob (I'm sick and therefore needy if that helps)
 
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It's all your faults that I opened them :p
 
MotherOfChickens said:
yes I do-he was another arse frankly, who thought it fun to wind people up to see how they'd react and be all superior about it. I nearly posted on here the other night wondering if DM was actually Puddicat except DM isnt ashamed to show himself up under his real name.
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DM definitely not Puddicat.
I quite liked puddicat, although maybe his sense of humour says a lot about me - not in a good way!
 
Darn it. I need a hobnob now. I do not require any more natural insulation though.

Today is bright, sunny, bit of a chill on the breeze up here in the frozen North... feels like 8 degrees ish. Granny horse, 22 years Anglo Arab, is rug free (apart from the natural mud rug she put on herself) and quite comfortable. The big, fat, tying up maxi cob is, however, in a 200g and I doubt she'll feel too hot. I'm sure I could simultaneously be judged for both. 😂
 
'"The Great Rug Debate" will endure long after this post is forgotten and the inevitable many, many others that will follow.

I have seen experienced owners overrug and inexperienced owners overrug.

I have seen a Shetland on a humid rainy day in June turned out in full neck rug. The same goes with fat cobs.

Thin horses, fat horses, old and young - most are over rugged nearly all of the time.

Incidently, I leave my two naked as much as possible all year. They will wear a fly rug in the summer and in the winter if they are unclipped they are not rugged unless it is going to be wet.
 
indie1282 said:
Incidently, I leave my two naked as much as possible all year. They will wear a fly rug in the summer and in the winter if they are unclipped they are not rugged unless it is going to be wet.
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I really don’t understand fly rugs either. I use a good fly repellent and fly cream on theIr underbits and I’ve never felt the need to rug in the summer. For my oldie that does need rugging in the winter, it’s the only time she can enjoy the sun on her back and have a good scratch when she wants one without a rug getting in the way.
 
meleeka said:
I really don’t understand fly rugs either. I use a good fly repellent and fly cream on theIr underbits and I’ve never felt the need to rug in the summer. For my oldie that does need rugging in the winter, it’s the only time she can enjoy the sun on her back and have a good scratch when she wants one without a rug getting in the way.
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Depends on the horse - Shetland has sweet itch so he has to be rugged. Our livery is just really sensitive and gets very, very cross about flies so is much happier in a fly rug. Another livery has very sensitive skin so it protects him from sunburn.
 
I keep seeing articles like this shared on Facebook, yet there are still several horses local to me out with rugs on, and its 18 degrees and sunny today. I have had several people question why I'm not rugging yet. It baffles me!
 
apercrumbie said:
Depends on the horse - Shetland has sweet itch so he has to be rugged. Our livery is just really sensitive and gets very, very cross about flies so is much happier in a fly rug. Another livery has very sensitive skin so it protects him from sunburn.
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I'd agree with this. The two sports horse types hate flies and love the protection that their lightweight fly rugs give them. The IDx with PSSM who feels the cold and normally likes to be rugged warmly hates fly rugs so goes without :rolleyes:.
 
Frank is famously scabby and fly bites are one of the triggers. He broke his long-standing fly rug a few weeks ago and I suggested he could cope on the basis that his life continuation has been a bit questionable of late. summer was nearly over so we'd see if he was here next summer.
We use tritec/deosect and power phaser
apparently I was wrong so he has a brand spanking new rambo :rolleyes:

I always wonder if people ever ask why owners might be doing something.
 
blitznbobs said:
Any respect I had for the man has just been lost ... I’ve read the fb page and it’s the most bullying, disrespectful load of tosh I’ve ever read. And he calls himself professional... and an educator.
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I'd seen a bit of general HHO bashing on FB from when he first posted about this but just been on the page and I cannot believe a respected scientist is behaving like a schoolyard bully, gleefully egged on by his fans. Very disillusioned. I'd followed his page with interest for a while but I'm steering well clear now. What a total and utter tool.
 
meleeka said:
I really don’t understand fly rugs either. I use a good fly repellent and fly cream on theIr underbits and I’ve never felt the need to rug in the summer. For my oldie that does need rugging in the winter, it’s the only time she can enjoy the sun on her back and have a good scratch when she wants one without a rug getting in the way.
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I use a fly rug as my horses get eaten alive by horseflies and they are much happier in their fly rugs. No creams or lotions will stop them biting and making my horses lives a misery.

They get them taken off overnight and can groom and scratch each other if they choose.

Again, we all know our own horses!
 
It's particulary disheartening that a regular and popular HHOer has been a ringleader in winding it all up on FB. She hasn't, so far, posted on this thread. She has posted previously on HHO that DM is a friend of hers. I know that loyalties are loyalties, but I'm disappointed to think that a poster who I have hitherto respected should act in such a childish and unpleasant way :(.
 
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ester said:
I always wonder if people ever ask why owners might be doing something.
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I’m glad I mentioned it. I think we must be lucky here that horse flies aren’t a major problem (although there was a particularly persistent one today while I was poo picking that sent them all into their stables 🙄).

Reasons amongst people I know range from “They stop the sun bleaching their coat” to “It saves me bothering with fly repellent, I haven’t got time/can’t afford it”. I’m pleased to read there are some genuine reasons for using them.
 
Ambers Echo said:
I'd seen a bit of general HHO bashing on FB from when he first posted about this but just been on the page and I cannot believe a respected scientist is behaving like a schoolyard bully, gleefully egged on by his fans. Very disillusioned. I'd followed his page with interest for a while but I'm steering well clear now. What a total and utter tool.
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I've just read through it and I think it's a bit sad how many current and former HHOers there are on there slagging us off. But there are a couple of people who used to be on here who really know their stuff and I miss, who are the only ones saying anything positive.
 
I like it too. I have so far escaped any grief from anyone and I haven't seen much biff generally. There is so much breadth and depth of knowledge that 1 or 2 egos can't just dominate and people who are a bit harsh seem to be called out on it by others which I like. I don't like mob-rule. Which is why DMs FB fandom is so unpleasant.
 
ester said:
I always wonder if people ever ask why owners might be doing something.
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Indeed - I've made it through decades of horse ownership without ever needing one of the blasted things. The orange pony, on the other hand... Same fields, same flies, but that horse is like crystal meth to them apparently. Poor horse deserves a bit a peace, so she gets a fly rug!
 
Ambers Echo said:
I like it too. I have so far escaped any grief from anyone and I haven't seen much biff generally. There is so much breadth and depth of knowledge that 1 or 2 egos can't just dominate and people who are a bit harsh seem to be called out on it by others which I like. I don't like mob-rule. Which is why DMs FB fandom is so unpleasant.
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The only grief I've had has been off-forum, which is why I think this place is "safer" than Facebook :)
 
Maybe it's ginger JFTD? they do flock round F, the pair of them will be stood together heads over the water trough (favourite spot, closest they ever get!) and she will have much less than he does.

I have pointed out to Mum a few times this summer how lucky we are to not have any horse flies having had plenty of them and the odd crab fly on livery. At livery though they were stabled during the day so he didn't actually wear said fly rug much those years, at home they are out 24/7 but always unrugged at sunset - advantages of having them in the garden in that you can change things at random hours (well or Mum can :o!) I like to pretend he's low maintenance that has always been a lie really.
 
my oranges are fairly fly-free ;)
I buy a fly rug about once every 5 years.. and sell it again virtually unused the next year. The last time I had one was for Millie who was getting bitten loads, but one day she got something really vicious trapped under the damn rug and that was the end of that! :rolleyes: I wonder if some horses just have "come bite me" pheromones or similar ;)
 
the pink one doesn't count ;). F's last one was secondhand, plan was to keep an eye out, then Mum went to the tackshop and there was a sale... lol

love those pics of Dave DM :)
 
I have a fly magnet who is bay 😜 although he is a very red-head type bay...he has also had sarcoids in the past and I live on the edge of a forest, so would rather use a fly rug him than risk him getting more sarcoids or one of the others getting them.
 
What really annoys me is when a horse wears the same rug 24/7! Ummm! It’s colder at night! I always make sure if mine is rugged when clipped that she has 50g on more at night! If it’s mild during the day then take rug off or at least put it in lighter rug! Can’t believe how people have same rug on at present when getting up to 18 degrees during day! Would you wear a coat in 18 degrees?
 
unless you plan to say something to said people to find out what their reasoning is, I think it's better for one's sanity not to think about what other people do. You can drive yourself nuts.

I don't think there are blanket (lol) rules about whether it's warmer in the day or at night. Some cloudy nights are very mild and still, whereas the days might be breezy and cool. Plus my horses eat more overnight in their stables than they do outdoors. I often put a lighter rug on overnight.
 
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