Just put the thicker rug on...

[JessandCharlie]

Have just been up and taken Len's rugs off, he had a rain sheet with a fleece under it, no neck. He's fully clipped

Little Ozz (TB) isn't clipped, but still in summer fluff, and has the same rugs on (they've been taken off today too)

Have given Tinks (mini) a very low trace clip because she was getting too hot, she still has most of her fluff, but it keeps her a little cooler. (No rugs)

Rugs will go on again in the evening, and will stay on in the day if it's cold enough.

J&C

 

[OneInAMillion]

To the comment that said "why clip if you then have to cover in rugs" surely that is a ridiculous remark. We clip D and A because they both have their bear like coats and both of them naturally sweat a lot. If they get sweaty with a full winter coat, D (being a connie) takes hours to dry, and I can't just sit their and wait- I need to get home. So I clip to stop him sweating and then put rugs on so he doesn't get chilly in the field. I thought that was fairly obvious

 

[TGM]

Here is an interesting link for those who want to know more about the effect of light on horse's winter coats:

http://animalscience.tamu.edu/images/pdf/equine/equine-controlling-hair-length.pdf

 

[OneInAMillion]

Here is an interesting link for those who want to know more about the effect of light on horse's winter coats:

http://animalscience.tamu.edu/images/pdf/equine/equine-controlling-hair-length.pdf

Seems like the lighting is the way forward then!

 

[rowy]

I agree that it is levels of sunlight which causes coat growth. Also, i think you would be surprised at how much rugs squish the hair down to make it look like a summer coat. My boy has been clipped just a low trace and goes out in a neck-less rug and on his body it looks like he hasnt barely grown a winter coat but his neck looks like flooofy winter coat and im pretty sure they wouldnt grow just a winter coat on their neck!

My fully clipped tb mare (bar legs and head left on) was in 200g at night when she was out and today was so cold she had to leave it on in the day. Tonight she is in and has cooler with neck and 100g stable rug without neck on.
My 4 year old welsh x tb x appy (who seems to get cold really easily but isnt a sweaty horse) has a low trace and has been wearing a 50g t/o at night but he has been cold but am waiting for a spare moment to clip him properly so he can have his 200g on. Tonight he has a 100g stable rug.
3 year old exmoor is NAKED!!! and stays naked allll winter but she never feels cold as she grows about 3 inches of flooof.

 

[little_critter]

Your all making me feel really cruel - both mine are full clipped with cotton sheets on tonight - they were well toasty this morning - but now your making me feel awful.

Off to worry all night now aghghgghhgh

Mine has a blanket clip and is in with a cotton sheet on tonight. It was going to be a fleece but was told forecast for tonight was 10 degrees - not quite cool enough for the fleece.

 

[monkeybum13]

Mine has a blanket clip and is in with a cotton sheet on tonight. It was going to be a fleece but was told forecast for tonight was 10 degrees - not quite cool enough for the fleece.

My blanket type clipped horse wore a fleece for travelling in the trailer today and was sweating under it she was so warm

 

[xRobyn]

I would think unless you are in a howling gale, or snow, is a HW is a not bit extreme atm - what do you put them in when it gets really cold?

That! i can just imagine them in their multi layers like a human

Phil is un-rugged, welsh cob, decent winter coat, starting to sweat when worked but not enough yet to clip, toasty armpits even out in a big empty field overnight!

When he's clipped he'll have his l/w turnout on, if he's still chilly then his m/w but I'm hoping not to have to layer any more than a m/w (200g) with neck and l/w without.

 

[OneInAMillion]

I think it partly depends on your fields as well because we are lucky that 3 sides of our fields are hedged whereas some horses have no shelter so perhaps need more layers?

 

[Gamebird]

PS I am sure you know this, but coat growth bears no relation to temperature and is in fact controlled by daylight - you'd be as well to invest in some of the daylight bulbs they use on mares as rugging may flatten the coat giving the appearance of less growth, but it doesn't change the amount of coat they grow. Not saying you shouldn't rug, just thinking of a more effective way of saving you clipping time.

When I was a showing groom (!) in Scotland we really struggled to get horses to HOYS with coats like the horses coming from the South of England - reduced day length due to latitude I suppose. We did rug them up to the eyeballs (duvets etc) but also always left the lights on until midnight and turned them on again at 5am. Guess which lucky groom got that job?

 

[SO1]

My pony is was chaser clipped today and is out in a LW I did think of putting his MW on but thought as it was 13C he would be too hot and he gets miserable if he is too hot, hence the reason for clipping. If he does get cold he can move about a bit more but if he gets too hot there is nothing he can do about it to get more comfortable.

He is also a bit podgy and I think if whales use blubber to keep warm then being a bit podgy he might get hotter than if he was skinny!

I do think sometimes people think horses feel the cold in the same way as people do but they do not. If am cold it does not mean my pony will be too.

He was only wearing one HW when he was living out in the snow last year and it was -19C and he had a chaser clip then and was lovely and warm. However he is a new forest and he does get warm very easily he is like a small furnace.

I do also wonder how good it is for horses backs and withers to have lots of HW rugs on.

PS - you say your horses have been rugged all summer - it was 27C last weekend was your unclipped shetland not hot wearing a rug in such heat?

 

[OneInAMillion]

Lucky you SO1, 13.5 degrees sounds tropical! Though just looked and tomorrow evening for us is meant to go up to 15 so he can just wear his no fill again, not too bothered about growing a thicker coat anyway as he will be clipped

 

[nic85]

All horse are individuals.

My 2yr old TbxWB is still out at night with her 2 cob boyfriends. Shes in a MW without neck but will have neck attachment on at some point and the boys have rain sheets on. My girl gets cold, shes been in a rain sheet since August and only had it off for the random week of summer we had recently.

None are clipped yet and when they are( they being the boys ) everything comes off and then they come in at night. Both will wear heavyweight fullnecks T/O and Stable rugs. If it gets really cold they get layers.

At work the horses are rugged all year round too, (working hunters & hunt horses) one or two of them are swines to clip so theyve been rugged up to limit hair growth. This week theyve had under rugs added, when it gets colder their top rugs will be changed for thicker ones.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

PS - you say your horses have been rugged all summer - it was 27C last weekend was your unclipped shetland not hot wearing a rug in such heat?

no.mine were all in LW (the two big boys had full necks on) and were not hot,in fact if anything, the shetland is the coldest of the 3 and the least likely to get hot!

he was fully clipped yesterday as is getting so horridly sweaty,then cold and damp,whilst working, and has gone out today in his HW again.....its much warmer here today, if it had been same temp as yesterday he would have had a fleece underneath.

 

[Thistle]

It's going to be 20 degrees today and again tomorrow

 

[flump]

no.mine were all in LW (the two big boys had full necks on) and were not hot,in fact if anything, the shetland is the coldest of the 3 and the least likely to get hot!

he was fully clipped yesterday as is getting so horridly sweaty,then cold and damp,whilst working, and has gone out today in his HW again.....its much warmer here today, if it had been same temp as yesterday he would have had a fleece underneath.

Do u get ur shetlands rugs from dinky rugs? We have Minatures but the only ones that we find are proper fits are the ones from dinky rugs, they range in size from 3'3-3'9 does any where else sell nice shetland rugs?

 

[OneInAMillion]

I think PS and NMT's shetland wears fairly large rugs iirc! (well for a shetland anyway)

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

yeah he's 5ft or 5'3 so weatherbeeta, rambo and requisite all go small enough.

def not 20deg here.....mine were in HW and perfect temp wise today

 

[blood_magik]

it's still relatively warm here (10 degrees at night) so my dumb-blood is in his fleece at night and a lw if it's wet

 

[Thistle]

yeah he's 5ft or 5'3 so weatherbeeta, rambo and requisite all go small enough.

def not 20deg here.....mine were in HW and perfect temp wise today

Just quoting the met office!

 

[SO1]

It was 21C today and tomorrow is meant to be 23 and going down to 15C. My pony was warm in his LW today radiating heat so I am glad I did not put his warmer rug as he would have been far too hot.

My understanding is that what we often perceive as warm for a horse is in fact too hot. If you put your hand under your horses rug and they feel toasty warm then they are too hot.

Lucky you SO1, 13.5 degrees sounds tropical! Though just looked and tomorrow evening for us is meant to go up to 15 so he can just wear his no fill again, not too bothered about growing a thicker coat anyway as he will be clipped

 

[xspiralx]

My fully clipped out TB was too hot in a MW with no neck today - I took it off and left him rugless during the day and he was perfect.

It would have been cruelty to have him in a full neck heavyweight.

 

[ilvpippa]

Mines now in at night as shes been standing & waiting to come in bless her! But, she has no rug on tonight, shes abit fluffy, warm bed & lots of hay! Around 15degrees & shes out the way of wind.

 

[MrsMozart]

Gawd I'm feeling cruel...

My lot are out 24/7 and not a rug between them :eek. DWB, Trad Cob, Welsh x, and TBxID

Admittedly none are clipped as yet. Even when they are though, the TBxID will have a HW with a neck turnout, but nothing underneath. The DWB will probably be the same. The two ponies will have rainsheets just to stop the rain making them shiver (the Welsh x is renown for it). The DWB and the TBxID will have rainsheets on if it's due to rain as they work twice a day. Don't have too much of an issue with them drying off - bought a brill towelling robe at YHL last year and it works a treat at getting a horse dry in good time

Must go on a rug sort out for when they are clipped

 

[4faults]

Both of mine are unclipped, in at night, in medium weight stable rugs. K is hairy and will be clipped asap then have another rug on. D is not hairy so can wait to be done.

Its a personal decision what rug to put on your horse, much like what to feed your horse, or how much turnout, as long as the horses are happy and healthy each to their own I say

 

[Tr0uble]

Rhythm is fully clipped and wears his 350g turnout in the day time, and then has a lighweight stable rug on in the stable at night. I've not gone to full neck rugs yet as he is a warm horse and doesn't need it yet.

Snip suffers from tying up and is aggrevated by the cold, but I've been sure not to over rug him because I WANT his coat to crow as fluffy as possible as it really does make a difference with his tying up...though he isn't in work so sweating up in work isn't an issue there. He's in a lighweight during the day in the field, and I add a heavy stable rug at night when he's in and not moving around so much.

 

[Nic]

DA has already had his MT HW on & isn't clipped yet. Wuss, though it is fairly ancient & flat. Dubh has been in his Rhino MW but now back in a Thermatex & rain sheet. Tank pony is still nekkid & will remain so until we hit about -10.

We've been down to -4 overnight so far & it attempted to snow on Weds or Thurs.

When we get down to the really cold stuff (-18 last year, -22 the year before) they all have 450gm PE rugs & DA gets an Amigo insulator under his.