Layering rugs??

Thanks for replies.Good to hear majority think ok as long as rugs fit horses.Never heard of anyone blaming rugs(as long as fit) for back/joint pain or any probs as yet anyway
Can't even begin to think what 13 rugs on a horse would actually look like
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You wouldn't be giving it a quick groom would you!Would take ages to put rugs on and off
daughters pony used to have 2 then a duvet at night just kept him warm.Mine just get one but old man gets a liner if cold .
Think what is warm enough is subjective.I think my mates has her horses really hot she thinks their just warm,I'm the opposite with my lot.
 
I have no experience of having to rug so heavily.
My mare is a 'hot horse' and needs only one rug at a time, be it a fleece or medium/heavy weight turn out.
Our TB mare years ago coped very well with just a medium weight rug in winter, she was generally the only horse of ours we rugged as the rest were natives and simply did not need it almost every day of the year bar a few.
It is down to the horse in my opinion, 4 rugs sounds an awful lot to me, I am not sure I would want to use more than two, but like I say I have never owned a horse that 'needed' it.
 
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A few is okay IMHO. But I used to know a girl who ragularly had 5 on, and was proud of the fact that one winter, during a 'cold snap' the horse had 13 on!!! excessive! She also used to boast about how her horse needed one clip all winter because she knew how to 'look after him properly'... poor thing must have been sweating his bits off!!!

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13!!!?????!!!!
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NO WAY!! That is so cruel imo... must be so heavy and uncomfortable the poor horse
 
Here here Christi! We are making whimps out of our horses and most people pile on the rugs to make themselves feels better instead of upping the hay or fibre! I agree that a fully clipped, thin skinned TB might need a few layers to keep it warm but horses cope far better with the dry cold than the wind and rain.
 
Probably a good point TicTac.Always wondered why we do all this with rugs now as remember used to have horse out in standard rug-no necks then- with or without clip.Didn't run back and fore to yard changing rugs willy nilly unless got really hot even then that would be rug off rather than change but not usually likely up here ,had one of each weight of rug wouldn't have crossed my mind to layer them as always seemed ok,even tho rugs back then weren't as good as ones we get now.
Not getting at anyone for layering just thinking about if its better or do we mollycoddle our horses more
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personally I would rather feed more hay/haylage than extra rugs on, but my 2 girlies who are living out at the moment both have 2 x medium weight rugs on and a neck rug, and my arab who has started to come in at night but normally lives out (he is feeling the cold bless him) has a heavyweight full neck stable rug, a medium weight turnout and a lightweight no fill full neck turnout on the top but only to keep the others dry clean he is fine, no rubs so far, I am awaiting my yummy heavyweight full necks from Premier equine so I can change them all into warmer but less rugs.
 
normally mine only has 2 rugs a fleece and h/w turnout - but currently also has underrug too as cant move around much to keep warm as field an ice rink - she lives out with shelter 247.
they come off every day and she has bib to make sure no rubs.
 
I tend not to put more than 2 on at a time, usually a 350 ish and a fleece/summersheet.

Although i probably don't know anything as i didnt even know they made rugs as thick as 425 until one of the girls at our yard bought one the other day! Our lot are inside so they're all pretty toasty even when clipped
 
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What I don't understand is why someone would put on say a LW and MW when they could just have the one HW on - I can only presume it is because they do not want to spend money on buying the thicker rug.

With four rugs on that would be a real spiders web of sursingles I imagine!

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Saying as I wrote in my reply that I put a LW and MW on my mare .

Its got nothing to do with spending money on a thicker rug, I rug with regards to the weather, I'd rather layer than have one thick rug . For instance if it was to get colder I can stick on another LW on top of the MW which is what I have done .
 
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