Leaving a native naked through winter.. Should I even in snow?

A

Anna2015

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 July 2015
Messages
107
Visit site
I am only used to a TB so constantly thinking about my native in winter. She is three and welsh part bred cross British spotted so will hold out in winter. So I wasn't planning on buying any rugs and now I see this Britain weather warning http://www.express.co.uk/news/natur...t-Britain-cold-winter-2015-arctic-snow-freeze

It makes me wonder if I should buy a turnout and stable rug just in case we have a very bad winter or will she still cope naked?
 
It depends on lots of things but I would probably buy a turnout with a little filling 50gish just incase as you don't want to be caught out with nothing at all if for some reason she started struggling.
If you are giving adlib forage and has some kind of shelter then se should keep warm from her internal heating system, cold alone doesn't seem to bother them neither does just wet but if cold , wet and windy that's when most struggle.
 
I have a sec B I've never rugged even that really cold, snowy winter we had. As long as there's shelter of some kind (a shelter/trees/hedges/sheltered spots) and she's well fed she should be fine.

And I always take those weather predictions with a pinch of salt (would love another snowy winter, though!)
 
Firstly, I wouldn't trust anything written by the Express, they are notorious for getting it wrong!

Secondly, even though I am hoping my cob x Clydesdale mare will be fine unrugged this winter it will depend on what weather we do get. Wet and windy and she will be lightly rugged, otherwise she will stay naked. I have purchased a couple of rugs just in case!
 
Google it, the express run the same worst winter ever every winter.
I'd probably buy one turnout just incase but that's because I'm soft. Many horses even tb, winter without if they have enough forage.
 
I wouldn't place too much faith in the accuracy of that article. Could well turn out to be like the 'barbecue summer' that never was a few years ago.

Years ago I had a part bred Highland pony. In those days (it was a long time ago!) it was very unusual to rug ponies. When it snowed he would have a layer of unmelted snow along has back - showed his coat was doing it's job and insulating him.

If by any peculiar chance your pony isn't coping I am sure it would not be difficult to buy a rug if needed.

My youngsters (warmbloods) aren't rugged although they do come into the barn at night during the winter.
 
Last edited:
I have a section d who has no shelter on his field, unfortunately. He will winter out naked as much as possible but if it is due to rain or if I know I'll be stuck out all day and won't be able to pop back should it rain unexpectedly then he will wear a rain sheet. He doesn't wear anything in his stable overnight regardless of temperature or weather.
 
My native type winters out with no issues at all, his field has high hedging all round and he has his field shelter, which he didn't use once last winter!!

He has one 50g turnout and one rain sheet, he wore the 50g one once after he'd been sedated for dentist. That was in Feb and it was wet and 3 degrees, he had it on overnight.

Apart from that he is in his own coat which works perfectly well, just remember don't go mad with brushing as you are stripping oils out that will naturally waterproof them and when needed give them forage to warm them from inside.

The biggest most important thing to remember is for natives to keep healthy and keep their metabolism working properley they need to drop weight in winter, even coming out of winter on the skinny side so they can then gain within reason over spring etc.
 
In the last bad winter we had, 2012? I had a pb arab pony and a foal out in it unrugged. They were always toasty warm and generally ignored my piles of hay in order to dig for frozen grass! The pony had been a competition pony previously and very cosseted. She adapted incredibly well. I think most horses with no health problems cope just fine :)

I had a whole wardrobe full of rugs that never got used!
 
Do you want to ride her? If so you'll almost certainly want to clip and rug her.

If you aren't bothered about riding she won't need any rugs unless she's a poor doer.
 
In general a native pony does not need a rug, unless it is going to be clipped and in hard work, but it depends on where she is turned out. If it is one of those small paddocks that have no natural shelter and the wind and rain whip across, then they might need a rug.

If you think of the terrain a native pony would live on naturally, they can walk about and find shelter from the wind from hedges, trees and dips in the ground. I used to keep mine on a nice free draining field of over 2 acres, they had a field shelter which they used in the summer but not the winter, but there were really big hedges and their favourite spot was underneath the holly tree.

To start with I wouldn't bother and just keep an eye on the pony. If it is living out then you would need more than one rug anyway, in case one got soaked and need to dry out. It doesn't hurt a pony to loose weight in the winter (so long as it isn't too much weight).
 
I wouldn't be worrying just yet, the weather folk can't get it right with 24hrs notice let alone a few months in advance

Having said that I keep a few ponies and do have rugs for them but so far in 5 yrs of native ownership I haven't had to use so much as a lightweight turnout.
 
I know that we all keep on about ponies in the wild ,but do you know the life expectancy of a wild horse , It shocked me !and I have every reason to believe the source. Its seven years!
 
Another good reason to buy a Highland from their native country, the Scottish Highlands! The wimps are exported south!

Not many will rug Highland ponies up here (north of Inverness) but they do need natural shlter from driving rain and sleet. Rain, snow, freezing temperatures will not bother them if well fed on ad lib hay. Other than that, they grow thick deep coats and keep themselves warm with a very efficient central heating system.

Don't know about clipping as none of mine are ever clipped.

[video=youtube_share;pm7XDRTQMtE]https://youtu.be/pm7XDRTQMtE[/video]
 
Too late to edit the above post but I ought to say it is only the youngsters who get hard feed. The adults have to be rationed or they will get fat on ad lib hay!
 
Mike007 said:
I know that we all keep on about ponies in the wild ,but do you know the life expectancy of a wild horse , It shocked me !and I have every reason to believe the source. Its seven years!
Click to expand...

Well maybe, but this isn't a wild horse, it has a devoted owner taking into account what care it needs to keep healthy.
 
Especially not in the snow- no lightweight rug on top of a full native coat does any good in the snow, just reduces the effectiveness of the natural coat.
 
Anna2015 said:
I am only used to a TB so constantly thinking about my native in winter. She is three and welsh part bred cross British spotted so will hold out in winter. So I wasn't planning on buying any rugs and now I see this Britain weather warning http://www.express.co.uk/news/natur...t-Britain-cold-winter-2015-arctic-snow-freeze

It makes me wonder if I should buy a turnout and stable rug just in case we have a very bad winter or will she still cope naked?
Click to expand...

the Express publish this yearly-they've been correct once. My Exmoors live out unrugged (and I would only consider leaving Highlands, Exmoors and Shetlands unrugged where I live) but then they aren't worked in the worst of the winter.
 
We have stopped rugging altogether (3 Sec D's a Dratmoor and a WBxsomething hairy) Two of them are in at night because that's yard rules for the winter, and we do have rugs for any emergency. As soon as you rug a native you flatten their coat and a whole lot of natural insulation is lost; imho what little warmth you gain from the rug is lost by the depleted insulation. I have come to believe that rugging natives does them no favours at all, they need to burn off some of that summer fat and come out of winter leaner than they went in. Not for one moment would I want a serious weight loss, but they are not designed to hold their summer condition all year round. Possibly rugging is yet another factor in the huge amount of laminitis seen these days.
 
I've got a native New Forest/Welsh Cob and I've found they're very hardy against the british cold weather and tend to fluff out more if you let em so it would be a good idea to let it grow an nice thick winter coat and perhaps consider a lightweight when its heavy rain or snow just to keep the cold off as they can still get hypothermia though not likely. When its freezing I tend to put on a medium or heavy but honestly even at 5°C they're normally ok and I know that's not exactly freezing but it sure is hell cold to me :-P

Ladyinred said:
We have stopped rugging altogether (3 Sec D's a Dratmoor and a WBxsomething hairy) Two of them are in at night because that's yard rules for the winter, and we do have rugs for any emergency. As soon as you rug a native you flatten their coat and a whole lot of natural insulation is lost; imho what little warmth you gain from the rug is lost by the depleted insulation. I have come to believe that rugging natives does them no favours at all, they need to burn off some of that summer fat and come out of winter leaner than they went in. Not for one moment would I want a serious weight loss, but they are not designed to hold their summer condition all year round. Possibly rugging is yet another factor in the huge amount of laminitis seen these days.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this, it really does do them more harm than good. TBs don't naturally put on alot of weight so I can understand your worry but seriously when it comes to natives they are totally opposite.
 
Last edited:
There are some very good points made in the posts above. I used to have an unclipped, retired mare that wasn't rugged for years. She was a TB(!), but thrived even during very snowy winters as long as she had shelter and ad lib hay. Dry cold isn't really a problem as long as they have a decent coat, but cold, wet and windy weather can really chill, especially if the horses would rather stand on top of a hill in the open, rather than use the shelter. :rolleyes: When she started doing that, I did rug her.
 
So long as your pony has access to some form of shelter - be it a three sided shed, a hedge or even a dip in the ground he will be fine without a rug.

I have a photo taken many years ago of my first pony on Xmas day with a back covered in ice - she was a warm as toast underneath, it just shows how insulating the winter coat is.

What leaves them cold is heavy rain and strong chill winds, and this is the time when they need to get out of the path of the wind, and for some people they look on in dismay to see their treasure standing in the paddock, the lovely shelter not in use, its pouring with rain and windy but you can bet the horse has found a spot in the paddock that is actually sheltered.

When the grass is frosted or covered in snow feed plenty of hay as its digestion produces warmth. Shivering is natures way of increasing temperature as is having a hoon around the paddock

Avoid washing the horse if its to be left uncovered so it keeps the waterproofing oil in its coat.

Mike007 - I don't usually disagree with you here, they live far longer. There is a stallion here from the last Kaimanawa muster that is in his late teens and they lead a very harsh life out in the central plateau, a desert in summer and under deep snow in winter.
 
Depending on shelter and weather patterns where you live, I would probably at least have a lightweight turnout available just in case. I let my warmbloods out in snow without rugs cos they seem to enjoy playing in it, but in days of driving rain and no overhead shelter I would want to know I had a rug available in case i saw signs of rainscald etc.
 
If you have access to a stable then I don't believe any horse needs a rug-if we get prolonged periods of wet then just bring in for a night to allow them to dry off. If given ad lib forage then even without a stable the vast majority of horses are fine rugless unless clipped.
the best thing you can do in preparation is reduce your grooming to no more than a flick over with a dandy brush-this allows the grease in the coat to reach optimum levels and make the coat more weather proof.
ad lib hay, natural shelter and no grooming are all ideal for a horse in winter.
we interfere with their natural coat-mine is fully clipped in winter as she gets so sweaty despite being fit but she still only wears a light/medium weight no neck rug unless temperatures plummet-current yard rules are that they need to be in at night from october and she wont be clipped or rugged till then.
 
gnubee said:
Depending on shelter and weather patterns where you live, I would probably at least have a lightweight turnout available just in case. I let my warmbloods out in snow without rugs cos they seem to enjoy playing in it, but in days of driving rain and no overhead shelter I would want to know I had a rug available in case i saw signs of rainscald etc.
Click to expand...

rainscald is more common in rugged horses as the bacteria bred faster in a hot damp climate, so over hot horses are very succeptable-that is why bringing a horse in for a night to dry and rubber curry combing (to expose the skin to the air by lifting a 'set coat) to is the best prevention rather than rugging
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top