Light Weight Rug - More harm then good?

[3Beasties]

Sorry wasn't really sure how to title this!

Last winter my Welsh X 2 year old lived out un-rugged. She managed for the majority of the Winter fine but did drop some weight coming towards the end.

As I am hoping to back her in this Spring I want to make sure she comes out of Winter better then last. At the moment she lives out with not much natural shelter so with all the rain we had I thought she'd be better off with a rain sheet on to keep her dry and therefore warm.

The last few days when I have felt under the rug she has felt quite cold so I'm beginning to think that the rug is doing more harm then good She had been rug-less all Autumn so had grown a fairly thick coat. I'm wondering if all the rug is doing is flatten her coat meaning she can't insulate herself as well. Does that sound about right?

It's been dry the last couple of days so I think I'll take it off her today and just see how she goes, my only concern is that she is half an hours drive away so if it starts raining I can't just pop out to put the rug back on her! What do you think, rug on or rug off?

She's coming home after Christmas hopefully so she'll be in at night and will be getting a bit more pampering but for now she's stuck where she is!

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Fany was unrugged all last winter, we live up a fell, and she was fine. Her coat just grew and grew, think yak! She did not lose condition either but then she is an incredibly good doer. What kind of coat does your youngster grow? Do you think be putting on a rug you have inhibited the growth? If so it should grow with the rug off. TBH I only use no fill rugs for keeping rain off and keeping my gelding in the field.

FDC

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

The coblet was naked all last winter and was as happy as a pig in muck!

Leave her naked and just make sure she has plenty of hay - she will keep herself warm

 

[SpottedCat]

Rugs do exactly what you describe - they flatten the coat and stop the horse from fluffing it up to provide a layer of insulating warm air. If you look at any stud, the youngsters won't be rugged during the winter. I wouldn't be rugging her even if it was raining, I don't think you're doing her any favours - welshies were, after all, designed to live on the welsh hills, so her type is no stranger to rain!

ETA: And I'd be thrilled if I owned a native x and it dropped weight coming out of winter - that's what they are supposed to do, so that when the first flush of grass comes through it doesn't turn them into obese laminitic monsters!

 

[friesian80]

Can you put up a field shelter, sounds like she might do better with better shelter and rugless.

 

[fatpiggy]

Horses keep themselves warm by fluffing up their fur (lofting) to trap the warm air between the hairs. Putting a lightweight on makes it hard to loft as the rug flattens the fur, hence they will potentially feel cold. I only really rug against the wet. I remember reading on another site about a girl who owned several TBs and lived in Northern Canada. She was commenting that it had been quite mild that day and the horses were out without their rugs - it was ONLY minus 9!

 

[AmyMay]

Rugs do exactly what you describe - they flatten the coat and stop the horse from fluffing it up to provide a layer of insulating warm air. If you look at any stud, the youngsters won't be rugged during the winter. I wouldn't be rugging her even if it was raining, I don't think you're doing her any favours - welshies were, after all, designed to live on the welsh hills, so her type is no stranger to rain!

This.

 

[JR2011]

I agree with what the others are saying.

However if you do wish to rug your horse that is your choice, perhaps popping a fleece on underneath the rainsheet would be better than just the rainsheet alone

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

Yeah, they can do more harm than good. The only reason I put on a lightweight is to keep the rain off, my horse doesnt mind the cold but as soon as its raining he stands at the gate waiting to come in from the rain (and he cant coz he lives out!) He keeps on trying to convince me that he melts in the rain...

 

[3Beasties]

SC - I wish my other one would drop weight coming out of Winter too but she doesn't! The youngster did drop off quite quickly towards the end of the Winter (more then what she should have done) and it took her a while to pick up again which is what I need to avoid this year.

I'm not usually fluffy with her (the other is still rugless and will be all winter) but we had heavy rain for days and she looked so miserable!! Didn't add the rain sheet so she would be warmer, it was more so she would be dry.

I can't put a field shelter up but she may be able to move fields soon into one with a big barn that they can shelter in if need be.

Will take her rug off this afternoon as it's forecast to be dry but cold so she'll be better without it I think!

 

[ISHmad]

When it is raining I think rainsheets can make them feel more cold. Good for keeping out icey winds though. Everyone is different, when it is forecast heavy rain here we use rugs with a light fill as it does seem to keep them that little bit warmer.

With little or no shelter available I would see if you can get a field shelter. If not I personally would rug if your horse is unable to get out of the worst of the weather.

 

[Polotash]

Agree with the comments on fluffing up when it's dry and cold... BUT when it's wet the coat can't trap any warm aim and they do get cold quickly. If she was mine I'd leave her naked when it's dry and stick the LW on as a rain sheet when it's wet.

 

[friesian80]

This is why I like the 100 gram filled rugs, it replaces the heat lost from flattering the coat without overheating.

 

[Wagtail]

Agree with the comments on fluffing up when it's dry and cold... BUT when it's wet the coat can't trap any warm aim and they do get cold quickly. If she was mine I'd leave her naked when it's dry and stick the LW on as a rain sheet when it's wet.

^^This.

Leaving them out unrugged when it's wet is worse than flattening the coat when it's dry IMO. My welsh x is naked most of the time and when out and when in her stable (she comes in at night). But when it rains she really feels the cold and shivers so she has a lightweight on when it is going to rain. I think that if she had to live out 24/7 and I wasn't around to put a rug on quickly, then I would put a lightweight turnout on and leave it on unless the weather turned warm and dry.

 

[Equinus]

I would rather not rug an unclipped horse, but if they come in wet in winter there is not the opportunity to move around to keep warm, so I use a rug in the depths of winter, but they are rugless when they come in at night. This worked well for my old Arab cross horse to the age of 28.

Our present horse is not rugged yet, there is loads of natural shelter in the field, but we haven't had much rain here. He doesn't have a very thick coat and as he is big and fills his stable he will need rugging against the wet, whatever weight he needs.

Horses always look miserable when it's raining, but they are not necessarily cold, they are all different.

 

[tristar]

lightweight nz's are really for summer, spring, autumn and to keep a horse dry when it has its summer coat, thats why they are not insulated, at a certain point in time a rug with insulation is needed to compensate for flattening the coat, go and check your horse at 4 -5 AM morning when it at its coldest, to see if its warm, if you really want to know.

lightweight for rain protection, spring summer autumn, medium weight for unclipped horses winter, heavyweight for clipped horses winter.

a lot depends on the horses coat and if it has access to a wind protected field shelter, no animal benefits from being cold and wet, especially when the coat is saturated, it can take many hours to dry, no need for winter misery with the modern breathable rugs, a great boon to horse and owner.

 

[CBFan]

OP I think I agree with you.

I've always had a medium weight for my youngster which saw him right through from November to February and he was always warm in it.

This year I bought a lightweight as he is now backed and i want to be able to ride him before work without grooming too much mud off! he has been absolutely fine with this until today when even by my standards, he was most definately cold under it (outside temp of minus 1). I think I will have to pop a medium weight on him overnight when the temp is going to drop below 0.

That said, If your youngster is coming home in the new year and lead a more pampered lifestyle I wouldn't be too concerned about him dropping some weight. He will soon put that back on with the change in lifestyle, never mind the extra food!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I have found that when it's rainy with cold winds, a LW rug does help the horse as it keeps the 'wind chill' off the horse. I am trying to find Smartex Rain rugs in the right sizes as they really are the best at this job and rain + cold wind is quite a common weather combo here.

 

[Mince Pie]

Rugs do exactly what you describe - they flatten the coat and stop the horse from fluffing it up to provide a layer of insulating warm air. If you look at any stud, the youngsters won't be rugged during the winter. I wouldn't be rugging her even if it was raining, I don't think you're doing her any favours - welshies were, after all, designed to live on the welsh hills, so her type is no stranger to rain!

ETA: And I'd be thrilled if I owned a native x and it dropped weight coming out of winter - that's what they are supposed to do, so that when the first flush of grass comes through it doesn't turn them into obese laminitic monsters!

Exactly this!

 

[FanyDuChamp]

I wish Fany had dropped weight after winter! No rug, no hard feed and she was still big! Still she is okay now but it is hard work!
FDC