Losing the will to live, rug advice

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flirtygerty

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Edited version of a long story, having to move house with four horses, found a new house with a field, which means my horses, who have always had the option of coming into a stable if they want, will now have to live out, my 20yr old TB woose, who uses stables a lot, needs a new rug, well he doesn't really, he has everything from a fleece lined TO, to a NZ, currently happy in his fleecy TO, but I'm stressing about keeping him warm without a stable, I only ever rug when they need it and only my two veterans wear rugs, the other two are unrugged all year.
Any suggestions as to what to get him.
 
I'd just play it by ear and see how they do. My 15 year old arab has always been a wuss, he shivers if it rains in the summer and was used to being stabled a lot. Got him at the start of this year and he is currently out 24/7 in a 300g if the temp gets to around 5 degrees, otherwise he is in a lightweight if it's warm but raining or like tonight, forecast dry and around 8 degrees for the night and he is out naked. I have his 400g on standby for when the snow comes.

I check the forecasts and rug accordingly, and regularly check his body temperature to see whether he is too hot/cold... just because I'm frozen doesn't mean he is!

As long as they have plenty of hay (if not a lot of grass) they will keep themselves warm. Being outside moving around and foraging for food is better at keeping them warm than being stood still rugged up to their eyeballs in a stable!
 
Mine are lucky in that they can choose to be in or out, they have access 24/7 to the field/barn and I prefer them to be unrugged and muddy, rather than clean and rugged, the only time mine are shut in stables is when being fed,some are just on token feed, but my two 20 yr olds, one arthritic, one a poor doer get a hard feed with supplements, the poor doer TB spends a lot of time in the barn by choice, which is why I worry about him, but I fully agree with your comments.
PS love your photo of the child with the pony
 
I look after a 29 year old mare who is on joint supplements for her stiffness and has problems with her hocks, so she benefits much more from being out and usually has heavier rugs on than the others as she feels the cold. Could you scatter their hay round the field to encourage him to venture out?

Thank you, my son was super excited to get his first pony a few months ago :)
 
The problem with here is the field slopes and is slippy in the wet, the acess to the barn is knee deep mud, hence him standing in the barn, the new field is pretty level and well drained, but I would rather have an appropriate rug ready for when needed, if needed than have to go looking for one quickly, you see my dilema
 
I love the Rambo rugs as can change the liners accordingly. My old tb lived out for a while at old yard and these rugs were perfect. Expensive to buy but never rubbed and still going strong. I could use either a 100 or 200 liner under either a medium or heavy weight - brilliant rugs and he was so much happier for the freedom so try not to fret :-) x
 
I agree that the Rambo Duo is brilliant for horses out 24/7. My 26 yr old TB lives out all year and I wouldn't be without mine. She's not clipped and I can go from 100g to 400g as need be. Despite the weight of the fill the rug feels light compared to others I've had and is super quick to get on and change liners. Also no leg straps! (Hate hate leg straps).
My girl gets a senior feed in a warm mash twice a day and spends the remaining 23 and a half hours of the day with her head stuck into a round bale. It gets pretty damn chilly here (-30 this week) and she does grand.
 
My Tbx had to live out for the first time last winter. We had just moved to a new place with land and didn't manage to get stables up before the winter. I had him out in a mark Todd heavyweight (he's xd Id so very deep chested).
He did loose a lot of condition and it took a good couple of months in the spring to get it back on. Although that's how horses are designed I wasn't happy as he did look very poor. That said, it was -10'C some nights and very windy. They ate their natural shelter so then had none! He was however cheerful (more cheery than in previous years when hes been in much of the winter) and warm enough. Lots of hay kept him warm however I should have thought about the condition and put in more food earlier.

Guess what I'm saying is that the rugging is just part of it. It's quite easy to keep them warm in a heavyweight with lots of hay but you will probably have to condition score weekly (which is hard if its blowing a gale and you'd rather just leave the rug on!), upping the feed accordingly. I also check the forecast, above 5'C means autumn weight rug, between -5 &5 means heavyweight and below -5'C I add a fleece under the heavyweight. You would find it helpful to have something to shelter behind, I had a 7ft garden fence and it was essential for tacking up, changing rugs and for vet visits (you can't easily listen to the heart/chest in a gale!)
 
The new amigo's also fit the liner system and are much cheaper and they do a heavy duty 1200D version - I have two for mine and they never leak
 
My mare lived out last Winter and wore her Rambo Duo all the time. Its a fab and very versatile rug, had mine 8yrs now and its still going strong. Never leaked and I have all the liners to go with it. Its not cheap but well worth it and you wont need any other rug. Check Ebay, they do pop up on there and sometimes with liners.
 
Thanks all for the useful suggestions, he is already dropping weight, although I don't like them overweight, I do feel, given the mild temps, it's a bit early in the winter to be losing weight, so he's now on two feeds a day and is still toasty in his fleecy TO. I do like the Amigos
 
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