Manners during Rug changing - Advice please

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SecretSquirrell379

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My mare is 'strong willed' at the best of times but she is normally pretty good with her manners. If she slips up either a push back or a growl sorts her out. However, the last couple of weeks or so she has started getting a bit more bulshy and I am not sure how best to handle it.

Bit of background first. She is living out 24/7 this winter and she has a field shelter that she uses. She also has her haynet in there and I feed her in there too. While she is munching her dinner and breakfast I change her rugs. What she has started to do is whilst eating she keeps going in and out of the shelter and if I am in the way I just get barged. I have tried to grab her as she goes out but she has literally taken off with me. I have lost my temper a few times with her constant 'tooing and froing' and I have grabbed her by the neck rug, shouted at her to stand up and she has stood still whilst I change her. She is taking the pee for sure but I don't know how best to stop her doing it. She was a good as gold for my hubby when he was doing her last week but messed my friend about when she did her.

I have just come out of hospital (hence the help last week) and I can not afford to get knocked over and have not got the strength to hang on to her.

Before I decide on a course of action (headcollar, sending her away if she does it, a good beating
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) I thought I would ask for some opinions first.

Thank you xx
 
Why don't you tie her up while you feed her? Or change rugs after she has eaten and when you can tie her up without the distraction of food. My horses are quite protective of their feeds and although I can go in their stables while they eat I wouldn't attempt to change their rugs, imagine if someone was changing your jacket while you ate your fave chinese! Don't risk your safety just find something else to do while she eats.
 
Quite simply don't change her rugs when she's eating. And always have someone to hold her for you.

This is a real pet hate of mine - and short cut that so many people seem willing to take, risking their own personal safety, and their horses enjoyment of their food.
 
I would just not change her rugs while she is eating?

Blue gets very stroppy with me when i try to change his rugs if he's eating his hay or his feed - solution is to tie him up outside and do his rugs first!
 
I can't tie her up whilst she is eating, the hay ring is too high to safely tie her too and thats the only tying point in the shelter. I would put the head collar on her and hold it whilst doing the rugs so she knows I have contact with her. *touch wood* she has not run out when the rug is not fastened securley. I do the rugs up so damn fast just in case! Maybe I need to get hubby to put a ring in there so I can tied her up?
 
I have always changed her rugs whilst she eats and she is not bothered by that at all. She is just being nosey and pushing me. There is nowhere to tie her up outside. Sounds like the answer though is to put a tie point in the shelter
 
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Why don't you tie her up while you feed her? Or change rugs after she has eaten and when you can tie her up without the distraction of food. My horses are quite protective of their feeds and although I can go in their stables while they eat I wouldn't attempt to change their rugs, imagine if someone was changing your jacket while you ate your fave chinese! Don't risk your safety just find something else to do while she eats.

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She is not protective of her food at all, neither of mine are, well not towards humans, other horses are different though. She is not bothered about having her rugs changed whilst she eats, if she was I wouldn't do it.
 
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Quite simply don't change her rugs when she's eating. And always have someone to hold her for you.

This is a real pet hate of mine - and short cut that so many people seem willing to take, risking their own personal safety, and their horses enjoyment of their food.

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There is no one to hold her for me, its not a big livery yard. Its not a shortcut at all, just my routine. She has started taking the mick the last couple of weeks, she has been good for the last 2 years so don't know what has changed
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well, you did ask for advise and that is what has been given?

people as well as horses change - so perhaps what she used to be happy with, is now not the case - i would def get a tie ring put inside the shelter - and tie her up. doing 2 things at once isn't the best, and by the fact she's not tied, she doesn't know not to wander? there are no barriers for her to work in.

Bx
 
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of course I do! she has lighter rugs on during the day when its not so cold and an extra one on at night when the temperature drops, isn't that what everyone does
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Good grief no. Rug on - end of.

Mind you the only horses out 24/7 at my place are unclipped and unworked at present - so have no need to have weights changed.
 
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well, you did ask for advise and that is what has been given?

people as well as horses change - so perhaps what she used to be happy with, is now not the case - i would def get a tie ring put inside the shelter - and tie her up. doing 2 things at once isn't the best, and by the fact she's not tied, she doesn't know not to wander? there are no barriers for her to work in.

Bx

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Oh no I didn't mean it like that
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I do appreciate the advice but I don't think that it is the rug changing whilst feeding that is the problem. I was more after how to get her to stop and it seems that most people would recommend tieing up so thats the first step. If she is still not happy then I will try letting her eat then do them after and see if that makes a difference

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If she is still not happy then I will try letting her eat then do them after and see if that makes a difference

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Me thinketh that naglett could be the boss??????
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It would be nice if she did what made you happy.
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of course I do! she has lighter rugs on during the day when its not so cold and an extra one on at night when the temperature drops, isn't that what everyone does
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Good grief no. Rug on - end of.

Mind you the only horses out 24/7 at my place are unclipped and unworked at present - so have no need to have weights changed.

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Blimey I wished!!
 
Does she leave her feed to wander in and out? I change rugs, groom and pick out Chex feet while he's eating, always have done! He wanders off after he's finished eating if there's empty buckets around. I usually say stand, and hold onto his rug, or nip to his head and ask him to stand. Having a horse stand whilst not tied up is essential to me, I rarely tie up (not in stupid situations obviously!), he knows to stand still when I say stand, unless there's food around. We tend to go through cycles, he'll stand perfectly, then he'll start to move a little, then more and push his luck. If he's being a pain I leave a headcollar and grab it as he walks off. He knows fine well what I'm asking though! He's just a chancer!
 
Yep she leaves her food and wanders out. I think that she is pushing me too,

I know that she should do what I want her to do, so I will do the tieing up first. I do want her to be happy as well though!
 
When Toffee was out 24/7 she was unclipped and had no rug at all, but surely if you rug, you have to change them? A rug to keep a horse warm enough at night would be too heavy for the days - we are having more than 10 degrees c difference in temperatures here at the moment. Even if you keep the same rug on, presumably you would take it off at least once a day to check the horse is ok and the rug is not wet.
 
oh - just checking
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the horse though needs to be 2nd in command to you, and at the mo (from what you are saying) it's not! She's the boss...!

I would also never keep the same rug on a horse for more than about 3 days, to ensure it's not rubbing - heard a tale from my farrier on Saturday where someone was looking after someone else's horse - and they didn't change the rug for 2 weeks, and all the skin from it's wither came off with the rug - many skin grafts later, and 6 months off - it's just back in work.

Bx
 
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Even if you keep the same rug on, presumably you would take it off at least once a day to check the horse is ok and the rug is not wet.

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Nope - but they are looked at up close and personal.
 
No. Once my horses are in their rugs for the winter - that's it! If the temperature goes below -30celsius then yes I may put on extra rugs on the older horses and then take them off again once the temperature stabilises again at -15C. But I certainly don't do it every day LOL!! It would take me all day to get them all off and by the time I got them off, it would be time to put them all back on again.

Personally in your situation, since you have no tie-up ring (you could get one of course) is buy a 10ft lead rope and always have this on her when you are doing whatever with her rugs, that way if she fuffs around then you just lunge her until she stops and stands still. They aren't that stupid and she will quickly cotton on that if she doesn't muff around, then the job will be done faster.

I don't and would never feed my horses when I am doing anything with them. Feed time is a quite time for my guys, with no interference from anyone.
 
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oh - just checking
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the horse though needs to be 2nd in command to you, and at the mo (from what you are saying) it's not! She's the boss...!

I would also never keep the same rug on a horse for more than about 3 days, to ensure it's not rubbing - heard a tale from my farrier on Saturday where someone was looking after someone else's horse - and they didn't change the rug for 2 weeks, and all the skin from it's wither came off with the rug - many skin grafts later, and 6 months off - it's just back in work.

Bx

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Oh my god, poor horse
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My mare is certainly in charge at the moment during rug changing. I do shout at her but then she puts this 'I'm a battered pony' act on and flinches when go near her, she is too damn clever for her own good!!

She will get the headcollar on tonight and see how we go and get hubby to put a ring up for me this weekend.

When I first got her she was a boss full stop! It has taken a while to get her to respect me and listen to me and she normally does..........well normally!!
 
My guys have their rugs taken off about once every couple of weeks just to check their condition, but apart from that, no they never have them off until the temperatures warm up a bit. We don't have rain here in the winter so no fear of rugs getting wet.
 
-30
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thats blinking cold!

I probably make a lot of work for myself but she has her rugs changed morning and night and a complete swap around every week so that she doesn't get rug rub in the same place all the time.

Everyone does things differently, its nice to get everyones opinions and ideas.
 
Ahh mine are all in Fals and Rambos which never rub them thank goodness. And yes -30 is blooming cold.....but not as cold as -40!!
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Thankfully we don't get too many days of -40.

Mine all live out 24/7 and most of them only have 1 heavyweight Fal rug on and they are toasty warm.
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Maybe I need to invest in one of those Fal rugs that detects their body temperature so I don't need to change rugs next year!! I think its that Fal one that does that??

Brrr making me cold thinking about -40!
 
Could be an idea.....however make sure you have her sorted out with the rug changing aswell; you don't want her to think she can get away with treating you like this.
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