Moving a heavyweight traditional cob to spain... will she cope?

booandellie

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To cut a long story short, my OH wants to move to spain next year and i am worried about what to do with my pony. He says we can take her with us, there appears to be lots of livery yards in the area and obviously i want to take her- she has turned out to be a dream pony for me and is helping me regain my confidence. The only thing i worry about is that it will be too hot for her. She is a real hairy beast with masses of mane. I have always had my horses for 'life' and the dilema is am i being unfair on her to take her somewhere she will be uncomfortable over not wanting anyone else to have her incase they don't look after the way she deserves. Has anyone else moved a traditional cob to a hot climate and how did they cope? I am trying to prepare myself to make the right choice for her ( other than divorce that is !!)
 

acorn92x

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Could you not clip her? That might make things cooler for her or stable her during the day and turnout at night when it's cooler? You may find that it's a more standard arrangement for horses in countries which are hotter. I would personally fully clip her out and see how she gets on - you could running plait her mane but personally it worries me seeing horses with plaits in turned out as they could catch it on something and cause themselves an injury.
 

booandellie

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I already stable her through the day and yes i would have to fully clip her and probably hog her mane :( but i am worried that won't be enough. I would feel better i think if i knew that other hairy breeds managed to adapt succesfully to hotter climates.
 

ester

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honestly? I wouldn't do it with my welshie, he would hate it, he puffs on a warm summers day over here.
 

acorn92x

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My Mum's friend moved her Fresian to Florida in the states successfully and she is obviously a bit of a heat magnet as is jet black! They do adjust although it takes time. They have barn type stabling with fans (Also helps when mucking out!), all horses get sprayed with water when coming in and go out at about 6am and come in from 12 noon then some go out again in the evenings or stay out all night and come in at 6am. Flies were also a problem initially and she absolutely hated them but with some stronger fly spray, she copes better. She's fully clipped and turned out with her mane plaits in a shady paddock so she isn't standing in the blazing sun all day. Initially she found it hard and sweated buckets when being ridden etc but she did adjust in time (Took her about 6 months) but she's now very settled out there. It can be done but you do have to be sensible (Which I am sure you would be) - I think you should give it a try, you're very right to be concerned but I think clipping, very frequent hosings off, getting rid of/plaiting her mane and looking at cool (Concrete - wood retains heat) barns with fans above the stables would be your best bet coupled with continuing to stable her during the day and keep her out at night.

It is horses for courses though - my cob wouldn't cope unless she was completely bald and kept in during the day but I do think she would adjust. Horses are amazing at adapting to new environments :)
 

booandellie

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That's what my head says, on a warm day she looks too hot even in her shadey stone built stable but i also can't begin to imagine finding her a new home. I see there are a few posters on here living in hotter climates than we have and was HOPING for some positive tales of how well they have adapted- but ultimately i will do the best thing for her.
 

booandellie

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Thanyou acorn92x. And yes flies are also a concern, she has a sarcoid that i'm treating at the moment and flies+ sarcoids is not a good combination though i am hoping it will be gone in the next month or so
 

acorn92x

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I know we have a few users who are from Spain and the US so hopefully one of them will be able to help you, unfortunately, I don't have any first hand experience at this :( Your girl is very lucky to have such a thoughtful owner.
 

Casey76

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We have a light/medium weight cob on our yard who was an import from the UK.

Despite being hogged and clipped she struggles in the summer. She has been back to Scotland once for a year, and will be going back in autumn this year for good, as she does so much better in a cooler climate.

Now, she isn't any heavier than my French-bred cob, and he was always fine in summer - though I used to plait his mane and he had no feather to speak about.
 

booandellie

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We have a light/medium weight cob on our yard who was an import from the UK.

Despite being hogged and clipped she struggles in the summer. She has been back to Scotland once for a year, and will be going back in autumn this year for good, as she does so much better in a cooler climate.

Now, she isn't any heavier than my French-bred cob, and he was always fine in summer - though I used to plait his mane and he had no feather to speak about.

Oh Poop! so divorce is actually looking like the most viable option...
 

Sukistokes2

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Oh Poop! so divorce is actually looking like the most viable option...

I like the way you think!!!!

Do you know what part of Spain, so that you could judge temperatures. IMPO I would want to give her a chance to go, maybe move her at the coolest part of the year so she has time to adjust and then plan your activities around her comfort, when a plan B to move her back home if all else fails.......

or find a new husband ;)
 

booandellie

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We are moving to sitges near barcelona, hubby has wanted to go for ages but i am happy here and have been putting it off for one reason or another but he tied me down to giving him an approximate time frame and i said september next year. I planned to move her to my sisters place until i find the right yard but i am VERY picky which is why i have my horse at home! I f i do take her i would move her in winter though for sure though i'm even less sure now
 

skewbaldmillie

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I went out to Dubai for 2 years with an ish and cob x . We clipped the cob and only turned her out at night. If the syabkes don't have fans then just buy a heavy duty one and plug it in. I would however suggest hogging or thinning out as the cob did used to sweat under her mane even when plaited. The ish was fine unclipped. For exercising start out just doing walks with a little trotting or very gentle lungeing for a few weeks until she works out how to regulate her body temperature when she is exercising. I would say go for it though! Horses are incredible at adapting.
 

PollyP99

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I had a share of a Dutch warmblood living in France imported from UK and he HATED the weather there. his owner sold up and came back in the end and now he's happily back to his old self. It's the flies and lack of grazing that did it for her and that was in a region that wasn't mad hot (South west). I still own a place infrance with room for many ponies but I wouldn't take my section d there, she struggles here.
 

Honey08

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I would go over there for a look. Have a good look at yards and facilities and be very honest about whether you think she'd cope or not.
 

sunnyone

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I took 3 to Murcia, which is about 7 hours driving time further south, and they did not adapt well. We went in Dec and by May had taken them to Aquitaine in France, where they settled immediately.
However Barcelona is a lot cooler, and grass grows naturally, so that could be one hurdle covered. I've commented on the fly issue several times in the Overseas forum so won't duplicate my comments again.
With regard to fans in stables. I don't think you'll be that lucky if the place is owned by a Spaniard. Remember agricultural Spain is still very traditional and horses are an agricultural animal.
What the best yards have is really heavy curtaining in plastic, strips for doors in and out, and pull across for box doors and sides.
Everybody showers the horses regularly, and the German speakers tend to vacuum theirs using a Hetty and a special attachment.
If you can leave the mane long, I would, Spaniards appreciate long manes and their plaiting skills are an art form in themselves for which a short mane is useless.
On balance I would start looking for a yard if the husband is a keeper. Good luck.
 

booandellie

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Thankyou for all the opinions both good and bad- we are going for another visit in september and i fully intend to do a thorough investigation of the local liveries because if i can't find one she won't be going FULL STOP!! I intended to move her to my sister's livery yard next august while we get moved ourselves, if i think she will cope i would move her december time but if not i will have to find someone to take her on full loan to stay at my sister's where she can keep an eye on her and i can visit every couple of months . I just cannot sell her as i can't guarantee her future that way. And who knows, if i don't like it there i will be coming back !!
 

Mongoose11

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I certainly wouldn't move mine as she struggles in the uk even though she is clipped! I also wouldn't trust the standard of care on a local Spanish yard having seen some horrors. I couldn't ever sell her so I'd send her on retirement livery in the UK if necessary.
 
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