Native ponies and winter?

fidleyspromise

fidleyspromise

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Hello,

For those of you with natives, can you answer a couple of questions for me please?

1. Do you rug at all?
2. If so, what type of rug?
3. Does your horse live out all winter?
4. Does your horse have shelter?
5. How did they cope with Winter last year?

I have a highland who lives out, has no shelter access and she coped fine with the winter except for a handful of days here and there where I did put a rug on her because she was miserable and spinning in circles. - Once she had her L/W rug on, she seemed a lot more content.

I now have a Newfie and wonder how she'll cope because she doesn't seem as hardy as the Highland. I have got couple of thicker rugs for her.

Looking for any / all of your experiences, thanks.
 
Hi

I have a Welsh D, a NF, a vaguely native pony, and far too many shetlands! In the past, have had a Luso, Spanish x Welsh, Welsh A, Spanish x TB, other Welsh & NFs, and a few other vaguely native types.

1. Not as a matter of routine - only if they need it, but then I've also not been clipping much the last few years, and if I do clip it has only been a tummy / neck, so they've not had naked bits for a rug to cover. LW turnouts only, with no fill.

2. Yes, mostly they do. Occasionally they spend part of the winter in, to save the ground, just overnight. I like to bring them all in daily for at least a short time, to get a break from the elements.

3. Natural shelter only, tho we have had stables or a barn to bring them into for a while for a break.

4. They coped brilliantly with last winter. The snow wasn't an issue for them at all, and they didn't need rugging, just extra hay, as the grass was buried. The colder winters they cope with fine - it is the wet ones that are harder.

I generally find they can cope with being cold, or wet, but it's when you add the two together, or add windy to wet that things become tricky, and that's when they need a rug and / or to come in for a bit for a break. Sometimes just coming in for an hour or two with hay, and a chance to dry off a bit is enough.
 
Your NF probably isn;t quite as hardy as your Highland.

1. Yes I do rug, depending on pony/workload etc. Last year, welsh was fully clipped and rugged, and stabled at night - doing lots of work. This year, occasional hacking, so no clipping, and will rug lightly in worst of weather if needed.

2. Type of rug - this year, lightweight turnout if weather really vile, last year, all sorts!!

3. This year yes

4. has natural shelter. (hedging and trees round edge of field)

5. Coped very well last year but was rugged and stabled. Other native was not rugged at all, had field shelter, and lived out. Coped well.

I would have a couple of turnouts for your NF for when the weather is bad. You will need a couple of each really for drying purposes. Lighweights, light/medium should be fine. Main thing is having enough to eat.
 
Hi, I have a welsh X and shetland (both in my sig,)
Both live out all year and I only rug my big birl if she's clipped.
I leave their stable doors open and bring them into my top field at night, so that they can both wonder in and out as they please (I have to put my girls hay in a rack or net though, to stop the shetland exploding!

They cope fine this way, I do feed my girl almost double the amount of hard feed and hay than in the Summer, but as a result of this, other than being alot hairer/muddier she looks no different in the winter than she does in the summer (weight wise)
 
1. Do you rug at all?
if we are showing in the winter I rug the shettie in a lightweight waterproof but this year he has no rider so he is out naked with his section A retired companion who occassionally has a lightweight on depending on the weather. My NF has a waterproof mainy because she is a wussbag and so thin coated all year round (she reminds me of a mini tb not hardy at all) She is rugged mainly because my daughter will ride her most days and it keeps her cleaner to save time. My two veteran mares who are cross breds (arab x welsh and connie x TB) are in their 30's so have rugs for every weather.

2. If so, what type of rug? summer turnouts when I need it on the sec a and the shettie and the others have a variety of rugs from 200g upwards to suit the weather

3. Does your horse live out all winter? Half do half dont. The NF and Connie cross live in at night but the arab x welsh(hates stables) and the little ones live out.

4. Does your horse have shelter? We have a high thick hedge in the little ones paddock and the oap's and nf have an open fronted shelter in their paddock

5. How did they cope with Winter last year? the 37 year old managed to hold her weight until March but then it dropped badly so am ready for that this year. The others dropped weight as usual and put it back through the summer. The connie x and NF didn't want to leave the stable in the snow and had to be dragged out for a couple of hours a day but the others were happy enough. I think I felt the winter more than them!
 
Hello,

For those of you with natives, can you answer a couple of questions for me please?

This is for my current natives - elderly Welsh Section D and Section A

1. Do you rug at all? Not until I absolutely have to - ie when the old boy comes up and wants his rug on. If I can't catch him he's not wanting me to put it on. He makes it very clear when he does.
2. If so, what type of rug? Straight into the heavier end of medium I'm afraid
3. Does your horse live out all winter?Usually
4. Does your horse have shelter?They can find objects to shelter behind
5. How did they cope with Winter last year? Last year because the ground was so awful and my husband objects to them trashing the field they came in part way through


I have a highland who lives out, has no shelter access and she coped fine with the winter except for a handful of days here and there where I did put a rug on her because she was miserable and spinning in circles. - Once she had her L/W rug on, she seemed a lot more content.

I now have a Newfie and wonder how she'll cope because she doesn't seem as hardy as the Highland. I have got couple of thicker rugs for her.

Prior to this I had an AA mare and another Section D. The Anglo mare was absolutely fine living out with minimal shelter and rugged as little as I felt I could get away with. That Section D though was nearly sent home from PC camp when the weather dropped from 30 degrees to 20 degrees in a couple of days. He was shivering and acting up and it wasn't until they rang me to come and collect him and I suggested they stick a rug on him that anyone twigged quite what a sensitive flower he was. He certainly would not have been happy treated the same as the AA mare.

Looking for any / all of your experiences, thanks. I should see how the Newfie goes, she may be happy with not much in the way of rugs, play it by ear. Currently mine are all still out 24/7 unrugged - thats a 3/4 TB 1/4 Shire, a full TB, a KWPN as well as the two Welshies. I take rugs with me for the TB and the KWPN every time I go to them but they've never yet been chilly so the rugs stay off. The TB X Shire hates being too hot and is too fat so she will stay unrugged for longer than the other two horses.
 
1. Yes, my native type is full clipped all winter. He's rugged as a any other breed. But if I left unclipped he cope live out as grows a very thick coat hence the full clip.

2. Outside is between a medium and Heavy weatherbeeta combo depending on temp outside.

3+ 4. He's stabled a night and out during the day.

5. I clip and stable as i ride daily and compete so suits his life style. But he would happily stay out in the cold, rain and winds as long as rugged.

Sorry not much help regarding living out.
 
We have two NF's. They both live out 24/7, 365 in a North facing sloping field with a large Hawthorn hedge all the way down the S West side, so they can stay out of most of the wind and rain until it comes from the N East, but still have overhanging shelter when they want it.

They have two mangers of hayledge once a day and a small feed in the evening. This year we have changed to hay and will be giving them less as there will be more grass and their condition will dictate the amount and type of feed.

H is younger and more robust, so he only had a rain sheet / lightweight rug on most of the winter and actually came out of winter carrying much too much weight.

F is seventeen and a finer build, so she was in a light to middle weight rug, and was watched very carefully when we had snow for a fortnight.

NF's are tough and will happily live on poor grass. Even in the middle of winter, when they were having to dig the snow to get to the grass underneath they maintained their weight.

Two fields down from us there is a Highland gelding who was fed far more and rugged up much more than out two, so I really wouldn't be too concerned, they are natives after all.
 
1. Do you rug at all?
2. If so, what type of rug?
3. Does your horse live out all winter?
4. Does your horse have shelter?
5. How did they cope with Winter last year?


Genie - 15hh 6 yr old Welsh Cob
1. Yes.
2. Rug weight dependent on weather.
3. No. She is in at night and clipped out.
4. Hedges.
5. Absolutely brilliant.

Titch - 14hh yearling, 1/2 Gypsy cob, 1/4 welsh cob, 1/4 pinto
1. Yes
2. A lightweight turnout, purely to keep her cleaner.
3. She will be out until December or until YO says they have to come in.
4. Hedges.
5. I didn't own her, but she was unrugged, stabled at night, and absolutely fine.
 
Shy had a lightweight rug (to keep him clean - ish !) on till the really bad weather hit. I was at a yard where they had to come in from Oct - April :( but this year will be much more easy going.

I got a lot of stick at said yard as I was "ruining his coat" blah,blah,blah. While the other poor natives all had rainscald, rampant lice, and don't get me started on them not being fed.

Shy came out of the winter looking much better than he'd gone into it, and I don't give a stuff what others think now ! sm x
 
I have an old native x mare and a young native x filly. They live out 24/7 all year, old mare is ridden once a week through winter, so no clipping needed. The youngster does no work yet.

1.
I only rug if the weather is due to be persistantly wet, if it is cold and dry, even -11 last winter, they are out without rugs. Those 100g Weatherbeeta medium/lite rugs are brilliant, not too warm ,but with a little filling to add a bit of warmth without over heating them.

My vet once said that If their coat feels cold, but their skin feels warm, then they are fine. It is when it's the other way round or when you see steam coming off them that they are loosing body heat trying to keep warm.

I spend summer not overgrooming them to give them a chance to grow and build up a good layer of hair and grease, it seems a shame to cover up with rugs what nature has provided for them naturally.

I must add though, that all horses are different of course, and i am lucky that mine are always in need of a bit of winter weight loss!

2.Weatherbeeta 100g turnouts. Have been known to throw a lightweight combo rug over the top of that in particularly nasty weather.

3.

Yes

4.

Yes, natural only, but we are lucky to have good thick tall hedges and trees and a few hilly patches to hide from the wind.

5.

Very well, they lost a little weight, but they needed to and theyve soon put it back on now.

I agree with the earlier poster, it's all about making sure they have enough forage to eat, eg hay/haylege etc. Helps to keep them warm by keeping their guts moving and generating heat!!
 
1. Do you rug at all?
Yes because I usually clip my Highland out to some extent depending how much work he's going to be doing, he's also a bit of a wimp and never gets a very thick coat anyway not sure if that has to do with being rugged all year round from having sweet itch

2. If so, what type of rug?
Depends how much he gets clipped off, he has a wide range though from 100g rugs to 350g combo, which even in that he's not boiling just right.

3. Does your horse live out all winter?
Unfortunatley not but is usually out during the day aslong as it hasn't been raining loads and so the ground gets awful, or if it snows and can't get them to the fields. Has rugs on to suit weather and if he's clipped.

4. Does your horse have shelter?
No not in the field, is on the top of a hill and does get very cold and windy so only shelter they have is hedges, though they dont really do anything as so thin.

5. How did they cope with Winter last year?
Coped fine kept a good weight for him, did get a bit stupid when they had to be in because of the snow. Did have to have his heavyweight on though during the snow as had just re-clipped him the day it started snowing.
 
The new forests that I know have trees for shelter down one side of their massive field and they're in Rambo/Rhino rugs which arn't overly heavy and they seem to do pretty well. They're out 24/7/365 days

Know two Eriskays who are in at night because of the yard regulations but are out during the day with no rugs.
 
1. Do you rug at all? I have two NFs - no, they are not rugged. I wouldn't cross my mind to rug them. They grow coats like teddy bears!
2. If so, what type of rug? N/A
3. Does your horse live out all winter? Yes
4. Does your horse have shelter? Only trees and hedges
5. How did they cope with Winter last year? Absolutely fine
 
Thank you for your replies everyone (especially those with Newfies).

I think I probably do worry more for her because she has shown signs of shivering throughout the summer rain. :( She's 3 yrs old although she has put on weight while being with me). Hopefully her winter coat will come in and she'll be okay but I'd prefer to prepare myself.

Our paddock is totally open and there is very little shelter although on one side there are trees to give them a bit of relief but not much.

I'll try to avoid rugging her (unless necessary) and have ensured I have plenty of hay for the winter.
 
mishaspey said:
Hello,

For those of you with natives, can you answer a couple of questions for me please?

1. Do you rug at all?
2. If so, what type of rug?
3. Does your horse live out all winter?
4. Does your horse have shelter?
5. How did they cope with Winter last year?

I have a highland who lives out, has no shelter access and she coped fine with the winter except for a handful of days here and there where I did put a rug on her because she was miserable and spinning in circles. - Once she had her L/W rug on, she seemed a lot more content.

I now have a Newfie and wonder how she'll cope because she doesn't seem as hardy as the Highland. I have got couple of thicker rugs for her.

Looking for any / all of your experiences, thanks.
Click to expand...

1. Yes
2. Heavy weight as clipped
3. No, out in day in at night
4. Yes
5. No so good when snow as didn't like being out for long but if no snow fine
 
mishaspey said:
Hello,

For those of you with natives, can you answer a couple of questions for me please?

1. Do you rug at all?
2. If so, what type of rug?
3. Does your horse live out all winter?
4. Does your horse have shelter?
5. How did they cope with Winter last year
Click to expand...



1. No
2. Not applicable
3. Yes, 24/7
4. Yes, a field shelter and hawthorn hedging but rarely uses shelter in winter, more in summer to get away from sun and flies.
5. He was fine, didn't even grow that thick a coat which worried me for a while given the stupidly low temperatures. He didn't drop any weight over winter and was fine :)
 
Hi there my welsh d unexpectedly wintered out from Dec when the shed roof collapsed with the weight of the snow. She wore a rambo wug & did too well, very very fat come spring. We got down to -18 and had no problems with any of the horses being out. (cobs & cob crosses & a hippo). THe only shelter they had was trees & hedges & we put out haylage although probably too much as they all got far too fat! I think we over compensated as it was so cold. They were also fine with the wind & rain as they all huddled together. The highland in the field only had on a lightweight rug. My pony will be in this winter as I want to ride most nights but she will only be wearing a middle weight rug. There are 2 highlands down the road & they wintered out very well with no rugs at all but they did look like wooly mamoths & they didnt get ridden at all.
 
I've got a section a and a section d x tb.

1- not unless I have to- only when it gets seriously seriously cold
2- only use light to medium weight, I'm not into pampering natives (especially when they're fat!)
3- they both live out all winter- the section a was born on the mountains so prefers being out
4- in my top paddock there is a shelter for them to use and in the bottom one there's loads of trees to shelter under (and we may be building a shelter for them)
5- last winter was the first winter I used a heavy rug on my section a and I regret it because she didn't lose as much during winter as I'd hoped. So this winter there'll be no heavy rugs! Both of mine grow quite thick coats and don't shed out totally until quite late.
 
Hello, I have a fairly chunky 14.2hh irish cob who used to live out all year round totally unrugged along with the rest of our crew in the depths of wet wales!
Now she is 20 I do have to rug a bit more than when she was younger

1. Do you rug at all? Yes

2. If so, what type of rug? She mostly just has a lightweight on all winter now, even in the snow we had

3. Does your horse live out all winter? Yes, she very rarely comes in, literally only if she wants to come in


4. Does your horse have shelter? Been at various yards and places over the years and not all have had shelter, some have had lots and some not much, but she has lived quite happily, rugs are excellent these days


5. How did they cope with Winter last year? She coped perfectly well last winter, just got plenty of hay, as she does all year round due to being a laminitic
 
I have a welsh section a x cob. This is our first winter together but he will have a neck and tummy clip so will be rugged with either no fill amigo's with necks (sometimes with a thin sheet underneath) or rambo supreme's (200g) He will live out as long as possibe as he hates being stabled and until I bought him he wintered out without rugs!

There's a few tree's at the top of the field but cant see them doing much to protect them.
 
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We have a NF

1. Do you rug at all? Not often
2. If so, what type of rug?He has 1 x neckless MW which we used overnight in the worst of the cold weather - without we'd find him in the morning with a layer of frost or snow down his mane and back which showed how well his thick coat insulated him, but I think he did appreciate it when it went down very cold overnight. He also has a rainsheet we occasionally use if he's needing to be kept clean
3. Does your horse live out all winter? Yes, he's never been stabled and I rather think (unless there was enough hay to eat all night) he'd just jump out...
4. Does your horse have shelter? We have trees round 3 sides of the field, one side is very sheltered,m the other has a good spot under the neighbours hedge. However it does get the westerly winds across the parkland, so we bought a field shelter which arrived after the snow had gone, and it took over a month for it to be used by them
5. How did they cope with Winter last year? Absolutely fine so long as there was something to eat even if he had to dig for it (loves his food)

I would expect your NF will still have mostly summer coat, which is shiny and short. Ours arrived in November with a lovely long and very thick fluffy coat, which lined many birds nests in our garden!
 
i have a welsh c, and she's a wimp, she is light weight rugged sept and oct, heavy in nov - mid dec, sometimes if very cold heavy weight and a lightweight till end jan, if not to bad just the heavy till end feb then lightweight in march then off until sept, as i said she is a wimp though and weight drops off her easily. She has natural shelter and the ground is amazing so no boggy mud and stays nice (sand based fields)
 
i have a NF if unclipped he gets so hairy he is like a mamouth - his leg pits get very hairy and his face too he has to wear the next size up head collar in the winter as his face is so hairy. his fur is so thick it seems to have three different layers.

he lives out and has a chaser clipped so is rugged - in the snow he was wearing a HW rambo wug and was snug and happy. his field has lots of natural shelter and in the snow he ate 2 slices of hay a day and had a small bucket feed - and dug for grass. he did loose weight but to be honest he needed to as he went into winter a bit tubby.

here is a picture of him in the purple rug and two other NFs who also share his field. One was not rugged at all and fine and the other wore a MW. Not all NF are the same though these 3 are all quite sturdy hairy ones and came into winter carrying a bit of extra weight. There were also unrugged cobs and a shetland in the same field and they too was fine.

cold as in snow or low temperatures do not seem to be a problem persistent heavy rain however seems to be more of an issue.

snow006.jpg
 
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In connection with my then 2.5yo forest run nf filly who I brought home in January when the snow came as she was slipping back a bit condition-wise...

1. Do you rug at all? NO
2. If so, what type of rug? N/A
3. Does your horse live out all winter? YES
4. Does your horse have shelter? ONLY NATURAL STUFF
5. How did they cope with Winter last year? FINE WITH 2X FEEDS DAILY AND ADLIB HAYLAGE DUE TO THERE BEING NO GRASS IN THE FIELD.

I kept her home for 3 1/2 months until the weather warmed up sufficiently for the grass out on the forest to start growing so there would be something for her to eat out there. There were also lice and rainscald issues with her, which are hard to get on top of when it keeps on raining/snowing and therefore don't help condition-wise.

My other 2 NF ponies lead pampered lives, they are clipped, stabled at night (to stop them getting too fat mainly). MW rugs were fine generally apart from in the snow they had HW rugs on plus an underblanket and they were quite happy in that during the day, going up to 3 rugs at night. They are tougher than they look (or would have you believe they are ;))

Here's a couple of my forest run filly, back in the winter, and a couple of weeks ago out on the forest...

DSC06653.jpg

DSC07091.jpg
 
Mine live out 24/7
When they do have a rug it is a mediumweight with full neck
They are unrugged except for the very worst weather (think blowing gales and sleet)
They have access to a shelter (not that they use it :rolleyes:)
Last year my foal coped fine (came out of the winter fatter than he went in), my yearling lost a little weight but she is TB x and she actually looked better for it

I do feed heavily in the winter to allow them to keep themselves warm.
 
i also think if they are living out they can move about to help keep warm and they can huddle together in a group too whilst in the stable they can't do that. eating fibre also helps them to keep warm.

my pony looks like this when he is not clipped! his mane changes in the winter too and seems to get more thick. he does not have a pulled mane or tail.

Picture002.jpg
 
The Dartmoor, like the others, was stabled at night end November to mid-March, and did wear a rain-rug, just to turn the wind. She erupted out of the stable each morning and had to be hounded in at night. She dropped hardly any weight, inspite of 5" of snow for a fortnight. You could bury the length of your fingers in her coat,she had a Thelwell thatch of mane and forelock and her tail was full and bushy. Natives are natives - they wouldn't have survived in the wild if they couldn't cope. The main difference is that the native running wild can seek shelter - the domesticated pony has only got what humans provide him/her with - and most commercial pony paddocks are pretty bleak places, be it summer or winter. So you if that's what your turnout is, you have to compensate for that with judicious rugging - and ad lib hay.
 
Sec B, grey in sig.

1. Never

2. n/a

3. Yes

4. Yes, natural shelter provided by trees, hedges and dips/valleys.

5. Absolutely fine.

If I'm worried about her in cold weather, I just give her more hay.
 
Ive got a section A. I clip her out because quite honestly I can't deal with the amount of hair she sheds in teh spring from a full winter coat - its a nightmare and guaranteed to give me an asthma attack lol. I rug her but she keeps herself warm - the horse has more rugs than the pony, I very rarely use a proper heavyweight on her the heaviest is little more than a medium weight rug.
Theres no winter TO at my yard so she shares a pen with my horse - as they can't go in together (horse would eat pony) the pony is out at night unless its really, really vile weather in which case shes in. She's fed haylage and a small hard feed - last year she dropped a some weight but increasing the haylage sorted it.
I know natives are meant to be hardy but even tho mine was wild on the hills for many years then left in a field 24/7 by her previous owner as soon as it rains she wants in, when it gets cold she wants in... I think she saw me coming with MUG written on my forehead lol :D
 
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