Natural Horsemanship. Your opinions on this please. Rugging.

[Enfys]

Well, my trimmer finally came to do Lola's slippers, and after my faintly hysterical (can one be faintly hysterical?) post the other day about do I or don't I? I am pleased to say that I didn't get barefoot methods shoved down my throat, he was a very pleasant and knowledgable horseman. Lola's slippers were trimmed to satisfaction (mine, his and hers) and he'll be returning in 6 weeks to do whatever else I have here then.

Anyway, as you do, we were chatting about the different ways people keep horses (UK v. Canada v. South Africa as he is a South African) and the subject of rugging came up, he follows the natural way of keeping and doesn't keep his horses rugged because he feels that it disrupts the bloodflow evenly around the body. His view is that the body is warmer therefore the bloodflow to uncovered legs and necks is affected and this could lead to circulatory problems.

I have no problem with his view at all, and indeed there is a point to it. I shan't be whipping my NZs off just yet though. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions as far as I am concerned, but I just wondered what everybody else thinks of this. Could rugging affect bloodflow particularly to the legs?

 

[Irishcobs]

Not sure really. I don't understand how a horse being warmer could make the circulation poorer. I always thought the warmer you are the better your circulation is, but thats just a thought I have no info to back it up or anything.

 

[Agent XXX999]

Fair enough for a native. BUT with 'blood' horses, such as TB's/Arabs and the crosses and the like, I dont see how rugging is anything other than productive.

Because of their breeding they are not designed for the climate over here etc and should be rugged accordingly IMO to suit the climate.

They simply do not have the coat/skin/levels of fat to constitute being un rugged, especially if in work, and especially if clipped.

I would rather see a warm pony/horse in a rug than a miserable dripping wet and muddy one. We keep domesticated animals and they should be treated as such.

I have found that common sense tends to work better than any faddy natural methods but that is just me.

 

[the watcher]

Interesting theory. I have practical test..try going outside (go on, right now, I know it's cold there) with your coat on and wander around a bit...then repeat the exercise with no coat..which do you prefer? For the second maybe you need to hang around for a month or so to get really hairy.

Only kidding

. I still think there is something to be said for keeping core temperature up in extreme conditions.

 

[Enfys]

Watcher.........my feet went blue, can I come back in now please?

 

[airedale]

watcher is right.

If you keep the core temp good then there is more blood available to keep the extremities warm.

Good blood circulation to the brain (oxygenated) is necessary for 'intelligence' (in humans cognitive thought) so if the body is warm then surely the brain is able to receive more good blood and the horse might end up more intelligent/willing/able.

Yep - we don't want hot legs but equally heat loss thru the legs is debilitating (hence why people who clip legs out in winter often bandage same to replace the clipped off hair)

That latter indicates to me that the hairy covering is necessary for wellbeing. Hence if horses are clipped then they should be rugged to restore the equivalent of the fur that has been removed. Unclipped horses have less need for rugs (or only need a minimal waterproof rug to keep the chill of cold rain driven by a strong wind off)

I view rugging as a way of minimising the loss of body heat and thus keeping condition on a horse without having to (over) feed it as it's cold

 

[Doublethyme]

Isn't it that an unclipped horse can regulate its temperature better thus keeping warmer without a rug because they maintain the facility to fluff up the hair which captures heat and keeps them warm (sorry not a very scientifc explanation!), whereas if you put a rug on it flattens the coat and takes this method of keeping warm away from the horse.

Obviously clipped horses need to be rugged as they have this facility taken away anyway when clipped.

I'm a do what suits your horse sort. My mare is clipped and rugged in the winter - as soon as I can get her out of rugs on some days she goes out rugless (like today), but always has a rain sheet to hand if needed in the summer, as she hates gettnig rained on!

I do hate to see badly fitting rugs and horses bundled up in layer upon layer though, as I don't think that can be particularly comfortable.

As for someone saying Arabs need to be rugged because they aren't natives etc, don't they originate from deserts where it is extremely hot in the day and extremely cold at night, so I would have though they would have the best natural temperature regulation of any breed!

 

[Enfys]

"I view rugging as a way of minimising the loss of body heat and thus keeping condition on a horse without having to (over) feed it as it's cold "

Precisely Airedale, that is my opinion too.

Three of the four I had here were rugged with MWs, no hoods, in pretty low temps and have come through with no significant weight loss, in fact two which were underweight in December have put on condition. The hair on their necks and legs is fluffier but none have felt cold or looked miserable living out 24/7 and have rarely used their shelters at all.

 

[flyingfeet]

We don't rug unclipped horses unless they are loosing condition. We have one who although hairy, has crap teeth so rugging keeps the weight on.

However I don't work the unclipped horses, and I don't see how you could ever compete a hairy horse (although wicking rugs have improved)

So the clipped beasties are always rugged and probably rugged above required temperature to discourage hair growth. Since having the horse with sweet itch noticed that you can seriously change the coat by rugging (he has very fine coat now, whereas pre-sweet itch was a hairy monster as an unrugged youngster)

 

[Tia]

I'm not too sure I completely agree with his rationale, although I see some sort of logic in part of what he is saying.

If rugs are kept on then you have to alternate between thick and thin ones constantly throughout the winter season to keep up with the outside temperatures, whereas if you keep a horse unrugged then he will do this automatically. He grows a thicker coat, he can use the hairs to trap air and warm it and he will have an oilier coat which insulates.

That's why we see all these WB's, TB's and QH's unrugged in minus 20 temperatures - they all survive quite happily in these temperatures. The claim here is that they are healthier than horses who are covered up all winter.

I rug all my horses to save on feed bills and not for any other reason to be quite honest. I know fine well all of the horses I have here could easily live unrugged....but my feed bill would be even larger if I left them naked.

This week is the week to unrug all horses up here. All of the horses on my farm had their rugs taken off by me this morning and won't have them back on again.....it's a fabulous opportunity as we have 7 days of plus temperatures through the day and the coldest it is getting here overnight this week is only -4.

Glad to hear that the trimmer doesn't have 3 heads and a nervous tic!

 

[SpruceRI]

I always unstood that horses can withstand very cold dry temperatures, but not the mild wet and windy.

When mines' turned away unclipped and ungroomed she's OK rugless, but the minute I start rigorous brushing and eventually clipping to enable me to ride her I think she needs a rug.

The difficulty in the UK is making sure the rug is suitable. It's difficult going down early in the morning when it's sleeting and putting them out wearing their heavyweight rug, when by lunch time the temperatures' warmed up and the suns' come out and the poor little pones are boiling.

 

[Eceni]

I have a warmblood/arab pony who is unrugged and unclipped (admittedly only in light work because she's not long been backed) BUT she has a rug on if it's going to be very wet *and* cold because that's when she comes shivering into the stable. It's only happened twice this year so far... The rest of the time, she coats herself in mud and it makes a nice thick layer of insulation (!) Takes me a lot longer to clean her than her rugged friends, but she seems fit and healthy and therefore I haven't found a good reason to rug her yet

E

 

[Chex]

I would have thought that by keeping the core organs warm with rugs, then the legs can be kept warmer. I think the extremeties (sp?) are the first too suffer if you're too cold (in humans anyway lol). No idea really

 

[clipclop]

My horse (Ridden one) is unrugged and lives out 24/7. We changed to this from stabled, clipped and rugged. However when he was kept that way he was always becoming ill?

Long story, but I ended up turning him out with no rug and no stable. Just plenty of hay (Horsey central heating) and shelter from the wind and rain. He has thrived on that lifestyle.

However it is a pain when you want to ride! But he is happy and healthy so I don't care too much.

The other thing I find with a natural coat is it works far better than any wicking rug I know.

For instance yesterday we competed at a Dressage comp. He got sweaty during the warm up and within minutes of being untacked (We had a lovely wind to help) he was dry.

When we got home he was able to be turned straight out in to the field.

The old TB I have in my care has been unrugged all her life. She is now 23 and this is the first year that she has worn a rug. (It was a choice, either accept the rug or be put to sleep). Her Central heating system had broken down and so she now needs help to keep her warm. Thankfully she has gained weight and health over the winter so I am very glad I made that decision.

Basically I totally agree that being unrugged is probably far better for a lot of horses but not a lot of use to most horse owners. LOL. Also there are a lot of horses that need rugs and not just because they are clipped.

I was really pleased yesterday as there we were "Hairy hoss" and me at a Dressage comp surrounded by beautifully clipped horses and 3 people approached me to tell me how beautiful my horse was.

Also the judge commented on how "Smart" my ned was. So I really need to get over the fact that I think my hairy horse looks silly and is scruffy compared to the others. LOL