Neck rugs & Heat loss.

Firewell

Firewell

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Do necks on rugs make a big difference to keeping the horse warm?
I ask because the necks on my horses rugs are giving him a really itchy, greasy and scabby mane. Now his mane is starting to fall out.
I've tried keeping his mane washed and clean but the rugs make it scruffy again.
Will he feel the cold though if I leave the necks off? His neck is clipped out and I think he we will feel chilly without the necks on?
What do you think?
 
I was told years ago that a neck cover was the equivalent of an extra rug. However before they were invented clipped horses all survived!
 
While I agree that neck rugs probably keep a horse warmer, it's only a recent thing, isn't it? When I first started owning horses, rugs didn't have necks and I don't think any horse died of cold, did they?!
 
They do make a big difference. Mine wear necks outside (mostly to keep them cleaner!) but in the stable only wear necks in very cold weather (minus 3/4) and are much happier for it. I do think necks can make them overheat and prevents temp regulation
 
yes - but manes are an issue with them...
before mine developed proper topline her mane was fine- now she has a lovely topline the mid section has fallen out with the rugs - DOH!
 
Personally see how your horse manages without.

Is it a warm or cold horse.

I've one, fully clipped in a heavy wt stable rug without neck who is always toasty warm, some morning (when its not been overly cold overnight) has even been little sweaty, whilst my other one (low trace clip) has a medium and heavy weight (with neck) and is ok, however we keep an eye on. If it goes below 0 we find we have to put another rug/fleece on to keep him warm.

I exercise one in a exercise sheet (inc jumping and gallop work) prob up untill around the end feb, whilst the other one is naked all the time when being riden (other when standing around in cold indoors waiting for classes to start).

See how it goes, you can always put them back on.
 
All his turnouts are combos so he''ll still wear those during the day. I thought maybe not using neck rugs at night might help his mane to heal. It is also the middle section. Poor boy the skin is all yellow and literally flaking away.
He is not the warmest horse. Typical ginger thin skinned Tb. Feels the cold but also hates being too hot!
He's got 2 standard neck rugs on tonight so will see how that goes. He does put his ears back when I'm doing his neck up so maybe he's trying to tell me something ;).
 
I brought a heavy weight rug but my horse has a thick mane, so I brought a neck attachment that was light weight (as you could the weight of the neck to go with the rug weight) works well keeping him dry. If he's wet, he'll get cold. But prevents him getting too hot :)

Personally I don't like half neck rugs as I find as soon as the horse puts its head down to eat there's a gaping hole at the neck of the rug and wind will go down to their back... Just my thought anyway haha. But you could always give them a try.

My friend had a mare with sweet-itch, she had NO mane left. She had her in a full neck turnout. Over winter no mane grew at all, it was greasy, thin and looked terrible. She put a standard neck on and the hair changed over night, wasn't as greasy and it started to grow, within days/weeks we could see a great difference.
 
most heat is lost through their neck which is why they sweat there more than anywhere else when working :) so yes it will make a difference
 
ihatework said:
They do make a big difference. Mine wear necks outside (mostly to keep them cleaner!) but in the stable only wear necks in very cold weather (minus 3/4) and are much happier for it. I do think necks can make them overheat and prevents temp regulation
Click to expand...

This is what I do too. My lad loses his mane if he's in a neck rug 24/7 so I avoid it unless v cold.
 
I used to put a neck rug on my lad when he was clipped but we lost a good section of mane every winter. I thought it was rug rubbing but I was told it could also be him over heating. I now leave the neck rug off unless it is cold and wet and let his mane grow a little longer coming in to winter.
 
Neck rugs make manes fall out because they are often too warm. I avoid them personally but then I'd be unlikely to have a fully clipped horse as I keep them out 24/7.

I think its a bit like us wearing hats for warmth, I hardly ever wear one even though I have loads and they look fabulous, because I would always be too warm and I don't think ever in my life I have thought 'my head is cold', having hair is enough warmth for me!

I think horses have much better circulation than us, we (women specifically) are pretty inefficient when it comes to keeping our whole bodies warm as its all centred around our reproductive system - useful!
 
On the nights when its not cold enough for ours to have the necks up, but might get cold, I rug his body up well but leave his neck 'bare' so if he gets too hot he can always stick his head/neck over the door and cool down.

I cringe at how I used to rug my blanket clipped TB - he had a canvas NZ rug with wool lining, one strap at the front and two leg straps, the wind used to whistle right through it, good old days eh? :o
 
hmmm, I think I will see how he goes without for now, just at night while he is in his stable. I feel guilty as his neck is clipped out but not his bum, so i'm not rugging the bit that is clipped.
However it cannot be comfortable can it having a piece of your body sore and itchy and then something on it rubbing that you can't get rid of.
Horses, always something to worry about ;).
 
mandwhy said:
Neck rugs make manes fall out because they are often too warm. I avoid them personally but then I'd be unlikely to have a fully clipped horse as I keep them out 24/7.

I think its a bit like us wearing hats for warmth, I hardly ever wear one even though I have loads and they look fabulous, because I would always be too warm and I don't think ever in my life I have thought 'my head is cold', having hair is enough warmth for me!

I think horses have much better circulation than us, we (women specifically) are pretty inefficient when it comes to keeping our whole bodies warm as its all centred around our reproductive system - useful!
Click to expand...

Err not entirely sure that's true. We women are actually better at keeping warm due to having more subcutaneous fat. Men tend to feel hotter though as they have more muscle mass.

I have never used a neck at all even on a fine thin skinned ginger who was blanket clipped she was fine and dandy unless she didn't have enough to eat or it was wet and that was only one occasion.
 
I'm having the same issue. I want to do some hunter classes with him and the first one is at the end of march. However, he has a great big gap where half his mane has fallen out due to wearing a neck cover. Unfortunately none of my rugs have detachable necks (wont make that mistake again) and even folding it down it still covers the bald part. My friend is lending me a standard neck turnout but it needs washed so will have to wait for that. Meantime, I'm using a silicone free detangler/conditioner daily on it and also neem oil which was recommended to me, rubbed into the roots. Next winter I'll be only using standard neck turnouts!
 
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