Night time rugging for the stabled horse.

fliffkins

fliffkins

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Hi,

I have a TB X Friesian, in the past I will admit, I have probably overrugged him .... I now am a little bit more sensible and keep his rug numbers down.

He is 18 and fully clipped out so he does need rugging, I have him in a full neck mediumweight t/o during the day whilst he is out and a medium weight, no neck at night whilst he is in, i will change to a full neck when it gets a little colder.

However the "done" thing on my new livery yard seems to be that everyone leaves their horses in their turnout rugs at night, this is a major bug bear of mine, unfortunately at the moment, due to injury, I am relying on a friend to look after my horse and she leaves his t/o rug on overnight, he is on livery so as far as i am aware they are happy to change rugs, boot up etc on a morning.

What are peoples views on leaving t/o rugs on overnight on a stabled horse?
 
Doesn't really bother me, but I must say I am soft and like putting their 'jarmies' on!
However at the moment my boy has a very lightweight stable rug on and a turnout rug on top at night (no neck) this is because there is terrible condensation on the roof in a morning so just saves his stable rugs.
What is a bit of a bug bear to me is leaving the same rugs on ALL day and night... I know its winter but it is still warmer during the day. I always take a layer off or change the rug completely during the day whether he's going out or not. Then again, that may just be me being soft and thinking they need to 'feel the benefit' at night!
I always make sure he's naked for half an hour or so during the day while I muck out or something so he can have a good scratch. (He's a youngster so not ridden etc)
 
Just to add, if he came in in a wet through turnout, I'd definitely take it off. I know a lot of people who will leave the wet rug on to help the rug dry (fair enough, they are dry underneath) but personally I'd rather find somewhere to hang it up. I just see it as I wouldn't sit at home in my wet coat, I wouldn't want him to stand in a wet rug all night either... as i said... I'm soft!!
 
Mine stay in their turn outs, I don't see what the fuss is. Modern turnout rugs are light, their rugs fit them really well and it means the rugs dry out. I can't stand dealing with wet rugs. My Yo is really vigilant about making sure the rugs haven't moved or are rubbing etc and will remove them and refit them if there's any concerns on the days I'm not up. Never had a problem.
 
fliffkins said:
Hi,

I have a TB X Friesian, in the past I will admit, I have probably overrugged him .... I now am a little bit more sensible and keep his rug numbers down.

He is 18 and fully clipped out so he does need rugging, I have him in a full neck mediumweight t/o during the day whilst he is out and a medium weight, no neck at night whilst he is in, i will change to a full neck when it gets a little colder.

However the "done" thing on my new livery yard seems to be that everyone leaves their horses in their turnout rugs at night, this is a major bug bear of mine, unfortunately at the moment, due to injury, I am relying on a friend to look after my horse and she leaves his t/o rug on overnight, he is on livery so as far as i am aware they are happy to change rugs, boot up etc on a morning.

What are peoples views on leaving t/o rugs on overnight on a stabled horse?
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Badly fitting, cheap T/O rugs definitely shouldnt be left on overnight. If you buy good quality, breathable, well fitting turnout rugs there is no reason they cannot wear them at night. I use 3 good quality turnout rugs (100gms with neck), and layer liners underneath as needed. Rugs are one in use and two as spares. I wash the liners roughly weekly (and have 9 for 2 horses). Which means the layer next to the skin is clean. Liners are a better fit – breathable, silky, non stretch, non slip, few buckles than any stable rug I’ve used.

Also some stable rugs absorb wee and poo and become rank. And putting a cold rug on a warm horse is over rated. I wouldn’t go back to stable rugs.

If you don’t have a rug drier, and it rains for days on end, I tend to find rugs don’t dry very well. And are better left on the horses, assuming are wet on outside only. Else I end up with 3 wet rugs (and no dry rugs). I also find on the horse my rugs are very waterproof, off the horse drying, they become clammy inside and out.
 
I also don't have an issue leaving TO rugs on overnight. I do think it's important to adjust them properly when they come in though - and again in the morning before turning out.
 
At my yard they are in all winter turnout only when the fields dry up. I don't have a stable rug to my name other than 4 fleeces! I prefer the gusset shoulder of the turnouts on my boy - love that even if its raining I don't have to go through the rigmarole of changing into a turnout just for a half hour turn out in the paddock!
But do agree with others in would take it off if it was soaking/or adjust it when he came in :)
 
4 of our unclipped horses often go in and 'sleep' in their turnout rugs, but if it's been raining heavily and their rugs are really wet then I'll take them off and put their fleeces on, unless it's very cold, and in that case they'll have another on top. My hunter clipped mare normally has a HW stable rug on, due to the fact that I want to make sure she's not too hot or cold, and if she is very cold I'll put a newmarket fleece under, where as if she is too hot she'll wear her MW stable rug.
 
Modern turnout rugs make with quality fabrics are designed to be used both indoors and outdoors.

I use Rambo Duos or PE Trios and don't change them when they come into their stables in the evening. Obviously if the rain had leaked through to the horse I would change the rug. I don't see the benefit in taking a warm rug off a horse to put a cold rug on and then repeat the process the next morning. I've also found that the rugs dry off quicker if they are left on (again, as long as they are not wet through - but with good quality rugs this shouldn't be a problem).

I do think it is important though if the horse is not being ridden to regularly take the rug off to check the horse's weight and that there are no rubs, etc.

If you are just looking after one horse then the time to change a rug is not that great but when you have 9 to feed and turnout before work it is definitely a boon to not have to change rugs.
 
My Tb mare and her friend have an open box and a yard where they wander freely so they always have turnout rugs on and it serves them well. My other 2 I do put into stable rugs but it probably isn't strictly necessary, it's just something I like to do for them.

Some mornings I can be turning out up to 7 horses, that can be a lot of rug changing but I know someone would do it for mine so I do it for theirs if that makes sense.
 
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