OMG -14.5 this morning and Pidge is too hot in a 200g rug.....

Pidgeon

Pidgeon

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is this right or should I be worried? I checked him as soon as I got to him and he was quite warm when I put my hand under his rug so didn't even bother checking the base of his ears or the inside of his front leg as he was obviously a tad warm
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So serious question he's a 640kg 17hh ISH coming up for 13yo and is fully clipped and doesn't really have an ounce of fat on him as he is pretty fit, so should I be worried by how warm he is? I was tempted to take the under rug off his rambo duo but just couldn't get my head round him being in a 100g when its just so damn cold
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My horse has sweat marks around his belly this morning and he has on a thin under rug and a 350 rug on top.... He is fully clipped too! I think when there inside with a nice bed and other horses in other stables, we will be supprised how warm they are x
 
I know its warmer inside his stable but he was just as warm when I got him in tonight from the field and it was -7 already!
 
Depends on if your horse is normally a 'hot bod' as it were, my girl is a 'hot bod', she has mostly been wearing a thin fleece at night and been warm enough, tonight she has got a medium quilt on as its due to be -12 or so here.
I think my poor girl would melt and pass out in some of the rugged horses attires at my yard! She just does not feel the cold unless its windy and raining, then she feels it
 
wow, that's amazing! the horse i usually ride is chaser clipped, 15.2hh or so, pretty fine.. and wears a fleece and 250g-300g (not entirely sure, but around there!) stable rug on top of that! he's in a stable that always seems pretty warm and sheltered with a deep straw bed.. horses are very strange! x
 
Yes he is just can't get my head round it, someone has just posted in Comp and they have got their horses in 1000g of rugs
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surely way too much?
Anyhow Pidge is on ad lib haylage and his breakfast and tea consist of scoop of top chop alfa, 3/4 scoop topspec cool and condition cubes and topspec feed balancer so its not like I'm shovelling hard feed down his neck either!
 
I know, I'm definately going to have to sell my heavyweight rugs now as he hasn't worn them for 2 years now!
However the first winter I had him he was in 500g as he was a tad underweight, now he's up to weight and in good condition I've had to reduce the rugs he wears otherwise if he gets too hot he destroys them
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Jack is a very good doer too. I think they are like us, my dad can wear just a t shirt and be comfortable in this weather, where as id have on 6 layers and still complain.
 
quite! Me I've got long sleeved t-shirt, fleece, waistcoat and then winter coat on top just to keep warm!
 
I am similarly amazed at the moment. My 13yr old, fully clipped, TB is living out his first winter. He has had a 200g PE rug on since he was clipped early November and that's it! He has always been warm enough and has not lost condition. I have however added a 100g under rug tonight as the wind has picked up here and it is bitter and I wait to see what the morning brings. Last year when he was out in the snow during the day only, he had on a 450g PE rug which I was sure he would need but no - he seems fine.

I have also noticed that on the odd occasions when he comes in for a night he does not need the weight of rugs on that did when stabled last year. They do obviously adapt very well (given time and done gradually) to their environment.
 
i sound like a right meanie with one of mine even on this thread! my hot bod nfxcob is full clipped & in a light weight (no fill) turnout! she is toasty warm morning & night & to be honest only wears it to keep her clean as shes a coloured! i doubt she would mind if she was running round the fields naked at the mo! however when it rains/windy she does go up to a middle weight max as shes carrying a few extra pounds
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& gets much colder in that weather!
 
Some horses just seem to produce a lot of body heat. Esp if being fed lots of roughage.


I have two extremes. Pathetic welshhxArab is COLD in 300g or layer rugs and only a bib clip. However he's also fat so he can stay cold as it won't do him any harm!

Baby cob is unclipped but been in a mediumweight (200g) since he had colic. However he's been sweaty under it occasionally so the other day he had it off and is now naked. He's still toasty warm and has frozen lumps of ice on his back where his friends have dribbled water over him, so he's obviously not loosing any heat!
 
glad its not just Pidge that is not in many rugs at the moment then!
I check how warm he is by the base of his ears and under his belly at the top of his forelegs. He's plenty warm enough and hasn't lost weight or anything like that.
Jackdaws: how do you check your horses temperature then?
 
I wouldn't worry about it - my horse is ridiculously hot and has only just gone up to a HW rug, I certainly don't need to be layering 6 rugs like some people, and I don't intend to either! Normally he does the entire winter in just a MW, and that is 5 years old so the fill is a bit squashed.

If he's not losing condition and the base of his ears are warm, which you've said is the case, then you have nothing to worry about.

I am quite convinced people put all these rugs on their horses to make themselves feel better and not because they actually need them! I am wearing stupid numbers of layers to the yard at the moment, does not mean my horse needs the same. Out in the USA there were TBs out 24/7 in -25 during the day so god knows how cold at night, unrugged. Assuming they have ad lib forage they are tougher and more able to keep themselves warm than people give them credit for....
 
Some horses just seem to be 'hot'! Murphy is fully clipped, and doesn't own a HW tug. He gets hot easily and he cannot stand being too hot. I put him out for 45 mins last night while I mucked out, about -7 outside, and he was more than happy in his MW turnout rug.
 
Fudge is only in a 40g and he has a trace clip, he gets very unhappy if he's hot. It just depends on the horse, some feel the cold and some don't. I do think many people over rug their horses to make themselves better or because they are cold themselves
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Becks (fully hunter clipped, but growing out) has on brand new 200g WB Belmont plus his HW 360g WB Belmont combo and didn't feel that warm last night - wimpy show cob!
 
George is a good doer and a hot bod, although I did splash out on a 350g turnout rug for him this year as I chaser clipped him for the first time. He lives in his turnout rug, and so far seems about right temp wise, although I have left the neck down some nights if it is a bit milder.
 
M is the same. I got there this morning, it was -7C and he had 2 x MW no neck rugs on. He was sweating underneath, shoulders covered in froth. He's now in just one no neck MW rug (they're all in for the time being) and a request to YO just to put one full neck MW over the top for night time.

I think my horse is a freak!
 
Dont forget that a clipped horse will always feel warmer than you expect because the hair is not insulating the warmth of their body and keeping it in, in fact is just shows that they lose the heat more easily.

My shetland has a small bib clip and if you put your hand on the clipped part, she feels really warm, if you feel the rest of here that is covered in thick hair, it is cold because the heat isn't getting through the hair.

Also remember that you hands will probably be cold so he will feel even more toasty!!
 
well it seems he's not alone then, and I will stop worrying as he is obviously warm enough and is def not losing condition so will keep him in his MW rug
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