Once you've put a rug on should you leave it on?!

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Morgan123

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Out of interest, what are people's opinions on this?

I have a hairy welsh cob who mainly lives out without rugs - he only needs one in heavy rain/snow where it is raining for over twelve hours or so, or under avbout -4 (i.e. is visibly cold at these times but the rest of the time happy, unclipped, and fat). However he's just had one on the last few days due to the rain.

Now it's stopped raining and is (for him) mild again, I think i should take off his medium weight - it's only been on a day or two so surely that's ok and won't have lost all oils in coat or antyhing? However, people at my yard seem to think that's silly - and have had same reaction before in similar situations.

What do you do - once you've started rugging is that it, or do you chop and change depending on weather?
 
I change depending on the weather. Just now she just gets her heavy weight on during the day, then if I'm keeping her out at night I put her lightweight on under her heavyweight. In the summer she is naked, but if there is persistent rain she gets a light sheet on to protect against rain scald.
 
That's what I think. If he was nearly always rugged I probably wouldn't as he'd be so used to the extra warmth and the rug would presumably wick the oils from his coat (like grooming is meant to) but seems a bit silly to leave it on in mild (for him - by mild i mean 0 degrees) when he's normally perfectly comfortable.
 
I am quite old school on this subject, and (to a certain extent) dislike seeing rugs being taken on and off on a daily basis. Obv a rainsheet isn't an issue, but I tend to think that horses should be allowed to regulate their own temperatures as naturally as possible, and that removing rugs and putting them back on when the sun goes in or comes back out again is just going to play havoc with their temperatures. However, in extreme temperature or weather changes then I do think it's necessary to remove or re rug. If it's just a couple of degrees here and there, I say do one or the other, not a mix of both.
 
Moomin1 said:
I am quite old school on this subject, and (to a certain extent) dislike seeing rugs being taken on and off on a daily basis. Obv a rainsheet isn't an issue, but I tend to think that horses should be allowed to regulate their own temperatures as naturally as possible, and that removing rugs and putting them back on when the sun goes in or comes back out again is just going to play havoc with their temperatures. However, in extreme temperature or weather changes then I do think it's necessary to remove or re rug. If it's just a couple of degrees here and there, I say do one or the other, not a mix of both.
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I agree with this.
 
my hairy had a l/w rug on for a day when it rained for more than 12 hours, then I took it off and plan to leave him naked unless it rains for along period again.
 
I think a medium was probably too much for him to be honest. If the aim of putting a rug on was to keep him dry then a lightweight would be ample then there is not so much of a change when you remove for cold dry weather.
 
Either rug or not


If you start an lightweight then fine and up it as the weather changes but one day having a rug on and then taking it off is not fair. Your horse will need to condition his coat if naked.

Why put a rug on if your not going to do it, your welshie has a waterproof coat of his own he does not need another.
 
Moomin1 said:
I am quite old school on this subject, and (to a certain extent) dislike seeing rugs being taken on and off on a daily basis. Obv a rainsheet isn't an issue, but I tend to think that horses should be allowed to regulate their own temperatures as naturally as possible, and that removing rugs and putting them back on when the sun goes in or comes back out again is just going to play havoc with their temperatures. However, in extreme temperature or weather changes then I do think it's necessary to remove or re rug. If it's just a couple of degrees here and there, I say do one or the other, not a mix of both.
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This is how I rug, in this country the weather changes so much it can be hard to keep up with and constantly changing rugs does not allow the horse to regulate its own temperature, obviously in extreme cold they may need an extra layer or the odd day when the sun shines it can be nice to have a few hours with no rug but all this chopping and changing seems unnecessary.
 
Quote de Moomin1
I am quite old school on this subject, and (to a certain extent) dislike seeing rugs being taken on and off on a daily basis. Obv a rainsheet isn't an issue, but I tend to think that horses should be allowed to regulate their own temperatures as naturally as possible, and that removing rugs and putting them back on when the sun goes in or comes back out again is just going to play havoc with their temperatures. However, in extreme temperature or weather changes then I do think it's necessary to remove or re rug. If it's just a couple of degrees here and there, I say do one or the other, not a mix of both.

I agree with this too
 
I chop and change as I go, tbh. Last year my 4yo cob was out 24/7 unrugged regardless of weather, but he did have the winter coat of a mammoth. This year he has a high chaser clip, so he has a rainsheet on if the weather's looking dodgy (or I'm not sure what it'll be like), he's naked if it's a nice day and he generally has a fleece of night. Only if it's bitterly cold does he get anything with any form of fill in it.
 
One of mine is wearing a rug for the first time this year, in an exposed field, as he's now in his 20s and drops weight more easily and certainly uses the shelter when he has one. I've only left it on today because there was a biting wind up there and I wasn't sure what the weather was going to do. I figured he wouldn't get hot under it, so opted for leave on. If it was mild and raining, or just mild and blustery wind, it would be off, no question!
 
I rug according to the weather.

There is nothing worse for a poor horse than a boiling under it`s rug because the sun came out & it`s risen by 10deg!

And people wonder why their rugs spend a lot of the time at the repairers.........
 
I was wondering the same thing OP.

My Haffy is naked and fat. We have had a lot of wet mild weather recently and he has remained naked and fat. I do worry however that when it gets really cold (to me really cold is in the minuses) and then it rains heavily and he starts shivering, that I should put a rain sheet on, but then when I remove it again it will effect his ability to regulate his temperature. Am I better off just giving him more hay and letting him get on with it even if he has to shiver occasionally? He has shelter but chooses not to use it!
 
When I used to rug I would try to be consistent and keep to the same rug weight, which was easy as I only ever used a mw or rainsheet. Nowadays I do not rug my welsh D at all whatever the weather and he has never been cold yet.
 
I'm also finding things a bit confusing!

My fat cob is stabled at night and turned out during the day naked.

BUT she has very little shelter in her paddock. I have mw and hw turnout rugs ready for any emergency weather situations, but have to say am unsure what constitutes an emergency! Wind and rain or sub zero temperatures? Or a combination? Or will she need nothing at all unless it's -20C plus gale force winds or monsoon like rain? Will rugging her make her even fatter?

I'll be playing it by ear I think and being pulled asunder by advice from other liveries! :p
 
This business of once you've put a rug on you can't take it off is absolute twaddle. A horse being stuck in a mw weight rug when the sun is out, because the day before it was overcast and wet is ludicrous :eek:

The sun acts as a microwave on horses in a rug, and they have no escape from it.

The only thing that messes with the horses ability to regulate its own temperature is putting a rug on in the first place - well known fact.

Here is some information on winter blanketing that may surprise you. This is the result of a multi-year study done by CSU, using state of the art thermal detection equipment. Colorado State University is widely considered to be one of the top three equine veterinary schools in the country: Blanketing horses is one of the worst things that you can do to a horse in the winter. Horses have the ability to loft and lower their coats to 17 different levels, so it's like exchanging 17 different thermal weights of blankets off and on them all day and night, depending on what they need- except that we don't know what they need as well as they do. Their 'self-blanketing' process works a little like 'chill bumps' do in our own skin. That's why long-haired horses may seem fluffier on some days than on others. Only three things make the 'self-blanketing' process not work: blanketing, clipping, and wind. Not even snow or rain stops their own thermostats from doing the job.

Also horses are in 'neutral' (meaning not using energy for either heating or cooling) when the air around them is between 26 and 38 degrees. Otherwise, they're using energy to control their temps. So- since they're cooling their bodies when the temp is over 38 degrees, they're having to use extra energy to cool themselves when blanketed in temperatures over that. Any time a horse that is outside and has a long coat is shivering, it's because the horse has opted to shiver to warm itself, instead of using the option of moving. Moving generates a considerable amount of heat for a horse, but they sometimes stand and shiver while napping, etc. It does not mean that they need to be blanketed.

However, a horse MUST have a way to get out of the wind in order for their self-blanketing' abilities to function fully. It turns out that blanketing is done more for pleasing the human, than to fill a need of the horse. The horse blanket industry has done a great job of making us think that their product is a necessary part of good horsekeeping, when it is actually an item that is very seldom needed.
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To be honest I plan ahead. I look at the weather forecast for several days ahead rather than just the here and now... things change so drastically that unless the change is persistent, I tend to cary on as I am rugging wise :)

My horse doesn't get rugged unless temperatures drop consistently below a certain temperature... even then it is just a lightweight, until they drop again and or he is clipped. So far this winter he is only in a mediumweight and he has a blanket clip.

I think it is quite unfair to shove a mediumweight rug on a horse that a) has a full coat and b) has not been wearing one to date - that is quite a big change in insulation and could more than likely cause the horse to over heat and then feel the cold when it is removed! I prefer to start with a lightweight and work my way up. That said, a horse who is normally unrugged should have enough oils in his coat and insulation to protect him from any amount of rain... particularly a fat horse...
 
Really interesting info, thanks :-)! I definitely wouldn't do the same wiht my TBx who is USUALLY rugged - for her obviously she keeps her rug on till spring unless we have some crazily warm weather, because she won't be used to self regualting in the same way.

However since the cob is usually NOT rugged i just removed his now (for the person who asked why a medium - I've given up completely on lgihtweights - they don't keep in any heat so he is usually colder in a lightweight than if i just leave him, and in torrential rain they really don't keep the rain out. He shivers just as much in a LW as he would if naked - so I do mediums or nothing with him).

For those who said they are old school becuase the horse should self-regulate - do you therefore not e.g. put on a warmer rug on a colder night?!?!
 
I rug depending on how he feels . . . if the base of his ears and his "elbows" are cold to the touch (not lukewarm, properly COLD), then I pop a rug on. If he's cold, he gets irritable. I don't like to overrug, and I do take into account things like rain and sunshine either conducting heat away or bumping up the heat . . . but he drops weight like THAT so I do like to make sure I keep him warm (and, yes, I do also adjust feed and forage accordingly too).

P
 
Morgan123 said:
Really interesting info, thanks :-)! I definitely wouldn't do the same wiht my TBx who is USUALLY rugged - for her obviously she keeps her rug on till spring unless we have some crazily warm weather, because she won't be used to self regualting in the same way.
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What do you mean?! They dont do it like a habit their bodies respond to the temperature stimulus - nothing to do with being used to it.

Rugs are a gem from the manufacturing industry - and my god they must be laughing all the way to the bank with horsey folk.
 
Yes I would chop and change, keeping it the same would be silly with our unpredictable weather! Mine has only had a rug on one night (after lots of short periods to get her used to it) she managed to detach the gate and end up in the next field so I am saving it for very cold and wet!
 
I do the same as you OP, my native mare is nineteen and although she is in good condition she doesn't cope well in cold wet weather.
She did have a small clip which has mostly grown out, so when I know the weather is set to be cold and wet then I rug in a MW. Lightweights are a waste of space in severe conditions I've found and she certainly doesn't overheat in a MW.
Far better than a vets bill if they develop a chill imo.
 
TigerTail said:
What do you mean?! They dont do it like a habit their bodies respond to the temperature stimulus - nothing to do with being used to it.

Rugs are a gem from the manufacturing industry - and my god they must be laughing all the way to the bank with horsey folk.
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Sorry, just meant that she is really used to having one on - so it would be a lot worse to whisk it off her on a mild day, than it would be to whisk it off my other horse who only occasionally has one on, becuase she's used to the extra heat and not having to warm herself up so much/cool herself down.

I guess this is, as usual, a case of 'know your own horse' really but everyone's replies have been v interesting, thank you!!
 
I rug according to the horse. In my case that means none now. Oldies if driving rain for several days. Never yet had to rug anything else.
Take it off and check him.
The only time I think you have to keep rugging is if you rug too early and they get a poor winter coat
 
^ this includes tbs and several other breeds. Give a horse time to get a winter coat rather than rugging early.
If I stabled I'd re evaluate as you've taken away their movement and herd.
Our tbs have a very different winter coat to the natives but it works just as well.
I still unrug even hw rugged horses when sun is out. Can't imagine not taking off so they can have a run round and roll.
 
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