Over rugging horses

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fourshiresrambler

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This is something that really bugs me is like now, when the weather is still fairly mild, albeit damp, people have got thick rugs on their horses and I've even seen some with two rugs on already! :o

It's so unhealthy and I don't think people realise that it can actually kill them to overheat.

Found an interesting blog article about it anyway, thought you all might be interested in a read.

http://www.ravenphotography.uk/2016/02/15/are-you-over-rugging-your-horse/

Thoughts? Is it just me that thinks it's cruel?
 
Yup some people over rug and some let their horses get thin covered in rain scald fending for them selves over winter .
Some in fact many let their horses get very fat causing them long term health issues it all makes me made a bit cross but I four of my own to worry about and that's where I concentrate my energy .
 
To be honest I've been getting rather sick of all the holier than thou rugging posts that have been appearing all over FB recently.

As GS says, some people over do it, whether because they don't realise horses aren't humans, or are under peer pressure, or just buy all the new rugs in all the new fancy designs, and some people overdo it and end up with cold, skinny, sick horses.

And some people use their common sense and experience and get it about right, more or less, most of the time.
 
Me too RR. I've gone from having a very hot fully clipped pony who needed minimal rugging to him becoming an older pony who is unclipped with a number of medical issues and I know he has had his middleweight on some nights.

I was more surprised at the rugging at three counties show on one of the hottest weekends of the year than I would ever be at people rugging at this time of year.

I don't think you will ever change what people do.
 
Yeah a few weeks/months ago it was worse when some horses had at least 100g rugs on during sunny days, and when the temperature didn't drop below 10 at night.

I've only recently just started putting on a 100g to keep him dry as once wet he tends to shake a bit so kinder to keep him dry.
 
fourshiresrambler said:
This is something that really bugs me is like now, when the weather is still fairly mild, albeit damp, people have got thick rugs on their horses and I've even seen some with two rugs on already! :o

It's so unhealthy and I don't think people realise that it can actually kill them to overheat.

Found an interesting blog article about it anyway, thought you all might be interested in a read.

http://www.ravenphotography.uk/2016/02/15/are-you-over-rugging-your-horse/

Thoughts? Is it just me that thinks it's cruel?
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My pet hate is when people put more than 3 rugs on a horse and expect the horse to be weighed down all the time. I mean why not buy a 4 - 7 12-14 oz rug with a good under rug to keep horse warm, why put 3 plus stable rugs on a horse all of which are thin rugs.


I will not put more than 2 rugs on my horses at anyone time a good under rug and appropriate turnout ( I don't use stable rugs.
The mind boggles
 
I read an interesting article about self-heating in horses and recommendations that, once the temperatures stabilise a bit, owners can actually start removing a layer as the horse's ability to cope with the conditions improves.

We overrugged our flimsy TBs after they came off the track and out of 23hrs a day stabling, as naive owners-guilty! But it was only through experience and seeing how hardy they really are that we got 'brave' enough to strip them down. And they are so much better overall when left to manage in the decreasing temps now.

A really good point in the article was about how important vitamin d is to the wellbeing of the animal, and how any rugging inhibits this process...they need sun just like plants do. Even when it's cold and miserable and the sun is an absent friend.

Plus, who wants to spend a fortune on expensive garments and repairs, or store them for that matter!
 
I am lucky enough to have a horse that needs minimal rugging. He carries plenty of weight most of the year, is a warm soul anyway and only ever gets a minimal clip. I'm sure he would be fine all year without but I choose to rug him sometimes either to keep him clean enough to ride or to ensure he can do a 12-hour winter day without getting too grumpy when the weather is foul. The lack of rugging the rest of the time means he gets a good winter coat. I stress far more about which rug to choose for his elderly fieldmate when it's my turn to decide as he drops weight very quickly if cold and is arthritic to boot.

Do I over rug? I don't think so with mine although it's possible with the oldie.

I also get a bit hacked off with the "holier than thou" stuff on FB but, on the other hand, I do know people who habitually over rug :(
 
As a YO, this is also one of my many pet hates, however, I see it more as ignorance than actual cruelty, and as there are far too many truly serious cases of cruelty going on in the world, this is in fact small potatoes. OP, I would just do what I do and let it go, even though internally you will be silently fuming like I do! None of us are perfect, and indeed, I don't always get everything 'right', but as long as these things are done out of care and love for the horse, can it be so bad really? For me personally, I am of a mind that I prefer my horse to be a little on the cool side than too warm, as I always worry about them sweating in the night, rolling and getting caste, or even worse, colicing from the stress of being too warm, but like I said, that's just my thoughts in the matter.
 
q105 said:
I read an interesting article about self-heating in horses and recommendations that, once the temperatures stabilise a bit, owners can actually start removing a layer as the horse's ability to cope with the conditions improves.

We overrugged our flimsy TBs after they came off the track and out of 23hrs a day stabling, as naive owners-guilty! But it was only through experience and seeing how hardy they really are that we got 'brave' enough to strip them down. And they are so much better overall when left to manage in the decreasing temps now.

A really good point in the article was about how important vitamin d is to the wellbeing of the animal, and how any rugging inhibits this process...they need sun just like plants do. Even when it's cold and miserable and the sun is an absent friend.

Plus, who wants to spend a fortune on expensive garments and repairs, or store them for that matter!
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I don't think there's much evidence that light plays a role in vitamin d levels in horses .
 
Mine is being clipped this week. A chaser or similar. He will remain naked.

Meanwhile there is a pony in the field next door who has had a full neck rug on all day everyday for the past fortnight. Not clipped and it was about 20 degrees here today. Poor ****** must have been boiling.
 
Its such a shame for them :( I was at a show this weekend and it was a particularly hot day and one pony had got a snuggy hood, a heavy weight and a lightweight on top of that! It was huffing and sweating it's awful.
 
You don't always know why one horse is rugged in a particular way and I am getting fed up with the rather sanctimonious tone at times. I don't often see many horses over rugged and I don't presume to judge. Yes some people make mistakes at times.. Hard not at times when the weather cannot make up its mind, but few people will keep over rugging a hot horse.
 
Luci07 said:
You don't always know why one horse is rugged in a particular way and I am getting fed up with the rather sanctimonious tone at times. I don't often see many horses over rugged and I don't presume to judge. Yes some people make mistakes at times.. Hard not at times when the weather cannot make up its mind, but few people will keep over rugging a hot horse.
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Well actually I asked her. She said it's OK that it's sweating, it had so many rugs on to keep it clean for the show. So... Yeah...
 
I’m so sick of reading what other people think about rugging horses that are nothing to do with them.

Firstly if the horse was wearing a snuggy hood and 2 rugs how on earth would you know if it was sweating so I think that’s a made up story to prove your sanctimonious point frankly.

Secondly I have had two horses who feel the cold. One is very old and one has a muscle disease. Both of these horses are wearing 200g rugs in September because that is what they need for their health and comfort. They will be wearing 400g rugs when the weather is colder.
 
Last winter I over rugged Diva; by this point she had a middleweight on already! To be brutally honest I'm not bothered if they get a bit chilly, so long as it's dry: their fur traps heat next to their skin which we can't feel by holding the base of their ears or muzzles or by just touching the coat. For my mares and I, the issue is when it's raining or sleeping and /or blowing a ruddy gale because then they cannot do this, which is when they get cold and start shivering. Apparently, a horse's thermo neutral zone is 5 degrees to 20... So they feel an acceptable temperature between these two temperatures presumably because their digestive systems are like furnaces and are supposed to produce a lot of heat in a correct diet with significant amounts of fibre. Regardless, my girls won't be being rugged unless there's driving rain or sleet and it's <10 degrees because they seem happier kept like that. Alfie (non clipped ex racehorse who is a very poor doer) and Henry (27yo clipped Shetland) have light weights on already. But again with the poor doers you don't want to over rug because sweating is a great way to end up with a tucked up, poor, dehydrated and unhappy horse.... In my opinion it's better to put on the lightest rug that keeps the weather off and that the horse seems happier in. Honestly the best indicator of is rugging regime working is, is your horse happy?! E. G. Nude in the rain even in summer Alfie drops weight because he doesn't leave the field shelter, but this time last year diva was much less active and the only difference was she had a rug on.... Some people judge us for rugging a Shetland but he's happy so frankly idgaf.... Honestly, if the horse seems happy then it's owner knows it's needs and preferences best; if it does not seem happy then the RSPCA does allegedly act on complaints of over rugged horses... So talking to the owner or in exteme cases a welfare organisation would probably be more helpful to the horse than threads on here (useful as this place can be).
 
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I used to be an err on less is more, it is definitely only in the last 18 months two years with his liver kicking off, his weight not being held so well and his general old age stiffness that I have rugged frank up more and he has not been over warm, when in previous years he really would have been - as I bought him a heavy weight and never really used it until recently! Mum's in charge these days anyway and given that we seem to go through which rug is which evey visit he could have anything on right now! :D
 
Peter7917 said:
Mine is being clipped this week. A chaser or similar. He will remain naked.

Meanwhile there is a pony in the field next door who has had a full neck rug on all day everyday for the past fortnight. Not clipped and it was about 20 degrees here today. Poor ****** must have been boiling.
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Yup, my mare has a chaser, still naked, far too hot for anything remotely looking like a rug and I've been doing it this way for god knows how many years!
 
some people look after their own horses, and other people go round telling anyone who will listen how other people should be looking after theirs.
 
My fully clipped cob was sweating under her 100g in the rain... I felt awful!! She's been out naked in this mild weather and been fine. My cushings mare is also fully clipped and has 150g on and is perfect. The big Irish thing has a bib clip and is naked and fluffy :-0
 
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FfionWinnie said:
I&#8217;m so sick of reading what other people think about rugging horses that are nothing to do with them.

Firstly if the horse was wearing a snuggy hood and 2 rugs how on earth would you know if it was sweating so I think that&#8217;s a made up story to prove your sanctimonious point frankly.

Secondly I have had two horses who feel the cold. One is very old and one has a muscle disease. Both of these horses are wearing 200g rugs in September because that is what they need for their health and comfort. They will be wearing 400g rugs when the weather is colder.
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Erm because I saw it, with my eyes. I watched her taking the rugs off and asked her. I know the woman. Why the hell would I be making this up?
 
I'd be interested to know what the mind your-own-business side thought of rugging horses with a condition score of 5 and no health issues in order to prohibit winter coat growth and avoid clipping. Not a made up scenario...

I also wonder whether an autumn will ever pass without a rugging argument on here.
 
I read that as battle with rugs... I have images of horse owners across the country tangled in surcingles while trying to use rugs as weapons..
 
FfionWinnie said:
I’m so sick of reading what other people think about rugging horses that are nothing to do with them.

Firstly if the horse was wearing a snuggy hood and 2 rugs how on earth would you know if it was sweating so I think that’s a made up story to prove your sanctimonious point frankly.

Secondly I have had two horses who feel the cold. One is very old and one has a muscle disease. Both of these horses are wearing 200g rugs in September because that is what they need for their health and comfort. They will be wearing 400g rugs when the weather is colder.
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Mine are just in their rain sheet turnout rugs.

mainly because they lie in their poo and also that is all they need in this current weather, all are inside.

I rug in accordance to how the individual horse is, if they are cold I up the grms.
 
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I love the defensive posts on this thread .. I guess we know who the over ruggers are, lol ;)

My neighbour has just taken on three pony liveries, one turned up in a little lightweight (prettiest pony I think I've ever seen!) and I've not seen the owner yet and I've not seen it without the rug either and we have had stupidly warm days over the last couple of weeks!
 
My Mum would be a terrible over rugger, she would admit it too. I think that she started to ask me when the horses would be getting their turnouts on the day that the fly rugs came off.

Basically she feels the cold and she finds it hard to get away from the idea that if she is cold, that they must be cold. Even seeing them looking warm and happy isn't good enough evidence that they are fine. It drives me slightly potty, but nevermind.
 
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