Over Rugging In The Sun!!

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DougalJ

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Now that spring has finally sprung Im amazed at to how many horses are still grazing with thick rugs (some with necks) on in temps of 16/17 deg! Ive been out on my horse over the last few days and one horse in a field I passed had a heavy weight rug on with full sun on his back in the middle of the day with these spring temperatues. I have a delicate warmblood but he is now out "naked" in the day and then lightly rugged at night. I thinks its a little bit laziness in the owner that cant be bothered to sort out rugs twice a day. I appreciate some might be rugged if totally clipped out but I was in short sleeves yesterday so surely it would be nice for these horse to have a few hours with the sun on their backs before the summer flies turn up!
 
:( another pet hate; overugging horses!

Temperature is a bit cooler today but still seen so many horses out with rugs on, they just don't need it, and what a shame for them not having a good roll and scratch about never mind grooming one another !!
 
although i think that heavyweights with necks are excessive in this weather, some people have to make the decision about rugs at 5 or 6 am before going to work when the temperatures are just above freezing . relying on the weather reports is always a bit touch and go!
 
sabab172 said:
Now that spring has finally sprung Im amazed at to how many horses are still grazing with thick rugs (some with necks) on in temps of 16/17 deg! Ive been out on my horse over the last few days and one horse in a field I passed had a heavy weight rug on with full sun on his back in the middle of the day with these spring temperatues. I have a delicate warmblood but he is now out "naked" in the day and then lightly rugged at night. I thinks its a little bit laziness in the owner that cant be bothered to sort out rugs twice a day. I appreciate some might be rugged if totally clipped out but I was in short sleeves yesterday so surely it would be nice for these horse to have a few hours with the sun on their backs before the summer flies turn up!
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Totally agree, my Tb is out naked during the day in these temps.
 
Argh! A real bug-bear of mine!!! I would rather a horse be a little on the chilly side than too hot. They can move around to warm up but they can do nowt about cooling down....
 
Agree totally - it drives me mad that people still put rugs on despite the sun and heat. Excuses I have heard include

"it helps the winter coat come out faster" (well brush them more often then)

"it keeps then cleaner" (well brush them more often then)

"it's chilly in the morning when I turn him/her out" (by mid morning he is too hot though)

"he has the same rug on 24/7, I don't have time to change it in the morning" (lazy %$£@)
 
domane said:
Argh! A real bug-bear of mine!!! I would rather a horse be a little on the chilly side than too hot. They can move around to warm up but they can do nowt about cooling down....
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While I agree with this in theory I do take individual needs into account.

My welsh cob is only rugged if the weather is horrid or if he's going out for an hour or so before I ride - dry mud I can live with, wet mud is a pain in the backside & he will roll! Even when rugged it's often only a rainsheet. He doesn't like being hot.

My ID is another story all together. He hates being cold, really hates it, & is happiest when I would say he's too warm. The cold seems to get into his muscles making him stiff, miserable & off his hay. So he's rugged unless the weather is warm & even in mild weather I may put a rainsheet on if there's a nippy wind. It's not at all unusual to see the ID out in a full neck heavyweight while the WC is naked & they're both perfectly happy.

Poor management of the ID? I don't think so. Poor management would be treating them the same.
 
This annoys me too. My TB is fully clipped and went out naked yesterday, has a light weight on today as it is cooler. He only wears a medium weight when he comes in at night.

At the yard I work at most of the horses have 2 rugs on a lot of the time! They never get turned out over the winter and only get out to go on the walker or be ridden. None of them are fully clipped and it amazes me that they are still insisting on them wearing so many rugs.
 
Before getting on your high horse, perhaps you consider peoples individual situations before ranting!

I have a horse not clipped out with a 400g rug today - why? Because its 10oC here with a biting easterly wind, he is 20+(unknown age), and very thin

So yes I think it does him good to be baked (definitely not sweating today!)

My horse with sweet itch is also wearing various layers as he has to cope in 30oC with pyjamas on.
 
People who keep ponies in field next to mine have covered both extremes in the last few days. Their pony, who is unclipped, had a heavyweight rug with a full neck on over the last few days when temperatures were in the high teens. Yesterday thank heavens they took it off her, and their other pony, which has a very high blanket clip was also out unrugged. He has been in at night all winter so presumed they would take him in last night, but no he stayed out all night and is still there today, and whilst it is still sunny there is a cold wind today. Not really any excuse as they live within walking distance of the field.:(
 
Whilst there are genuine reasons for some horses sadly laziness is the reason why a lot are still in rugs here:(. Yesterday the YO was away so some of the horses were in their rugs all day as the owners didn't come up all day (everything here is now out 24/7) - as there was no one to take the rugs off. IMO it is made worse by the fact it is a DIY yard and no one live further then 5 miles away!:eek::mad::mad::mad:

Lazy gits - of course if I had phoned/text to take their rugs off the answer would have been yes - but as they wouldn't lift a finger for anyone else I didn't even though I feel sorry for the horses.:(
 
I'm with SU on this one. For every one horse that still has a rug on due to a medical condition there are ten that have still got rugs on because the owner is lazy or ignorant.

People just don't seem to understand that horses really don't like being too hot.
 
I totally agree people are over rugging, mine went naked in the SE. My trace clipped TBX was very warm at 9 this morning in a LW !

You can see the pleasure in their faces when they have a lovely rug free roll. Great for removing Winter coat too.
I appreciate not all of us live 5mins from the yard but let them be a bit chilly rather than cook.
Overheating can be dangerous.
They will run around to warm up before the sun gets stronger
Bring on the Summer !
 
My full TB who wintered out and has the thickest coat ever (hasten to add he wasn't mine then!) has been rugless for two days and he has loved it! He is so itchy. I can't wait for a bit more hair to come out and warm weather so I can give him a good bath. I do think a lot of people think of their horses as an extension of themselves and rug accordingly. Don't get me wrong - I check the weather forecasts every day but I would always prefer my horse to be cooler rather than on the hot side. I remember when I only had one stable rug and one canvas NZ rug - how things have changed!! Probably for the better I might add
 
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