Over Rugging

lisan

lisan

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I popped to see a friend at my old yard last week and one of the teens has a new show pony. It had 5 rugs on, and it was 8 degrees outside, there is a note on its door that no one must go in the stable, its window its not to be opened and non of its rugs are to be removed.

The poor thing was so uncomfortable, this girl and her parents (quite novicy owners) have been told over and over to the point of there being stand up arguments it.

What actual damage will it do to this poor pony? Is there anything I can print off to for my friend to pin to the door to state the ill effects of over rugging?

its such sweet thing, its a shame.
 
Unfortunately l think alot of show ponies are treated like this!! l have even seen them with their heads tied down with side reins in the stable so as to build up more neck
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Maybe if I had tried that with Rosie I would have done better in dressage tests......

No, I think you are right, a lot of show ponies are dressed up to the nines day and night, some near me with full necks and head covers which stay on all the time. I suppose they must groom them occasionally?
 
Well, I know a horse that sweated so badly under all it's rugs that they started to rub, but the groom didn't straighten them for a few days and it rubbed the skin raw... It was a show horse.

I hate seeing horses over-rugged. And the culprits never seem to think they are doing anything wrong no matter how many times people tell them.
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I always found that if I rugged up to the nines (in an effort to keep a fine coat) I ended up with a rub somewhere which was even worse for a show horse! A variet of rug weights seemed the best option + more hay!
 
Lol careful you don't start the same kind of war as I did...

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...&PHPSESSID=

I totally agree though, there really is no need. A yard I used to work at had people the same - they'd fully clip a horse that was in its 20s and was doing about 2 hours work a week and then rug it up to the eyeballs because it was cold!!

I do wonder about some people, I really do.

Maybe you could suggest to them that the previous owners were being over the top and explain that no pony needs to be so ridiculously rugged up? Although knowing some people they're unlikely to listen unfortunately
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Technically as long as they don't rub and the horse isn't sweating no harm should come of it.

They will get used to it, but then if the rugs are all taken off immediately its a bit cruel

(they made the olympic team when it was in Atlanta use heavyweight rugs in summer to get them used to the heat)

I hate putting rugs on, and I was pleased when sweet itch boy was down to one heavyweight!
 
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Lol careful you don't start the same kind of war as I did...

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/sh...&PHPSESSID=

I totally agree though, there really is no need. A yard I used to work at had people the same - they'd fully clip a horse that was in its 20s and was doing about 2 hours work a week and then rug it up to the eyeballs because it was cold!!

I do wonder about some people, I really do.

Maybe you could suggest to them that the previous owners were being over the top and explain that no pony needs to be so ridiculously rugged up? Although knowing some people they're unlikely to listen unfortunately
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Lol, yes I did read that thread - I did'nt want a debate, just something to print out to stick on there door! Its only doing RC level, and they paid 6k for it, so think it needs wrapping in cotton wool. Its also stabled 24/7.

The pony just looked dejected when I saw it , but someone on the same block told me the poor thing had bouts of going nuts when it was all sweated up and itchy.

They have now tied the window shut (its in an indoor barn) so it can't even get any fresh air
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Unfortunately l think alot of show ponies are treated like this!! l have even seen them with their heads tied down with side reins in the stable so as to build up more neck
shocked.gif


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That's awful, I didn't know people do that; how horrible
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Surely common sense would prevail with these darn over ruggers?!?! It seems not though, poor pony.
 
That's bloody awful. Have they been told face to face...and still not listened? That's ridiculous!! Guide them to this thread...
 
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That's bloody awful. Have they been told face to face...and still not listened? That's ridiculous!! Guide them to this thread...

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Yes, both the teen and her parents have been told face to face, SEVERAL TIMES! They are so sick of it they are moving yards!
 
I think that the practise of over-rugging show horses and ponies may date back to the days when rugs weren't so efficient, so people layered the rugs in an attempt to inhibit the coat growing by over-heating the animal. So if anyone <u>must</u> rug up a pony to change it's natural coat, there shouldn't be any reason to use more than one rug, albeit they might want to use a heavyweight.
It would be worth them bearing in mind that the more layers they put on the more risk there is of rugs twisting and rubbing, and that the horse's coat can be damaged in a matter of hours in the wrong circumstances. I'm assuming they take all the rugs off and groom this pony at least once a day now, or they are almost certain to get rug rubs anyway. The weight of several rugs at the base of the neck is very likely to break and rub the mane away as well.
Then, it is more healthy for horses to get a little cold than be too hot. Any vet will confirm this. There was a very good article here recently which explained how horses keep warm that might make interesting reading. If the horse sweats up and gets too hot, then as pointed out above, you might start to get rubs and sores.
Is temperament an issue at all? Do they want their daughter to be riding a safe and sane pony when it does come out of the stable? The combination of an irritated over-heated pony and 24/7 confinement is a recipe for disaster and I would expect the pony to start to become bad tempered and exciteable and nappy to ride. (Dangerous).
Health - if you restrict the air flow round the stable by shutting windows etc then you are setting the poor pony up for breathing difficulties. The dust from the bed, the ammonia in the dust, these are very likely to cause respiratory problems such as OCD, which could end the career of a show pony.
Last - horses are designed to be able to move about for their health, allowing a horse turnout gives them a chance to stretch their muscles and helps to maintain healthy limbs. Apart from the obvious unkindness involved in depriving the pony of equine company, mutual grooming and play, it would be physically more beneficial to turn it out.
We wouldn't allow a pony to be kept like this at our yard, but unfortunately that only means people would do it elsewhere.
Hope that's some help.
 
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That's bloody awful. Have they been told face to face...and still not listened? That's ridiculous!! Guide them to this thread...

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Yes, both the teen and her parents have been told face to face, SEVERAL TIMES! They are so sick of it they are moving yards!

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Makes me sad actually. Poor pony. They day they leave perhaps slip this printed thread under the stable door.
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Why don't you threaten them with reporting to ILPH or similar? They may take that a bit more seriously?

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The friend I went to see has moved two of her other ponies there, (they are ILPH) so as they will be coming out to visit anyway, she is going to ask if they will have a word with these people.
 
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Makes me sad actually. Poor pony. They day they leave perhaps slip this printed thread under the stable door.
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Will take some bit from it and do that anyway, but they might know its me!
 
I wud also call the RSPCA and let them decide whether the pony is suffering or not.
If the pony is suffering, them peeps like that shudn't have horses, if no one calls them i will just in case, simple.
 
In the christmas issue of the Swedish magazine Ridsport there was an article about this, and it talked about how horses feel temperatures compared to us (they can cope with cold and heat a LOT better than humans) - there were lots of numbers and scientific backup - but unfortunately it is all in Swedish and won't be much use to you unless the owners happen to understand the language... Shame, it would have been a good article for them to read.
 
Lol Tinypony, they were pretty quick to come running to the aid of my poor abused horse when an ex-friend reported him for being neglected when he was a bit tubby on spring grass (all of this because I had fallen out with her over something completely unrelated). Inspector actually told me I was killing him despite him actually being on a diet, prescribed by the vet who I had called out about a month before and who was making regular check ups.

Funny what they consider to be a state of emergency isn't it?
 
We used to have a woman come to the yard to plait for us and she used to proudly tell us how her youngster was inside with his duvet on to stop the coat growing - this was in September!! The poor horse turned out totally fruit-loopy and his coat is now quite rough from all the over rugging and rubbing. Luckily he is in a new home where he's allowed to be a horse horse rather than a clothes horse.
 
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Unfortunately l think alot of show ponies are treated like this!! l have even seen them with their heads tied down with side reins in the stable so as to build up more neck
shocked.gif


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That's awful, I didn't know people do that; how horrible
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That's barely the tip of the iceberg!!

As for calling the ILPH or the RSPCA - unless the animal is in immediate danger or visibly distressed, they can't do anything.

With people like this, you cannot tell them they're wrong. They learnt that they should do this and who are you to tell them that they were taught wrong?? Isn't that how most horse owners function? They need to figure it out themselves, all you can do is try to monitor the horse.

David Marlin - specialist in exercise physiology, respiratory and cardiovascular physiology and disease, thermoregulation, physiological measurement
Go to the Archine link and read "The effect of thermal environmental conditions on the health and performance of horses" to see if that has any stuff to help!
 
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In the christmas issue of the Swedish magazine Ridsport there was an article about this, and it talked about how horses feel temperatures compared to us (they can cope with cold and heat a LOT better than humans) - there were lots of numbers and scientific backup - but unfortunately it is all in Swedish and won't be much use to you unless the owners happen to understand the language... Shame, it would have been a good article for them to read.

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My mother is Swedish - I could beg her to translate..!
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