Overweight Horses - Rugging

[maginn]

I have a mare that does very well on next to nothing; she lives out all winter (her preference) and is fed on topspec's weightwatchers version of their balancer with a handful of light chaff.
As she lives in with a herd I have to go with the flow grazing & hay wise and I can't restrict this in winter we have a fair amount of grass at the moment so we are not feeding hay but in a few weeks I am sure the others will want to start feeding hay although she could do without it at the mo! They will have access to large barn which they can access add lib if they want to get out of the weather.

I ride her as often as I can around a busy life and working full time. Therefore the only tool in my toolbox to get weight off is under rugging. However I am not sure how far to take this having never done it before. She is fully clipped (legs still on) and at the moment I have had her in 100g rug, but I did change up to 200g when we had the really cold snap a few days ago. I have left the neck cover off as well (as rubs mane out).

Does this seem about right or am I being cruel? She feels warm under the rug.....

 

[Goldenstar]

I do this to Fatty he's fully clipped and hunting .On Sunday he looked cold and was miserable so I upped his rugging.
Unless she looks and feels cold I would leave be but I won't make them too unhappy over it .

 

[stencilface]

Unless she looks really miserable I think you're doing OK. I'm hoping to give my hairy fat pony a small bib clip and not rug him this winter to aid his slimming. I don't think I'll rug him, to do that I'd have to actually buy one for him too!

 

[booandellie]

if she feels warm underneath then i would personally go down a weight. My fully clipped cob is in a 50 gram rug at the moment and is not cold. i only plan to use her 100g outdoor when it gets much colder. i just read a pullout from horse and hound 'ask the vet' and there was a really interesting article in there about over rugging. if she is out with access to forage and shelter then she will be able to keep herself warm with limited rugging. I may be wrong but i have always thought that if the horse feels toastie warm under their rug then they are too warm.

 

[maginn]

Not got a 50g but worth thinking about buying I guess. I am old enough to remember when a NZ rug was just canvas with a thin wool lining & horses did ok then. I think we have been persuaded by the rug companies that thicker and thicker rugs are necessary. I saw a 450g rug advertised with loops for liners! Think poor horse wouldn't be able to move !!! She is not a cob. WB x ISH but she is quite a hardy sort will see how we go with 100g if she doesn't begin to loose weight I will know can go lower. Everyone else in yard horrified that I am only using 100g as it is !!

 

[Jnhuk]

I would use a lighter rug on than 100g at present. I have an extreme good doer and use this tactic, he is clipped and only out in either no fill or 50g turnout at the minute. Has access to stable if he wishes to get out the weather (but doesn't). Was snowing here and down to only minus 5 the other night but still not needed to go up to more g fill rugs. Horses cope with dry cold far better than we give them credit to but the wet... just keep a check on how she feels under the rug as that best guide.

Too many people over rug and what works for a thin skinned TB will be very different to a native/ID type.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

When I bought my Draft mare she was massively overweight and clipped out. Under-rugging was part of our weight loss regime. She was unimpressed by the trugs full of oat straw chaff and limited hay but not at all worried by the nofill rug. She got down to a healthy weight gradually and was always warm to the touch.
I'm sure yours will be fine in a lightweight rug, far better than staring her, IMO.

 

[Carlosmum]

My overweight native currently sports a blanket clip, if the weather is dry he is going out naked. If it is wet then a light turnout rug. He is in at night in a 'heavy' cotton sheet. No sign of weight loss yet, he's actually put some on!

 

[lamlyn2012]

Mine is fully clipped. Has a no fill in the day and lightweight fleece at night in his stable. He's fine.

 

[Procrastination]

I too would go down a weight. I have a fat fell cross cob, she is fully clipped except head and legs and has so far only had a no fill on. I'm in Cumbria and we've had some nights where the temps have been in the minuses but it's been dry and windless. She is ridiculously efficient at heating her body and I have never ever felt her cold! She has a medium weight but I'm reserving that for if it gets super cold and wet/windy.

In my opinion if it's cold but dry they are very capable of keeping themselves warm through digestion 🙂

 

[Orangehorse]

If they are protected from the rain and wind, which is a rainsheet in effect, that is really all she would need. If you want them to loose weight then this is a good start.

 

[laura_nash]

With access to a barn to get out of the weather and plenty of forage to eat she'll probably be fine with no rug at all. I think people forget that fat itself is a pretty good insulator, overweight horses already have an extra layer. Obviously you'll need to keep an eye on her and have rugs at the ready, but my experience using a similar tactic with my cob is that its the wind / rain that gets them rather than the cold and mine is actually more comfortable and happy with no rug and access to a barn than a thick rug and exposed field, even when he's partly clipped.

 

[AmyMay]

Really, a clipped out horse left unrugged? How terribly unfair.

It's a shame she was clipped really.

 

[maginn]

Personally I don't think it's fair to leave a fully clipped horse with no rug. However I have taken all your comments on board and have bought a 50g rug. Will see how it goes. I can always go up if I need to. thanks

 

[Procrastination]

Yes I wouldn't advocate leaving any fully clipped horse without a rug, but I think a no fill or 50g is perfectly acceptable when you are trying to encourage weight loss.

 

[laura_nash]

Yes I wouldn't advocate leaving any fully clipped horse without a rug, but I think a no fill or 50g is perfectly acceptable when you are trying to encourage weight loss.

Personally I wouldn't ever put a no fill rug on a horse with a clipped back if there was the slightest possibility of heavy rain, mine will stay in the barn or go in after the rain and roll dry he would hate being forced to have a horrid wet clammy cold thing stuck to his back. We all have different opinions on this stuff though, and different experiences with different horses.

 

[Procrastination]

Personally I wouldn't ever put a no fill rug on a horse with a clipped back if there was the slightest possibility of heavy rain, mine will stay in the barn or go in after the rain and roll dry he would hate being forced to have a horrid wet clammy cold thing stuck to his back. We all have different opinions on this stuff though, and different experiences with different horses.

Yes I would choose a 50g if it's going to be persistent rain 🙂

 

[Procrastination]

Personally I wouldn't ever put a no fill rug on a horse with a clipped back if there was the slightest possibility of heavy rain, mine will stay in the barn or go in after the rain and roll dry he would hate being forced to have a horrid wet clammy cold thing stuck to his back. We all have different opinions on this stuff though, and different experiences with different horses.

I was just meaning I wouldn't leave a fully clipped horse rugless if it was going to rain, I know what you mean about no fills when they get damp they are horrible!