PLEASE tell me that this was a joke...

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Erehwemos

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Someone I know has just been told that if she wants to show her (dark bay) horse at a reasonable level, she will have to keep him rugged in the field during the summer. Not heavy rugs - just some form of top-to-toe sheet (apparently Snuggy Hoods make a rug that attaches to the hood) that covers their body. This, she was told, is to ensure that the horse's coat colour does not fade in the sun....

I have never heard anything like it before, and I would have laughed, if the thought of putting a horse in a lycra hood and rug all through the summer wasnt so horrific. Is this really the case? Do coats really fade, and is this really an issue for showing??

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Its true, as a child I had a lovely black Dales and his coat faded in the sun - then the judge at a show advised me to wear a summer sheet. I did not because Rupert just loved rolling and itching so I chose not to show him in M & M anymore!
 
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We once had a chesnut on our yard, whos coat used to bleach in the sun.
But i didnt think that coats could fade,
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Antifaz's never does, but PF's does. I THINK it has something to with a gene that some horses have... Not sure.
Apparently you can also prevent fading/bleaching (same difference really) by feeding paprika, but you have to start feeding it before the summer coat starts coming through.
 
yes, it is true.
must admit, i'm glad i event rather than showing, cos i love seeing horses enjoying the sun on their backs, and it doesn't matter to me if their coats fade a little. the summer turnouts are very lightweight though, fwiw.
 
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Yes they do...what is so horrific?!
Sweet itch horses have to wear these things all summer...they are breathable
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I know that fly sheets are breathable....but this lady was basically told to turn her horse out in a Snuggy Hood (or similar) with the rug attachment - now I know these are great in winter (I wouldnt be without my hood) but I would not dream of using it in the summer
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I just thought their winter coat was darker!

Bugger that though, keeping the horse covered up all summer just to prevent fade?! If its for SI or in our case very bad flies then fine, but I know ours would prefer to be bare in summer
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is it really going to show by the time they've used gorgeously expensive shampoos designed especially for bays?
 
I used to work for a show pony producer who would have 3 rugs on them throughout the summer. There were days when I'd go in and a couple of them would be soaked in sweat, I was allowed to take one rug off then
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The sun can bleach coats, especially manes and forelocks, so most show horses are rugged and hooded when turned out through the summer.
Feeding BOSS also brings out the dark colours in a coat.
 
Boy, am I glad I'm in a discipline where only his performance matters, and not the bleached or unbleached state of his coat! If he turns blue with yellow polka-dots in the summer, he's STILL not getting a summer sheet!
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I also had a black horse who's coat got sun/burnt/bleached/faded to brown in the summer.

Have you read the last H&H 'cos there is an article in there about different rug colours and their sun reflective properties, helping to cool a horse in summer with specific types of rugs.
 
As`said before, not a joke.

I used to deal with a lady who bred and showed part arabs (very well known in palomino circles) and she'd frequently mention the fact that if the sun was shining her show horses either came in or had to be covered up to prevent them fading.

It seems to be a fact of life in serious showing when appearance can make a difference over performance. I know someone who showed a black cob, she used some sort of colour wash on him and sunbathing never stopped him heading up the line.
 
I've heard of people doing this.

My black coblet fades loads in the sun, and we do local showing - good job I don't do it to win really as there's no way he'd wear a rug in the summer just for vanity's sake.
 
*Prepares to be shot down*

I do it, every summer without fail. I show to county standard and frankly, there's no point in keeping a horse in show condition and spend shed loads of money on entries etc if you're not going to keep their coats right. Showing is uber competitive - it's just how it is!
 
That is interesting scotsmare - I truly thought that there was no way that a horse's coat would fade! I dont know why I thought this - human hair is known to bleach in the sun!

You learn something new every day I guess!
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One of the reasons showing is not for me. Fair play to people who do itand wouldn't criticize for summer rugging, but nice for horses to be naked!
 
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Vitamin D is provided by sunlight on the skin - rugging in the summer should be banned!

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A little knowledge is a dangerous thing; there are no recorded cases of Vit D deficiency in horses (rugged and unrugged) unless they have been kept inside, away from all sunlight (Reynolds, 2002).
I hope people with older horses who suffer from cold, or those who have sweetitch will continue to manage them sensibly despite your advice to the contrary.
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Its also the reason why in sunnier countries eg USA yearling thoroughbred areturned out over night or nearer to the sales, get a few hours in the field at 6am -8am before it gets too sunny. Not so necessary in ireland, but you still wont see TB yearlings turned out in sunshine in the run up to sales.
 
You dont need to rug them up to the eye balls - a fly sheet works fine, which is suspect countless 'non-showing' owners use.

I dont understand why everyone getting so het up, there must be hundreds and hundreds of over-rugged horses around the country at this minute sweating and uncomfortable under their mountain of rugs - whereas a fly sheet in summer is hardly going to make a horse faint with heat!

And no I dont rug my horses in summer, but if I was going back to showing at top level I would invest in a good light reflecting fly sheet without a second thought
 
My sister worked for a show yard in OZ, they rug up to protect from the sun, and use uv bulbs to mimic summer daylight hours in the winter to stop winter coats coming through.

As someone who only shows for fun I wouldnt rug to stop coat fade, however one of ours gets terrible reactions to fly bites (not true sweet itch) and wears a boett, its the only fly rug that fits her well without rubbing. We have often noticed that she is the only one who will go out in the midday sun on hot days (what are those), and never gets sweaty under it.
 
I have to say it's not something I would ever consider doing but it is true that if we gets lots of sunshine it does bleach the coat of darker coloured horses. My bay used to look like he'd had highlights!
 
Environment I guess..
I know my Sweet itch cob went from severe to relatively mild with a change of location.
Who's to say if you brought one of these 'wild' ponies into a midgey environment that they wouldn't be affected.
I know alot of Icelandic's have developed sweet itch since being brought over to this country..

Mmmm...off to find out more
 
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This was not advice just an opinion, as you are a forum 'expert' please can you let me know why wild ponies don't suffer from sweet itch?

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I know of a wild pony with sweet itch
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what makes you think wild ponies don't get it
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I think wild ponies don't get sweet itch because they can move around more and therefore away from the midge-infested areas unlike ponies in paddocks. Shils is right though - Vit D deficiency is very rare and takes years of staying indoors!
 
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Yes they do...what is so horrific?!
Sweet itch horses have to wear these things all summer...they are breathable
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I know that fly sheets are breathable....but this lady was basically told to turn her horse out in a Snuggy Hood (or similar) with the rug attachment - now I know these are great in winter (I wouldnt be without my hood) but I would not dream of using it in the summer
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I must be cruel then because my horses will be wearing 'lycra' (they're not lycra by the way) snoogy hood and rug sets throughout the summer.

Then again, I think it's more cruel when an owner neglects to manage a horse so that its sweet itch is not so out of control that its skin is raw from being scratched.

Also, whoever said they don't, wild ponies can and do get sweet itch, but in the wild there is more likely to be availability of large open spaces where midges are less prevalent. Where people keep horses in fields, there are likely to be lots of shelter from trees/hedges and may also be water nearby. Because of the small space available to kept horses, the space they are in is also less likely to be open.

The vitamin d thing is just daft as well. I rarely walk round naked in summer but my vit d levels are just fine, and I;ve never had rickets.
 
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This was not advice just an opinion, as you are a forum 'expert' please can you let me know why wild ponies don't suffer from sweet itch?

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Define 'wild pony', and I will attempt to answer you.
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