Poll: Rugs or no rugs?

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UKa

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Hello, everyone, here is a poll for you: I just have a curious question wondering if any of you do not use rugs for their horses. Just that in my “youngen” days (as I am now approaching a rather respectable age!) we never used to bother with rugs in the winter, horses were left to grow their coats and all we did was use straw after riding to rub them dry, or with maximum effort maybe a towel if it was really bad. I had a riding pony kept like that for 18 years and she was a picture of health all that time. Now I have a fine built TB so I like to keep her warm so I have a selection of rugs, wondering if I would actually go back to no rugs if I had another horse and I am not sure as everyone seems to rug up and it gives me great pleasure to molly cuddle the animal but is it really good for all of them no matter their built? (e.g. people rug up Shetlands and I personally think that seems over-cautious as this breed was made for rather cold stormy weathers …just my opinion) So, here is a poll for you, who on this forum uses rugs regularly and are there any of you who never bother? And what are your reasons?
 
Yes, they keep clean(er), no long fluffy coats....excellent
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I don't use rugs. Mine are all natives and live out 24/7. TBH at this time of year its a nightmare with rugs. If the sun comes out they get hot, you take the rug of and it rains so you can't put it on again!!!! You take the rug off to ride, it rains so they get wet!!!! So I don't bother anymore. Last year was the first time they didn't wear rugs once all year and they came through winter looking better than ever. My shettie and welshie have never had a rug on in their lives.
 
The problem is these days that we're buying and riding more and more finely tuned atheletes that become more and more removed from the tough, hardy, furry horsies of the past.

That being said, there is also the convenience side of things. My horse doesnt live out, but for those who do and still want to keep riding (while holding down full time jobs, families etc), a dry horsey who has had a rug on is much more practical than a soaking wet swamp monster
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Personally I rug mine rather heavily since as much as a summer breeze has his knees knocking but I think if you have a horse thats more than happy without, then it must surely be healthier?
 
I rug my 27yo horse (feels the cold),
I rug my 6yo because he is clipped out in winter (well will be when my broken leg has mended!)
Will not be rugging 17month filly as want to harden her off
 
I get enough funny looks from having my two Arabs winter out - I can't imagine the reaction if I whipped the rugs off them too ... They're good at withstanding cold, or wet, but not both.

But I agree, when I was a kid the only horses that ever had rugs on were hunters who'd been clipped out.
 
I suppose my reason for rugging is that i like my neddy to be snuggled up and hate the thought of him being cold.

Also i do want to continue working him in winter and i dont want to clip him more than once so im trying to keep him warm so his coat doesnt grow as fluffy!

I think theres nothing wrong with not rugging, just i do!!
 
Depends on the horse. Ive always grown up rugging horses, although actually to begin with my first pony didnt need one as he was a wooly native!

Nowadays I do rug my competition ones because they get clipped through the winter (and live out 24/7) and are rather woosy. My TB shivers even at the SIGHT of rain! I only rug my native pony when its really bad purely because he's rather old now so it makes us both feel a bit better!! The shetland has a rug too, again she only has it on in the very worst (ie. blizzards!) weather just because she is old.

If I didnt rug the ones I ride daily (the ones who compete) then they'd be permanently wet and muddy which would make grooming them a massive task everytime!
 
I rug my old girl as she's 34 and wouldn't manage without a bit of extra warmth!

My Welshie has never had a rug in her life though and manages very well. I give her warm speedibeet in the winter months and she comes in for a rub down if it is really raining. Other than that she is fine - have never seen her shiver!
 
Hi, very interesting to read your comments; see there are some that do not rug, which is great I think if you can do it. Also seems that many of you rug for convenience I guess when I was school age I also had a lot more time to spend with the horses hence rubbing them dry with straw worked out ok ...sounds like I am super old I realise, my late pony only died 3 years ago aged 28 though and where we kept her I think they still don't use rugs (just to make sure you don't think I am really THAT old
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anyway, I would like to think that for each and every horse I will ever have I will decide whether or not to rug on individual basis of what the horse needs and what I need at the time ...
 
Do rug up - however with warm weather at mo I am not rugging up (also it saves livery owner from un rugging them every morning) However, after 1/2 term horses will be in at night and be clipped so will rug up then. But do agree many more horses are now rugged up. Many rugs are so much lighter and easier to care for and easier on the horse now tho.
 
There is no 'sometimes' option on your poll! Last winter Toffee was out with no rug, but when she is between coats, if we have a wet spell, she will have a waterproof rug on. Beano was rugged earlier this year as it was very wet, and he only had his foal fur. Horses can generally cope very well with cold, as they fluff their coats up, it is cold and wet that can be a problem for them as they are not designed for that.
 
The 2 that we ride are rugged up but work incredible hard and need to be clipped out as they sweat a lot and they hunt. I think they would catch a chilla nd drop weight rather quickly if they werent rugged as they are out 24/7 too. My youngsters, as they arent ridden and are native, do not get rugged and already have a rather impressive rug that they have grown themselves and they wont be rugged until under saddle as I see no need. I rug the big boys as with the evenings getting shorter, I do not want to spend my time scraping the mud off them when i could be riding. I also would feel guilty putting a very sweaty horse back in the field after a hard ride.
I know natives ponies can live out all year round unrugged as theya re designed to do that but that is before they were ridden. I would quite happily have all of mine out rugless if they werent ridden and I am sure they would be fine but even a shetland that is ridden hard could benefit from being rugged in my opinion!
 
Amymay was always rugged when necessary when she was in work - however, now she's not I won't be rugging her.

Loan horse has worn a LW a few times this autumn, and will be fully rugged shortly when she's clipped.
 
Before i got Bloss she never wore a rug, now shes a 'competiton horse' and is fully clipped and stabled every evening i do rug her up (evening and daytime) obviously if its warm she dosent wear a rug.
 
When I got my highland she had rain scald from being out all winter unclipped and unrugged so for that reason I started rugging, and then found that with a full coat she gets far too hot to work so now we are full clipped and rugged round the clock in winter. Still au naturel in summer thought
 
I think it really depends on how much you are planning to ride the horse over the winter. Some of my horses are rugged and some aren't - generally the riding horses are rugged although I am reconsidering this year whether to rug as many as I did last winter.

Around my area we have horrendously cold weather during the winter however apart from me, I don't actually know anyone else who rugs their horses. Now most of my friends have TB's, WB's or QH's and ALL of these horses live out and are not rugged. Having said that, it is so cold here that horses just don't have the opportunity to sweat up. TB's here in Canada are fluffier than Shetlands in the UK!!

I couldn't really vote as some are and some aren't.
 
I didn't vote because I have 3 rugged and 2 unrugged. My two thoroughbreds and my sister's clipped connemara are rugged, and my mum's new forest and haflinger and unrugged.
 
I don't rug mine as he's a a native with a very dense copat and a good layer of fat on him. If he was underweight or felt the cold at any point I would rug him, but I don't see the need unless I have to. I have a rug on standby, just in case, but if it remains clean and unused all winter then bonus!
 
I have to admit my shettie wear a lightweight turnout in really wet weather as he suffers badly with rain scald. He also has a neck and belly clip to make sure he does'nt overheat. The mare wears layers as she is fully clipped, in full work and really feels the cold.The youngster stays naked to harden her up!
 
My Shetland is also rugged as we have to stable overnight and I found that he doesn't dry off in the stable, so can be wet for days otherwise which isn't nice for him. My ponies have never wintered out, just because they can doesn't mean they would like it!
 
Some of mine are rugged and some aren't. The horses in work are clipped and rugged, the broodmares are not rugged, and some of the youngsters are rugged (if I feel they need it) and some of them aren't!

So really, it depends on the horse!
 
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