Ponderings/thoughts on rugging a hairy cob

Suby2

Suby2

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My cob has a lot of hair. His coat is dense and he is very rarely cold. Although he is only lightly hacked he gets quite warm. I had him trace clipped in September but that has now grown out.

Ideally I would have him clipped again and then lightly rugged however he is in a rented field with no stables and the field is currently a quagmire so to get him clean enough to clip would be impossible.

With the wet weather we have been having every day he is either covered in wet mud or soaked from the rain often both. This makes getting him clean enough to ride quite a task and often not possible.

So, I was wondering about rugging him. I have a medium weight rug which I have only used in extreme weather however as he could do with losing some weight I don’t want to make him too cosy. He is a good doer who shares the field with two not good doers - this cannot change.

I am willing to buy a lightweight rug but am unsure what to get as it definitely needs to be fully waterproof and should it be no fill or 100g or ???

Any thoughts/ideas?
 
Very few no fill rugs are waterproof and I think you will find your thick coated cob will sweat and soak the inside of the rug. The winter is so mild many horses are too warm. I have a high trace clipped out cob in just a rain sheet to keep the wind off him and he is still warm.

A medium weight rug will roast a furry cob. Could you borrow a stable to dry him out and then clip him out and use a decent waterproof rug for the rest of the winter.
 
As it’s February tomorrow I’d just weather the remainder of the winter, and not clip. Presumably you’re only riding at the weekend, so it’s just not worth it now imo.
 
I have a couple of no-fill rigs, they are actually pretty waterproof, if my memory serves me right they are shires. I've found it is best to have a spare though, as no matter how good the waterproofing, they won't stand up to a full week of relentless rain.
 
My friend and I try to hack out three times a week but as we ride on specific days that is weather dependent. (We are both retired)
 
Unfortunately borrowing a stable is not possible.

It’s all a bit tricky without facilities!!

Where we are is great the rest of the year. Hacking straight onto the New Forest.
 
I tried to leave my cob unclipped and unrugged this year as she isn't ridden much but it turned out to be a big mistake. She was sweating in her fur, she stank and as she was stabled at night she was covered in wee and poo as well. I got a lovely patient lady to fully clip her (legs left on) and now I rug her accordingly.
Please don't put a mw on a furry pony, he will sweat, be itchy and very uncomfortable. I find the Amigo Mio no fill rain sheets are very good for keeping them dry. Could you wash off the mud, pop on a waffle to help dry him and then a rainsheet to keep him clean?
 
Thank you all for your replies. I think I will just have to leave things as they are and hope we get some dry weather. Dry mud I can cope with. On the plus side he is just starting to moult - at least half a dozen hairs came out the other day ??
 
My cob is fulled clipped and out in a no fill (high denier!) you can put your hand in the rug and feel the warmth, from horse to horse it does vary but i am trying to use winter to my advantage by getting some more weight of before spring.. however chance has other ideas and is holding it well...
 
Suby2 said:
My friend and I try to hack out three times a week but as we ride on specific days that is weather dependent. (We are both retired)
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In your situation I would use a 50g or 100g rug and clip when you are able. Riding an in-rugged horse is a pain so I’d always clip a cob and rug. Mine is out of work and getting him clean enough to ride would definitely take longer than the actual ride!

I don’t think 0g rugs are generally very waterproof, yet even a small amount of filling helps trap a layer of air and keeps them dry.
 
OP how about a 1200 denier rainsheet/"no-fill" - the tougher exterior material might help keep him drier than a 600 denier?
A couple of those so you can change over if he does get wet through.
A 50g might be worth looking into for next winter?
 
I have a no fill 1200D on my boy at the moment. He's growing out an Irish clip (hoping to reclip this weekend, when he'll go back into his 50 g assuming weather is the same). I'd recommend Weatherbeeta Comfitec. It does a good job on polishing the coat so you could then hot cloth before clipping one afternoon - put a fill rug on overnight (to draw out any moisture from the hot clothing), then clip next morning. The Comfitec also comes in 50 g, which has been my most used rug this winter by far -the 100 g is STILL new in the bag from last Feb!!
 
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